Wimbledon to Buy Adjacent Golf Course for $80 Million
The All England Club is about to get a whole lot bigger.
The site of Wimbledon has agreed to buy Wimbledon Park Golf Club for roughly $80 million, according to The Mirror. The 42-acre site will acquire 73 additional acres with the purchase and, according to The Mirror, will more than triple in size.
The deal required 75% of the golf club members' approval; in the end, 82% voted to sell the 18-hole golf courwse and clubhouse. Such overwhelming support makes more sense when you consider that each member of the club will receive roughly $80,000 as part of the sale.
WIMBLEDON ANNOUNCES INTRODUCTION OF FINAL-SET TIEBREAKER BEGINNING IN 2019
It's not yet clear what the All England Club plans to do with the added room, though additional courts and even another tube station could be in the cards. Nothing is imminent; the golf club will remain open until December 2021.
Phil Brook, the chairman of the All England Tennis Club, told ESPN, "In many ways, it will be business as usual for the Wimbledon Park Golf Course during the next couple of years, but the AELTC will use this time to give careful consideration to our next steps."
The All England Club actually owned the lease to the golf course, which was set to run out in 2041. But the club apparently wanted to expand sooner, and this deal makes it possible.
