Stella Artois Champs Rebrands For 2007
The Stella Artois Championships – the grass-court event at the Queen’s Club
which acts as the annual warm-up to Wimbledon – is to be rebranded as the Artois
Championships and will introduce the use of Hawk-Eye video line-calling for the
first time in 2007.
The changes to the branding of the tournament, formerly known as the Stella
Artois Championships, were announced along with this year’s line-up which sees
Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt all among a strong
field for 2007.
The switch of the name of the championships to ‘Artois’ reflects the brewer’s
new emphasis on the evolution and development of the Artois family of beers, ‘La
Famille Artois’ – with the addition of two other beers, Peeterman Artois and
Artois Bock to its portfolio.
In addition to the introduction of Hawk-Eye technology, two large screens
will be erected on the Centre Court to allow spectators to see line calls being
questioned.
Additionally, the Centre Court capacity is being increased by more than 400
to 6,858 and all additional seats will be made available to the general public.
The tournament takes place from 11-17 June and will be the first one to be
played following the LTA’s sale of Queens Club to its members in a £35m deal.
