London, UK, Sunday 7 July 2019: Following years of intricate design work and a highly complex three-year build, the No.1 Court roof has been successfully deployed on several occasions at The Championships 2019, enabling matches to complete under the roof and The Fortnight to stay on schedule.

Completed on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Centre Court roof, the No.1 Court Project was finished on time and on budget, the design delivering a careful balanced combination of innovation with tradition while maintaining the unmistakable atmosphere at The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).

Among the enhancements are a new fixed and retractable roof; an increased capacity of 12,345; the replacement of all seats inside the stadium for improved spectator comfort; 15 hospitality suites; a new external garden plaza and food court, the Walled Garden, and the installation of a living wall either side of the Big Screen facing Aorangi Terrace. The enhanced stadium was first tested in May at The No.1 Court Celebration in support of the Wimbledon Foundation, a special exhibition of tennis and music.

The No.1 Court roof has 11 steel movable trusses; each truss is 75 metres long and weighs 100 tonnes. Moving each of them onto the No.1 Court required a 600-tonne crawler crane, with 300 tonnes of counterweight. The roof takes between 8-10 minutes to fully retract or deploy and is 75m wide and 90m long when deployed. The retractable roof requires 164 drives and 44 motors to move it, including around 220 electro-mechanical devices along with a control system capable of working to accuracies within a millimetre to ensure the roof operates smoothly and quietly.

Richard Lewis, Chief Executive of the AELTC, commented: “We are delighted that one week into The Championships the No.1 Court roof has been successfully used on several occasions, which has enabled us to complete matches that otherwise may have been suspended due to bad light. The feedback we have had from players and members of the public about the refurbished No.1 Court has been extremely positive and we wish to extend our thanks to the AELTC Estate Development team, Sir Robert McAlpine, and the large team of consultants and sub-contractors who have helped us bring this challenging project to completion.”

Project Manager at Sir Robert McAlpine, Gareth Healy, added: “It has been a true pleasure to work on such a grand stage as No.1 Court. The designers, our suppliers and the SRM team have worked tirelessly to ensure its success. There have been so many positive comments about the new court which is a testament to the efforts the whole team put in to delivering it for The Championships 2019.”

KSS Director James Budd said: “The delivery of No.1 Court for the AELTC is one of the most prestigious and iconic of British sports venues that KSS have been appointed on. The complexity of working on an un-compromised sports venue for three Championships prior to completion required a very proactive, highly informed and motivated consultant and contractor team. The importance of very detailed 3D modelling during the design and coordination process was fundamental to reducing risk and ensuring the contractor could meet both qualitative and programme requirements.”

John Biggin, lead engineer and project manager for SCX Special Projects, responsible for the design and supply of all the mechanical and electrical equipment, said: “No.1 Court demonstrates again our capability to design and deliver unique engineering solutions on a world stage. It’s a huge testament to what we did the first time around. The Centre Court system has worked flawlessly for the past ten years. Why change something that has worked so well?”

Taking inspiration from Wimbledon’s iconic theme of ‘tennis in an English garden’, the roof is surrounded by two beautiful living walls on either side of the Big Screen on The Hill. The total area of both living walls is 245m2 and 14,344 plants have been used in the design of the wall, which will remain in place year-round for visitors to the AELTC to enjoy.

Biotecture MD, Richard Sabin, said: “Wimbledon is a place people have traditionally enjoyed their tennis while connecting with nature. We’re pleased to work with The All England Lawn Tennis Club on the design and installation of their sustainable living walls for this prestigious location, and quintessentially English event.”

Following the completion of this significant step in the existing Wimbledon Master Plan, the AELTC will next turn its focus to upcoming building projects at Somerset Road, the All England Club’s Community Sports Centre at Raynes Park, and the Millennium Building.

Alongside this work, the AELTC has appointed a firm of Master Planners to assist with developing the new AELTC Master Plan, which will focus on the vision for the Church Road site and Wimbledon Park Golf Club as a whole 120-acre site.

The AELTC’s aspirations include relocating the Qualifying Competition, providing an enhanced event experience for spectators, and exploring options to deliver community use of the land outside of The Championships period. Any future developments will protect and celebrate the heritage of the land, guided by our landscape advisers who have closely studied the significance of the Capability Brown-designed land, and importantly, be delivered in partnership with the local community.