Weak pound offsets rise in Wimbledon prize money 22/04/2009 |
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Prize money at this year's Wimbledon championships is going up by 6.2 percent to 12.55 million pounds, organisers said on Tuesday.
The winners of the men's and women's singles would receive 850,000 pounds, a 13 percent rise on last year, they said.
The increases would be offset by the weakness of the pound against the euro and dollar, club chairman Tim Phillips told reporters.
"Most of the players here don't bank in sterling," Phillips said. "We have to be mindful of the fact that a year ago it was two dollars to the pound and now it's less than one pound fifty."
He said the increases were bigger in the later rounds.
"The increased prize money is also slanted towards the right-hand side of the draw because it is the big-name players that help to drive the tournament forward."
The pound has dropped by around 25 percent against the dollar since last year's tournament and about 10 percent against the euro.
Wimbledon has signed a five-year extension to its sponsorship deal with IBM and a broadcast deal with Star Sports Asia, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
"In this climate, it's a vote of confidence in Wimbledon," All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said.
"In the current climate, it would be foolish for anyone to be complacent but we feel the strength of the brand is coming through and commercial opportunities continuing unabated."
He said the capacity of the ground would rise from 36,000 to 40,000, helped by the increased seating on the revamped Centre Court and the new, 4,000-seat Court Two.
"There is still a great appetite to come and watch Wimbledon," he said, adding that ticket applications for the June 22-July 5 tournament were up by 20 percent.
(Source: Reuters)
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