TENNIS: JOHNNY WATTERSONon how even in the depths of a recession, the tournament is a money-making machine

THEY DON’T call it profit, they call it surplus. Last year the surplus for the 2010 Championships was €34,945,608 and that was after they had given out €16,457,017 in prize money and paid their taxes.

You have to wonder where they get it all and as of this morning when there was, apart from Andy Murray, just two British players left in the singles (Elena Baltacha and Laura Robson, both had their games postponed last night), where it all goes to? The public continue to ask just what the Lawn Tennis Association, who receive the entire surplus from the club, are doing with the cash?

But to generate that kind of income Wimbledon has had to become something much more than a tennis tournament and everywhere inside the hallowed gates of the All England Club the sound of “kerching” is constantly in the background.

From the Ralph Lauren umpire jackets at €980, jumpers for €360 and ties for €95 to the Alfa Wimbledon 125 tennis shoes for €79, the championships are a money-making machine, and strictly blue chip at that.

Adjacent to and under Centre Court and Number One courts are where most of the conspicuous consumer action takes place. But just to get on to site, if you are lucky enough to buy a ticket, can cost you from between €17 to €124, depending on whether it’s a ground pass or a Centre Court ticket for the men’s final.

Last year, a grand sum of 489,946 punters came through the gates over the two weeks, which was the second highest total after the 511,043 in 2009, suggesting that while the country was in a recession the tennis championships were not.

“After some softening of demand for hospitality from the financial sector in 2009 and 2010, the club has seen a strong upturn in demand this year,” said a club official yesterday. “Hospitality bookings are very close to an all time high.”

Here debenture tickets are the only tickets freely tradeable on the London Stock Market through Evolution Securities Limited and details of current prices are advertised by the "Ground" Company in The Financial Timeson the first Saturday of each calendar month.

Centre Court debentures are sold every five years and holders are guaranteed one seat per debenture per day of the championship. A new issue of 2,500 tickets for the 2011-15 championships will cost €31,279

Fees paid by international broadcasters are also vital to feed the beast. The BBC is the host broadcaster as well as the British rights holder and acts for more than 40 other international networks in what has become the largest annual broadcast operation in the world.

But it was in the early 1990s that figures really exploded, with profits effectively trebling between 1990 and 1994, a combined effect of the new satellite TV age and the success of Wimbledon’s own marketing and merchandising, the second biggest source of income behind TV and ahead of ticket revenue.

And you can see it everywhere. A large glass of Pimms costs €7.89. Each year 200,000 glasses are sold. Bottles of water cost €2.37 and a cup of tea is €3. Prices are strictly controlled. In 2010, 250,000 bottles of water were shifted and 300,000 cups of tea. Do the math.

In the Baseline Diner, a restaurant looking out into court five in front of Centre Court, a bottle of Lanson Black Label Brut will require €75 from your wallet and 25,000 bottles of champagne were sold last year. The numbers are staggering and make Wimbledon the largest single annual sporting catering operation carried out in Europe, with 1,800 staff working.

They sell only Grade 1 Kentish strawberries of the highest quality with around 28,000 kilos consumed during the fortnight accounting for 112,000 punnets at €2.82 each.

Even the humble berry plays its part in the success of the Wimbledon industry, the machine behind the championships.

IT'S A CASH GAME: Figures for 2010

22,000 pizzas €7.89 each

60,000 Duchie (hot dog) €4.50

150,000 jam doughnuts €2

100,000 pints of beer €4.96 each

200,000 glasses of Pimms €7.89

2010 attendance 489,946 almost 40,000 per day

Cost of debenture ticket €31,279

54,250 balls €2.80 a can (3)

Profit last year €34,945, 608