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Rain Set and Match to Arena Seating
The wettest Wimbledon on record posed a tough challenge to the suppliers who worked to make sure the infrastructure was installed in time and the tournament kept running, through monsoon like conditions. Many of those empty seats so familiar to television viewers tuning in to catch the tennis as the rain thundered down were installed by leading temporary seating providers Arena Seating.
Wimbledon’s Centre Court and Court One are well equipped with permanent seating, but the outer courts are standing viewing only for most of the year. In order to provide adequate seating for the thousands of visitors watching the qualifying games on the less high profile courts, the tournament install a substantial array of seating and temporary viewing facilities.
Additionally, the sensitive building conditions at Wimbledon plus the heightened level of security observed by all major sporting events in recent years meant the Arena team had to adhere to a strict timetable.
“We installed about 3,500 tiered open seats and about 800 tiered covered seats under canopies produced in Wimbledon’s colours, plus disabled viewing and camera platforms,” said Martin Clark, project manager for Arena Seating. “We started the build two weeks before the event, siting the structures around nine of the outdoor courts and at Aorangi Park, above Henman Hill. It took about five days to take out and this year our teams were escorted to various places and monitored wherever they went because of the strict security measures.”
One seasoned Arena employee, with 21 years’ experience working on the event felt this was the wettest year ever, but the team persevered in waterlogged conditions to install and demount the infrastructure on deadline.
Happily, thanks to the hard work of the organisers and contractors, the temporary facilities provided the perfect venue for tennis fans, when the weather finally allowed them to take to their seats, to enjoy the highest quality of tennis.
16th July 2007
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