INA–Follow up
Sports governing bodies and organizers of major tournaments in the United Kingdom are facing growing financial and operational challenges due to heat waves and rising temperatures, which threaten the quality of historic natural grass courts, most notably those at Wimbledon and cricket venues, resulting in additional maintenance costs.
Bloomberg reported that climate change is directly affecting the quality of the natural grass that characterizes these venues, prompting organizers to increase spending on maintenance, advanced irrigation systems, and soil-cooling technologies to preserve the playing surfaces in accordance with international standards.
The agency added that the All England Club, the organizer of the Wimbledon Championships, has invested more than $80.4 million since 2019 to support tournaments and natural grass court projects both in the United Kingdom and internationally, as part of a strategy aimed at safeguarding the future of these playing surfaces amid climate change and rising maintenance costs.
It explained that heat waves accelerate the drying of playing surfaces, increasing water and energy consumption, raising operating expenses, and creating risks that could affect the quality of competitions, with potential implications for television broadcasting contracts and sponsorship rights associated with major sporting events.
