Centre Court during the 2005 Wimbledon Championships.

Centre Court may be used generically as the British English term for the main court at any tennis complex. However, it is most frequently used as the identifier for the main court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England. Built in 1922, it currently holds 13,810 spectators. Its only regular use is for the two weeks a year that the Wimbledon Championships take place, but it is arguably the most famous tennis venue in the world. This venue has a premier box that Queen Elizabeth II has even used. Centre Court will also be used for the tennis competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The roof for the Centre Court was removed after the 2006 Championships in preparation for plans over a three year period to add a retractable roof. For the 2007 Championships, Centre Court had no roof at all for the first time since the stadium opened in 1922. A temporary fixed roof will be in place for the 2008 championship and the new retractable roof structure is scheduled to be in place for the 2009 Championships. Capacity will be increased to 15,000 by adding six rows of seats to the upper tier on the east, north and west sides. New media facilities and commentary boxes will be built to replace those currently in the upper tier. New wider seats will be installed and new additional stairs and lifts will be added.

An inscription above the entryway to Centre Court reads "If you can meet with triumph and disaster / And treat those two imposters just the same" - lines from Rudyard Kipling's poem If— .

Centre Court during the 2007 Wimbledon Championships-the year there was no roof.

External links

• Centre Court Long-term plan features time-lapse video of the construction work
• Description and Gallery Information about Wimbledon Centre Court and a Photo Gallery

Coordinates: 51°26′1.48″N, 0°12′50.63″W

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