Wimbledon expansion gets green light
01 October 2024
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) is set to press ahead with plans to almost triple the size of its historic Wimbledon tennis courts complex after they were approved by the Greater London Authority.
Proposals for the new Wimbledon tennis complex. Image: AELTC/ Allies & Morrison
The club, which has been staging the annual Wimbledon tennis Championships since 1877, plans to build 39 new tennis courts on the adjoining 73-acre former Wimbledon Park Golf Course.
These will include the club’s third tennis stadium, an 8,000-seater 28 meter high covered show court with a retracting roof which is expected to be built using prefabricated methods.
AELTC’s proposals were designed by architect Allies and Morrison alongside MEP consultant Buro Happold and cost consultant Turner & Townsend.
They also include 27 acres of publicly accessible parkland and building a boardwalk around the Wimbledon Park Lake.
AELTC’s proposed new tennis stadium. Image: AELTC/ Allies & Morrison
The project has been controversial with many local residents arguing it would damage the area’s biodiversity.
The club said that the proposals would enable it to bring the qualifying competition for the Wimbledon grand slam competition onsite for the first time.
“We look forward to working with all parties to bring this vision to life, delivering one of London’s greatest sporting transformations since the 2012 Games, and securing Wimbledon’s future at the pinnacle of world sport,” said Deborah Jevans, Chair of the All England Club.
