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Building and maintaining the tennis venue at Wimbledon is expensive, so starting in the 1920s, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club sold bonds to investors. But buyers don’t get money; they get tickets. They can sell these tickets freely on an open market and thus earn a profit:
The club has issued these since the 1920s to finance development. But instead of paying cash coupons, like regular bonds, Wimbledon debentures pay interest in something much more valuable: tickets.
Holders get one ticket for each day of the Wimbledon tournaments during the five-year life of the bond. And here is the kicker: If you don’t feel like going on any given day, you can sell it—legally.
“They’re the only tickets that are freely tradable on the open market,” says All England Finance Director Richard Atkinson. “You are free to sell them to anyone you like.”
Link -via Marginal Revolution | Photo by Flickr user acme used under Creative Commons license
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It seems that the St. Mary’s Church in Wimbledon village has maneuvered itself into a rather tight spot: church officials let tennis fan park their car on top of graves for £20!
The Church later apologized:
Reverend Mary Bide said that although the cars look ‘odd’, they were only parked in the oldest part of the graveyard and funds raised would make a ‘valuable contribution to the Church and the Diocese’.
But the church has since apologised for the car parking arrangement and has stopped the use of the churchyard.
‘Over many years, during the Wimbledon Championships, the parish of St Mary Wimbledon has offered this service to the public,’ a church spokesman said.
‘Each year three designated charities benefit from some of the money raised by allowing the cars to park and the rest goes towards work within the parish. Sadly, this year, some cars were parked in inappropriate places.’
Link (Photo: National Pictures)
