Wimbledon fans brand All England Club bosses ‘greedy’ as prices double on top seats

WIMBLEDON chiefs have been branded as ‘greedy’ after doubling the price of the tournament’s top seats.

The All England Club have confirmed that Centre Court debentures will soar from £27,500 to £50,000 in June, with No 1 Court prices set to rise from £13,700 to £31,000 from next year.

Bosses admitted they hiked up the numbers after raising £125million from this year’s 2,500 Centre Court debentures, with the new funds set to be used on No 1 Court’s new £71m roof.

This means that the average cost of a No 1 Court day seat will be £620, with punters splashing out £770 for Centre Court.

And the public are far from happy, with one disgruntled debenture ticket holder telling The Times: “There has been a loyal following of middle-class people with debentures, especially on No 1 Court, who feel this is just too much.

“This is pure greed by the All England Club – they are now just targeting the money-no-object Russian ogliarchs, the City traders and the corporate hospitality brigade and I think they may struggle to sell them all.”

But an SW19 spokesman feels that supporters are still getting good value for money, explaining: “We understand that not everybody will be happy with it but we think it still represents good value especially when you think debenture holders have the right to sell their tickets on.

“There is a balance, but it also helps keep the cost of the tickets for the general public down and is helping fund the roof. We have never had any public money for these upgrades, it has always been private money.”