Wimbledon’s plans to expand its grass-court footprint continues toward final legal approvals, all focused on adding 38 grass tennis courts and an 8,000-seat retractable-roof show court on a former golf course across from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC).
The Wimbledon Park Project has been a long time in planning, and a long time in the courts. Approvals for the plan first came in 2024, but appeals have held up entire project that aims to turn the former Wimbledon Park golf course into the expanded Wimbledon footprint, a 23-acre public park on currently private land and a new public boardwalk around Wimbledon Park Lake.
After AELTC received approval from the deputy mayor of London in 2024, legal reviews sparked by project opponents Save Wimbledon Park pushed the decision to the High Court. The planning permission was upheld by the High Court in July 2025, but in November 2025 the Court of Appeal allowed for an appeal of the High Court’s ruling. That final appeal hasn’t yet been heard, but it must be before the end of 2026. If AELTC receives a final go-ahead, the club expects to have the development ready for Wimbledon in the early 2030s.
The Save Wimbledon Park group contends that a statutory trust placed on the former golf course land limits its development ability. So far, all rulings have found no statutory trust. “We welcome the High Court ruling which has found in favor of the All England Club and confirms that the former Wimbledon Park golf course land is not, and never has been, subject to a statutory trust,” says Deborah Jevans, chair of the club, adding that a far greater number of local residents have spoken in favor of the project than against.
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At the heart of the Wimbledon Park Project is the ability to expand the AELTC, keeping up with the sport’s three other majors and their recent expansions. By adding 38 new grass courts and the new 8,000-seat Parkland Show Court, the Wimbledon qualifying event can move on site.
The project also plans to turn a portion of the former private golf course that hasn’t been accessible to the public for over 100 years into a 23-acre public park. Plans include an additional four-acre public park at the northern entrance to the site. Restoration of the lake to retain its shape and a new boardwalk surrounding the perimeter, along with amenity benefits around the lake, serve the public.
The new retractable-roof Parkland Show Court will match the size and capacity of the third show courts at the other major tournaments. In the current plan, the court fits into a sloping section of the site, rising 79 feet above ground level to the west on the Church Road side and about 92 feet above ground level at the highest point on the east, lower than both Centre Court and No. 1 Court.
The Parkland Show Court is sunk into the ground to hide accommodation for players, officials and services by using the natural slope to reduce its scale to the street. AELTC says the height of the Parkland Show Court is intended to match the treetops around it and sit lower than the flats on Wimbledon Park Road.
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Home to famed Centre Court since 1922, the AELTC is hampered by space constraints that limit any ability to expand with new stadiums on the current tournament site. The tournament must also play qualifying matches in nearby Roehampton.
The tournament originated in 1877 on leased land between Wimbledon’s Worple Road and a railway line. Lawn tennis grew in popularity and by 1884 the AELTC added permanent stands around the club’s Centre Court, named for its location within the grounds.
The AELTC purchased land off nearby Church Road in 1920 as a permanent location, playing there for the first time in 1922 (the former site is now used by local students at Wimbledon High School). When it opened in 1922, the 14,000-seat Centre Court was joined by 12 other courts.