LONDON, 7 July 2003 — Olympic chief Jacques Rogge would like to see Wimbledon used as the venue for the tennis competition should London host the 2012 Games.
Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said yesterday that the use of the grasscourt venue would add to the prestige of the Games.
The Belgian is in London for Wimbledon men’s singles final and for a today meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“Wimbledon is a fantastic venue, there’s no doubt about that,” he told BBC radio.
“If London wins the bid the International Tennis Federation (ITF) would be asked if they wanted the event played on grass or another surface.
“I would prefer Wimbledon and it would add to the prestige of the Games.”
Wimbledon is a private members club and the show courts at the south west London complex are jealously guarded. Outside the annual championships they are used on the rarest of occasions.
However, the club is very keen on further discussions into the matter. Reports last month that the club would charge 13 million pounds (US$21.68 million) rent are not strictly true, a spokesman said yesterday.
“The figure used in that report — and I don’t know if 13 million pounds is correct — is not rent. We were asked to conduct a feasibility report and that is what we did.
“The club has had initial discussions on hosting any London Olympics tennis tournament and is keen on the idea.”
John Crowther, the chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), told BBC radio that he thought Rogge’s suggestion was spot on and that negotiations were already under way.
Crowther said that the LTA, who are the governing body of British tennis, had discussed the issue with the ITF, who said they had no objection to the Olympic tennis tournament being played on grass.
He also said that using the Wimbledon made far more sense than building a new tennis complex for the Olympics in east London, where the bulk of the Games will take place if the bid is successful.
