Castors are Game Set and Match
The recent success of Wimbledon in the summer of 2011 saw for the first time the huge benefits of the retractable roof on centre court. Gone are those dreary days of rain stopping play on the Centre Court, and having to hear the dulcet tones of Cliff Richard entertaining the crowds, whilst the rain continues to beat down.
The recent success of Wimbledon in the summer of 2011 saw for the first time the huge benefits of the retractable roof on centre court. Gone are those dreary days of rain stopping play on the Centre Court, and having to hear the dulcet tones of Cliff Richard entertaining the crowds, whilst the rain continues to beat down. The development of a retractable roof running on castors, built back in 2009, has been truly tested this year, and is a major success. Developed in 2009, after years of planning and negotiations, the retractable roof on castors allows for uninterrupted play. Something that has never happened before in Wimbledon's history. The primary purpose of the roof is to protect play from inclement weather, mainly rain and in extreme cases excessive heat! It has been designed to run on a series of heavy duty castors and wheels, and can be smoothly and quickly retracted within ten minutes.
Retractable roofs are not a recent invention, and in fact one of the first moveable roofs was built in 1961 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, in the United States. This massive dome shaped roof runs a huge segment guided by castors and wheels on a cantilevered arm. Stadium roofs have been controversial over the years, and Wimbledon was no exception. One of the most controversial roofs was on the Olympic stadium in Montreal, Quebec built for the 1976 summer Olympic Games. Plagued with design issues this roof did not retract until 1988, over twelve years later. The design and construction of moving roofs has vastly changed and developed over the years since the Canadian Olympics, and indeed vary from stadium to stadium. Some stadiums have fan style roofs guided and moved on castors, others have an accordion style concertina roof. The style and materials also varies from stadium to stadium from steel to waterproof materials.
In Europe the second largest stadium is Wembley Stadium. This National ground has a seating capacity of over ninety thousand and also has a partially retractable roof running on castors and wheels. This metal roof is incredibly strong and provides covered seating for a large proportion of the stadium. The movement of the roof is governed by strict rules and procedures and for the majority of events the roof remains closed, covering the seating up to the touchlines. Wembley stadiums roof does not move whilst visitors are seated beneath, for health and safety reasons. This leaves the pitch exposed, but the seated areas protected from the elements. Exposing the pitch allows for maximum sunlight on the grass, whilst ensuring the crowds are protected from adverse conditions. This Wembley roof on castors is not without controversy, as it only moves when the stadium is empty and does take up to an hour to retract. Controversy has also hit the Wimbledon Centre Court roof, as it cost over £100 million to build, built over three years ago, and was only really showcased this year. The last two Wimbledon's have been mainly dry, so this year its benefit has been truly acknowledged and appreciated by tennis fans.
