Wimbledon tennis debentures rocket 60 per cent to £73,000
The cost of a debenture to watch the world’s best tennis players at the Wimbledon Championships has rocketed by nearly 60 per cent.
The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc, which owns the courts and grounds which host Wimbledon every year, this week launched applications for No1 Court debentures for the second show court for the period 2027-2031.
These debentures are priced at £73,000, cover five grand slam tournaments, and represent a rise of 59 per cent on the 2021-2026 debenture cost of £46,000.
Centre Court debentures for 2026-2030 were released in February last year at a cost of £116,000, up from £80,000 for the previous cycle – a 45 per cent increase.
Wimbledon price hike
The steep hike will help the All England Club gather significant revenue as the Wimbledon site in south west London prepares to undergo a major expansion and redevelopment.
Land adjacent to the site, currently a golf course, is set to be turned into a third show court as well as dozens of practice and playing courts.
Wimbledon is famous for its ticketing traditions, whereby thousands queue up each morning to get their hands on a seat on the two main courts or access to the wider site.
The previous issuing of 1,250 debentures for No1 Court raised £46.9m net of VAT and nominal value, according to the All England Club, while 2,520 Centre Court debentures for the 2026-2030 cycle raised nearly £250m.
Raising money
The upcoming cycle of No1 Court 1,250 debentures at £73,000 could raise over £90m for the All England Club before VAT and other deductions.
There are two years left on the current cycle however, with Dowgate Capital Limited holding weekly auctions for the purchase of debentures offered for sale.
Debentures for the remaining two years of the cycle have sold in recent months for between £35,500 and £36,000. Two Centre Court examples sold in January for £108,000 apiece.
The first debentures were issued in 1920 and covered the 1922 championships through until 1947. No1 Court equivalents were introduced in 1996.
Wimbledon is seen as the most prestigious of the four grand slams, ahead of the Australian, French and US Opens.
It returns this summer with Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova looking to defend their titles.