Wimbledon Expansion Plans Gain Key Approval

Plans to create a new 8,000-seat retractable-roof stadium and 38 additional grass courts for the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) on the site of a former golf course gained a needed government approval that pushes the project closer to a potential opening for The Championships, Wimbledon in 2030.

The Merton Council’s planning committee approved the proposal, one step needed in a series of local approvals before the AELTC can move forward with turning the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, purchased by the AELTC in 2018, into an extension of the next-door Church Road site.

Home to famed Centre Court since 1922, the AELTC is hampered by space constraints that limit any ability to expand with new stadiums on the current tournament site. The tournament must also play qualifying matches in nearby Roehampton. Turning the former private golf club into a part of the Wimbledon experience offers up a new retractable-roof stadium for the tournament and 38 courts, some of which could be used to bring the qualifying tournament onto the Wimbledon site.

“Our proposals will both secure the future of The Championships for generations to come by bringing qualifying to SW19 and provide a transformation in community amenities—including a new 23-acre park for everyone to enjoy on land which has been inaccessible to the public for over 100 years,” Sally Bolton, AELTC chief executive, says in a statement. “We now look forward to the decision of Wandsworth Council’s Planning Committee in the coming weeks.”

Not every local is on board with the project, arguing that covenants on the land don’t allow for the Wimbledon proposals. A series of government decisions will direct the final course of action for the tournament.

The history of Wimbledon tennis is synonymous with Wimbledon, the southwest London town. The tournament originated in 1877 on leased land between Wimbledon’s Worple Road and a railway line. Lawn tennis grew in popularity and by 1884 the AELTC added permanent stands around the club’s Centre Court, named for its location within the grounds.

The AELTC purchased land off nearby Church Road in 1920 as a permanent location, playing there for the first time in 1922 (the former site is now used by local students at Wimbledon High School).

When it opened in 1922, the 14,000-seat Centre Court was joined by 12 other courts. Changes across the grounds—including bombing of Centre Court during World War II—occurred in the 100 years since the move, but 1990 featured a major addition when 11 acres of Aorangi Park gave way to the addition of a new No. 1 Court, a new broadcast center and two additional grass courts.

In 2021, AELTC submitted plans to expand and turn the 2018 purchase of the golf club into a Wimbledon expansion that included year-round benefits. The land includes a lake and Bolton has proposed a community-assessable boardwalk around the lake and community use of new courts and facilities.

As the sport’s other three major tournaments continue growth—the U.S. Open wrapped a major site overhaul and addition of new and updated stadiums with the opening of 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium in 2018; the Australian Open opened the 5,000-seat Kia Arena in 2022 and announced plans to extend the tournament to 15 days in 2024 while opening up a qualifying week with festivities reminiscent of the U.S. Open; and Roland Garros expanded into the Serres d’Auteuil garden in 2019 by opening a new 5,000-seat Simonne Mathieu Court—Wimbledon looks to keep pace.