After the successful upgrade and refurbishment of Centre Court, Wimbledon in 2009, it was decided that No 1 Court would recieve the same upgrades during its 2016-19 refurbishment. SCX Special Products, the Sheffield-based company that installed the retractable roof over Centre Court in 2009 is responsible for designing, manufacturing and installing the retractable roof over the No 1 Court, to ensure that the court is capable of guaranteed play in all weathers and conditions. The refurbishment will add 900 seats to the stadium, as it expands into another tier of seating, and will also involve the construction of numerous corporate hospitality boxes.
Composite Floor Decks Ltd was contracted to manufacture 7,484 square metres of MetFloor 80 steel decking. CMF has been producing this in Mamhilad since November 2016, along with steel shear studs and steel edge trim. Through their partnership with local haulage company Gerry Jones Transport Ltd, they have been delivering it to Wimbledon, for its installation by Studwelders Ltd. Manufacture of the steel decking is expected to continue until December 2017, or halfway through Phase 2 of the upgrade of No 1 Court.
Studwelders Ltd have been onsite since November 2016, and have remained there to install the decking to the upper tier of the stadium since then, with the exception of June/July 2017, when the 2017 Championships were held, and construction was halted temporarily. Studwelders Ltd have been responsible for installing the MetFloor 80 steel decking, the steel edge trim, the steel shear studs, and FASET-compliant safety netting across the site. They will also pour concrete over the steel deck, once it had been installed, to create a lightweight composite floor for the upper tier of seating and corporate boxes in the stadium. They expect to accomplish this by the start of 2018. The completion of the upper ring is a section of Phase 2 of the project, which will be complete by June/July 2018.
The construction process at No 1 court is very complex, due to the kinetics of the retractable roof, and the different aspects of the refurbishment and expansion of the stadium. The retractable roof will consist of 11 steel trusses, operating on a system of rails. The roof will be able to close in just 10 minutes by 2019, when complete. As of the start of Phase 2, the roof has already used 3500 tonnes of steel, with additional steel work to be added in Phase 2. When finally completed in time for the 2019 Championships, the stadium will be an all-weather 12,400 seater with a retractable roof, ready for play in all weathers, with a new, giant TV screen and an additional tier of seating and corporate boxes.
