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The All England Lawn Tennis Club has announced a 59 per cent price increase for debenture seats inside Number 1 Court during the Wimbledon Championships, as it looks to raise funds ahead of a major building project.
The debentures, which are tradeable assets regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, grant holders a guaranteed spot inside the venue’s second most prestigious court during the championships and access to premium hospitality venues between 2027 and 2031.
The window to buy will close in May, the AELTC said on Wednesday, with tickets priced at £73,000, up 59 per cent from £46,000 when they were last issued in 2021 and £31,000 in 2016.
A total of 1,250 seats will be put up for sale, generating proceeds of about £75mn for the AELTC, which runs the oldest Grand Slam in tennis. Last year the club sold 2,520 Centre Court debentures at £116,000 each, raising £239mn.
Debentures, which were first introduced by the AELTC in 1920, often trade at a significant premium to the issue price. The latest No 1 Court debentures traded at £36,000 as recently as last month, despite providing a seat only for the next two editions of the tournament.
However, the newest Centre Court debentures, which offer access beginning from next year until 2030, have recently been changing hands at a slight discount of £109,000.
While 90 per cent of profits generated by the annual two-week event is used to fund the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s governing body in Great Britain, money from debenture sales is typically used to pay for investment in club facilities, such as adding a roof to the main show courts.
The latest sale comes ahead of a planned expansion that would more than double the size of the host venue in south-west London. The Wimbledon Park Project would add 39 grass courts, a new 8,000-seat show court, and a new park on land owned by the AELTC that was previously home to a private golf club.
The plans have proven contentious, with local residents and MPs complaining that the expanded site will take up too much space without offering enough in return for the local community.
However, the Mayor of London’s office last year granted formal approval for the project, which will take roughly eight years to be completed.
Wimbledon is the smallest of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Total attendance last year reached 526,455, less than half the 1.2mn people who went to the Australian Open in Melbourne in January.
Once complete, the expansion would allow the AELTC to increase daily capacity from 42,000 to 50,000, but crucially also move the week-long qualifying rounds on site. At present, they take place at a separate venue in Roehampton in south-west London.
In the meantime, Wimbledon has sought to increase revenue by offering more luxury experiences for high-rolling tennis fans. Last year it hosted a pop-up version of famed — and now closed — London restaurant Le Gavroche, with one-day tickets, including access to Centre Court, starting at £2,765 a head.
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