Wimbledon roof set for May test event
by Pete Hayman | 23 Apr 2009
Adverse weather conditions and bad light at this year's Wimbledon are set to become less of an issue after it was confirmed that testing of Centre Court's new retractable roof is nearly complete.
The All England Club has revealed that final testing of the 5,200sq m (55,972sq ft) roof and air-management systems at the venue are now underway ahead of a ceremony to be held on 17 May in order to celebrate the completion of the project. Tennis stars including Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Tim Henman are to be among the first to play under the retractable roof, which takes approximately 10 minutes to fully close and has been constructed using Tenara fabric – designed to let in natural light.
In the event of the roof being closed, it is expected that play will be able to resume after 30 minutes in order to allow the venue's air-management facility to control and stabilise humidity levels and to prevent condensation. Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the All England Club, said: "The new Centre Court roof project has been a sophisticated engineering feat. Much of the testing is complete and we are now making final adjustments ahead of the Centre Court Celebration event on 17 May.
"That event is an important part of the testing procedure and will enable us to see how both the roof and the air-management system actually perform under live conditions with a capacity crowd." In addition to the installation of the retractable roof, Centre Court's capacity has been increased to 15,000 seats, while public and debenture facilities have been upgraded.
The All England Club has also announced that the prize money for the Men's and Women's Singles Champions at this year's tournament will increase by 13.3 per cent, as part of a 6.2 per cent overall increase in total prize money.
Adverse weather conditions and bad light at this year's Wimbledon are set to become less of an issue after it was confirmed that testing of Centre Court's new retractable roof is nearly complete. The All England Club has revealed that final testing of the 5,200sq m (55,972sq ft) roof and air-management systems at the venue are now underway ahead of a ceremony to be held on 17 May in order
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