The Club plans to move its qualifying event over to Wimbledon in the not too distant future. Wimbledon has added 73 pristine acres to its territory.
The club announced on Thursday that the members of Wimbledon Park Golf Club voted in favour of the AELTC’s offer to acquire the Club. Rumors have circulated that Wimbledon was offering about £ 50 million.
The Golf Club will stay open through 2021 as an 18-hole course, with at least one more year as a nine-hole course.
The AELTC welcomes the decision of Wimbledon Park Golf Club’s members to vote in favour of the AELTC’s offer to acquire the Club. Full statement ➡️ https://t.co/o2lZbBE1qK
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) December 13, 2018
Wimbledon plans to move its qualifying tournament to this site from Roehampton as soon as it is feasible.
Wimbledon Chairman Philip Brook gave his thoughts in a statement published on the tournament’s website.
“The decision of the Wimbledon Park Golf Club members to vote in favour of the acquisition offer is a hugely significant moment for the AELTC and The Championships. We have achieved what we set out to do many months ago in having certainty in our planning for the future. In many ways, it will be business as usual for the Wimbledon Park Golf Course during the next couple of years, but the AELTC will use this time to give careful consideration to our next steps.
“We have been open in our long-term ambition to move the Qualifying Competition from its current home in Roehampton to the AELTC Grounds as part of our mission to continue to maintain the position of The Championships as the pinnacle of the sport. Furthermore, we have the ambition to open the land up to increased public use in the future.
“We will work with the local authorities and other interested parties as these plans are developed and I would like to emphasize that we have no intention of applying for change of use, planning permission or other approval to use the land that would be completely out of character for the AELTC and The Championships.”
