THE CHARM AND MYSTIQUE OF WIMBLEDON

At Wimbledon, tennis almost always comes first. Yet, this cathedral of the game also pulls in millions of pounds in TV broadcasting rights and sponsorship deals

- Rahul Jacob

In any other sporting event, a new sponsor would not be news at all. But at Wimbledon, the beginning of a new corporate partnership is a relatively rare event. Rolex and IBM, which provides match statistics, have had relationships with the All England Club since 1978 and 1990, respectively, Slazenger has been providing balls since 1902. Unlike other Grand Slam tournaments and football clubs, where stadiums look as if hit by a hailstorm of billboards and corporate logos on garish T-shirts assail the sports fan, at Wimbledon each sponsor has an assigned and relevant role—Slazenger provides the balls and Evian the bottled water sold at the tournament, for instance.

This year, the new sponsor is Barclays, which is replacing HSBC as the tournament’s official bank. Don’t expect to see giant Barclays advertising billboards on Centre Court, however. There are none. Barclays’ presence will be via the ATMs on site and in a Barclays “club” area, set away from the courts. The bank has also made the largest contribution in Wimbledon’s history to its foundation, which provides sporting opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

For another example of how the All England Club builds relationships, look at the way it works with its debenture holders. Debentures, in this case akin to a bond but one that unusually pays no interest, have been used by the club for just over 100 years to finance all its major investment projects. The two main show courts have had concertina-styled roofs that reportedly cost £100 million (around ₹1,040 crore now) each installed in the past decade; these were financed by the sale of debentures.