Snooker’s World Championship will remain at the Crucible in Sheffield following a landmark long term agreement between World Snooker Tour and Sheffield City Council.
The new deal will see snooker stay in Sheffield until at least 2045, with an option to extend to 2050.
Separately, plans are being developed to transform the Crucible theatre, with the sport’s most famous venue set to benefit from a major refurbishment, including the potential to add up to 500 additional seats in an ‘in the round’ configuration, alongside other significant improvements such as enhanced spectator facilities.
The Championship will continue to be staged at the Crucible in its current design through to 2028. During the planned redevelopment period, the event is expected to be hosted temporarily at an alternative venue before returning to a transformed Crucible.
The agreement reflects a citywide commitment, ensuring Sheffield and its partners continue to benefit from snooker’s long term future in the city.
From cultural venues such as Sheffield Theatres to sporting facilities including the English Institute of Sport, and businesses across the city centre, the deal supports ongoing economic and reputational benefits as the sport continues to grow its global audience and profile.
Snooker’s flagship event first came to the Crucible in 1977 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary at the iconic venue next year. The current agreement runs until 2027, and principles for a new long-term arrangement have now been agreed to secure one of the world’s greatest sporting events at its traditional home.
This year’s Halo World Championship runs from 18 April to 4 May, as the world’s top 16 players and 16 qualifiers gather to compete for a trophy first contested in 1927, alongside a top prize of £500,000. The event has a global cumulative audience of 771 million.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “This is the news that players and fans around the world have been waiting and hoping for. It comes following years of close negotiation with Sheffield City Council and the UK Government and we are delighted to have reached this far reaching agreement.
“I would like to thank our partners as we have shared a vision which continues the wonderful relationship between snooker and Sheffield. I can imagine walking back into that arena as the planned transformation is delivered and seeing something even more fabulous.”
Barry Hearn, President of Matchroom Sport, said: “For over 50 years I have been promoting sport all over the world but no venue on this planet means more to me than the Crucible. I am so happy that after a long period of meetings and discussions we have finally agreed a deal to stage the World Championship at its historic home – the Crucible. My thanks must go to Sheffield City Council for all of their hard work in ensuring this great tournament remains at its spiritual home.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We have a deep cultural and sporting heritage here in the UK – sport, art and culture are the very best of us. It’s what makes us proud not only of the country, but the places that we’re from.
“I had the pleasure of recently visiting Sheffield, the home of the oldest football club in the world, to urge partners to support a major redevelopment of the iconic Crucible theatre to keep sport and culture thriving in this city.
“I’m delighted with today’s confirmation that the theatre and the city will stay host to the famous World Snooker Championship for at least the next two decades.”
Councillor Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield loves snooker – and it’s here to stay. We’ve reached an agreement to keep the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, the home of snooker, supporting its future in our city.
“Snooker is part of Sheffield’s identity, and I’m incredibly proud that it will continue to be played on the world stage right here. And the ambition doesn’t stop there. Separately, plans are in place for a £45 million transformation of the Crucible, which would deliver around 50 per cent more seats and enable the venue to operate as a theatre in the round.
“This progress has been made possible through close work with the World Snooker Tour, Sheffield Theatres and Government partners. It’s a hugely proud moment for Sheffield, and we’re excited about what comes next.”
Snooker legend Stephen Hendry said: “There is simply nowhere else like the Crucible or anywhere else that could replicate that atmosphere or the sense of history. It was always my favourite place to play and I still love going to Sheffield. I am thrilled that we are staying there long term.”
Current World Champion Zhao Xintong added: “I am so happy because I love the Crucible, it is a very special place and all Chinese players want to play there. Sheffield has become my home in the UK and it is famous around the world as the home of snooker. I am so pleased that we are working together to keep the World Championship in the city.“
Well , at the risk of being hang, drawn and quartered … I’m not sharing that “happiness”. That event is called the WORLD championship, and as such it should travel the world, not being played every year in a lovely but not really big city in England. So, either you call it the “Sheffield Championship” – which is actually what it is currently – or you really make it a “World” event that travels around so that fans all over the world get the opportunity to attend it, if only once, even those fans who don’t have the means to travel to the UK, which isn’t cheap and for some an administrative nightmare.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Sheffield and I love the Crucible when there is only one table. However, as it currently is, in the early stages, the venue is inadequate, the “floor” is too small to host two tables comfortably. It’s also not very “stable”. The dressing rooms are very small and players can’t even leave their stuff in there between sessions in the early stages. Hopefully that changes after the refurbishment. The Crucible would be a fantastic venue for a prestigious invitational event, it definitely is (currently) NOT adequate for the World Championship in its current format. And, unless the “refurbishment” allows for a bigger “stage”, that won’t change.
End of rant … but I “persist and sign” as we say in French.
What does that mean , Monique? You accept it, but only under silent protest, or something like that?
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It means I stand by what I stated before.
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Awful take. Let’s be very clear here, snooker is not a global sport and it shouldn’t try to be. It’s not tennis or even darts and it never will be in terms of popularity, it is simply not exciting enough for most of the population, that’s a fact. It is mainly a UK sport. If you watch most of the China events you see hundreds of empty seats, let alone Saudi. If you can’t even get people to come watch the snooker in China, why do you think it’s a sport that could travel the 5 continents? Amateur snooker is dying even in the UK so there is absolutely no reason to globalize the game until it is revived in its homeland. What snooker can offer, for now, is tradition and authenticity and this decision underlines that.
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Sure … so that it surely dies. I have been in China, I have actually been at snooker events in China. There are many more people in the arena than you realise watching on TV. Most of them are “upper” in the arena because the silly price policy that makes seats closer to the floor too expensive for most Chinese fans, and unlike what happens in Europe, those people seated high in the arena are not invited to move lower so that it looks better on TV. Snooker may be dying in the UK – maybe – but have you noticed that there are more young players from mainland Europe on tour than ever before? The future of snooker, if there is one is outside the UK.
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The reason why snooker is dying in the UK is because it is perceived as a game which is not moving forward – a retro nostalgia cult. It just isn’t relevant anymore to younger people, and most older people have drifted away from watching since the 1980’s or 1990’s.
But if 18.5M people were watching on BBC2 after midnight in 1985, then maybe snooker isn’t such a bad game after all?
In my view, if snooker does become a global sport, then more people in the UK will take interest, not less. They will feel that the game does have a big future.
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My point is that it cannot become a global game. Let’s face it, most of the matches are awful. If most games were like the Ronnie-Thep final, sure. But they aren’t. Millions will stop watching the moment Ronnie retires (they already only watch his games anyway).
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Ok Santino, lets agree to disagree. You have clearly no clue about snooker outside the UK. Let’s have a guess, will you? Belgium, my home country is tiny. Rigth? How many snooker tournaments at national level do we have on the current yearly calendar? Have a guess … OK?
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Right so you reckon Belgium would be a better venue than the Crucible. Let’s remember, Belgium wasn’t even capable of keeping the European Masters alive. Why are you so bitter when litetally everyone that matters is cheering this on?
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It wasn’t Belgium that wasn’t able to keep the tournament alive. It was WST that reduced its presence in mainland Europe in general. One factor that strongly contributed to that is that in most countries in mainland Europe doing advertising for betting is strongly regulated, and IMO, absolutely rightly so. And as you certainly know, betting companies were the main sponsors of snooker once advertising for tobacco and alcoholic beverages was “regulated”. But betting is no better than alcohol or cigarettes. It destroys lives just as much. People like Mark King and the late Willie Thorne are prime examples of what betting addiction does to a person and their families. Myself, during my professional life, lost three colleagues to suicide. One was a woman, who, after a terrible car accident, was left disfigured, disabled and in constant pain. The other two took their lives over betting debts … one of the two left behind a young wife and three very young children. And I never even suggested that Belgium would be a better place than the Crucible for the World Championship. That said, if you want a round arena with more space than the Crucible, we have it in in Brussels, it’s called Forest National. It can welcome 8000 persons, and the round floor is big enough to hold a tennis court. And the Sportpaleis in Antwerp is another great venue.
ALSO … my opinion is not about a particular place, it is that the World championship should travel around the World… The way it is now it’s by no way a “world championship” it’s the “Crucible”.
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Right so my next question is (even though you completely ignored my point about snooker simply not being marketable outside of Ronnie and a handful of other entertaining players) why would you even want arenas with higher capacity? The exact point of the Crucible is that it is tiny and intimate, with every seat being value for money. This whole conversation about taking snooker to venues where you can’t even see the table properly is utterly ridiculous. Even if you look at the Alexandra Palace, the first row seats are absolutely useless as you are seated miles away from the table. If you want to lose the Crucible, you want to lose the only remaining venue that is almost purpose-built for snooker, and almost every player on tour agrees with that.
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Not all players are fond of the Crucible, far from it. And I haven’t mentioned Alexandra Palace, have I? I don’t necessarily want to lose the Crucible. The Crucible is great when there is just one table. It’s the two table setup, with the partition that is a nonsense, And the partition is only needed because the floor is too small for two tables. They are so close to each other that without the partition players would constantly be distracted by what happens at the other table., or even run into each other.. Also, every year work is needed to reinforce the floor so that it doesn’t collapse under the weight of two tables. The facilities backstage are very limited too. Players in the early stages can’t even leave their gear in the dressing rooms between sessions. They have to vacate them for those playing the next session.. If the “renovated” Crucible addresses those problems, happy days but as it is it’s inadequate at least in the early stages. Also it is NOT TRUE that you have the perfect view on both tables from every seat. Actually if you are in the first row, you can’t even see the situation of the balls on the tables, you are sat top low for that to be possible. You have to look at the screens above the tables.
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Well if your point is that the Crucible first row is not good enough surely you will concede that every other venue is a million times worse? How is that even debatable?
Also I still haven’t seen any pro player speaking out against this decision.
Thirdly, again, not every sport has to be or can be global. Or just cannot afford to be. I’ll take tradition over empty venues in Saudi (or wherever) any day of the week.
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Not at all. I have been in many venues and most of them are better regarding this particular aspect. The Barbican in York offers a good view on the table situation even on the first row. Alexandra palace is better as well. The Tempodrom floor is big ebough so that no partition is needed, If you are some rows up you have a good view on all tables. What TV shows is not always in line with what people on site experience. Being a woman, I’m neither very tall, nor very short:1,67 m. At the Crucible if I’m in the first ten rows and I’m unfortunate to have a tall guy sitting in front of me, I see nothing. The “slope” isn’t strong enough in the lower rows of seats.
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I don’t see how an arena that can house 8000+ people would be preferable. I remember the HK Masters boasting about having 10000 viewers and it was hideous. As to all players not being happy: so far I haven’t heard anyone advertising for a travelling World Championship. What some supported was relocating it to Saudi Arabia of all places! Or Dubai. I can’t even dare to start comprehending what made them come up with such shudder worthy ideas.
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Most players haven’t actually been seriously thinking about it and, most of the top players are older players and British. They haven’t even questioned the situation. That said not all of them love the Crucible. Neil Robertson has complained about the lack of space when playing with two tables in the arena. Ronnie I know isn’t too happy about the very small dressing rooms, and having to vacate his between sessions. The event is sponsored by the BBC, they are also the broadcasters, you can be sure that nothing negative will transpire, no matter what. If Dubai or Saudi Arabia have come into the conversation, it’s because they have money on offer and are hosting a lot of very “rich” sporting events. And, yes, it’s “sports washing” and i don’t like the idea either. But neither do I like the current situation where a sport that claims to be “world class” is in fact stuck in ideas and concepts that are essentially “UK centric”. The Olympic games travel, the World cup of football travels and early stages are spread across different “venues”. The Nitto APT grand final in tennis travels. Those are NOT shudder worthy ideas, this is how it ShOULD be if snooker has any real ambitions to grow as a global sport.That, as well as qualifiers, if any, being played just before events and in the same area as the event proper. If anyone was suggesting to have the qualifiers for Roland Garros being played in the UK, weeks before the actual event, everyone would find the idea preposterous, because it IS preposterous. Yet, that’s how things are in snooker.
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Basically, as long as the BBC is a sponsor of the event, it will have to stay in the UK, I know that, but it does not have to stay in Sheffield. A venue like the Barbican in York has more room for two tables and York is a great city, with lots to see and do when not at the snooker. But, of course, it would not create the same atmosphere as a round arena. However, as a temporary solution while the Crucible is rebuilt, it would offer many advantages. And I still strongly believe that snooker – if it has a real ambition to become a global sport – should have one prestige event that travels around the world.
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I have no argument about the need to hold the qualifiers at the tournament venue, or not have them at all, especially not many months before. That should be a given. I’m not sure about the comparison with tennis: I haven’t followed as close as I used to, but in my memory it’s always been the 4 slams that mattered (all tied to a place) and the finals were just an afterthought. So I like the idea of having the worlds in a given place that has become quite traditional by now.
Yes, Olympics travel, but that is exactly the warning sign for me: lately it became very much sportswashing most of the times and I don’t like the idea of potentially giving it to the highest bidder, especially knowing who has that much money to throw around these days. I know not every player like the Crucible, but you won’t find s place everyone likes anyway.
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I’ve been a very long-standing critic of the Crucible. With the news of this deal, there is a chance that the facilities can be brought up to an adequate level for such a major sporting event. There is some talk about expanding to neighbouring buildings to include more space backstage. From the outline, and the “artistic impression”, it looks like we are heading for a 1-table set-up. This is probably necessary for snooker in a theatre space. These are discussions for the future.
Right now we should try to be optimistic and get behind WST’s vision, to provide a suitable venue for an expanding global game, and reverse the decline in the UK of what what has been perceived as a tired and dated game.
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I’m certainly happy, I said before I’m not a fan of the travelling world championship and IMO it’s a world championship because of its special format, which makes it the most difficult and because players from all over the world go. I hope whatever refurbishment is needed, will be done, and maybe I’m a sucker for traditions (it’s “the Crucible”), but while there might be merit in a travelling WSC, I cringe at the possibility of giving it to the highest bidder, IMO enough damage was made by letting the Saudis tinker with the game (WSC prize money for a low level format tournament and the horrid golden ball).
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Precisely accurate. Having it move around would be guaranteed to kill the event’s prestige and it is quite right that nobody has ever seriously considered the prospect, leaving this ridiculous opinion firmly as an outlier.
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Well let’s agree to disagree on this. For me traveling around the world would give the event more prestige. As it is it could well be renamed “Sheffield Championship” … it actually would be more accurate than “World Championship”.
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Yes, the points you have made are valid, and unlike Monique I’m not convinced about a travelling World Championship.
Where Monique is definitely right is that the facilities at the Crucible desperately need to be fixed. There are players who have to change their technique to play shots in the 2-table set-up. That is inexcusable, but they are forbidden from criticising it. Neil Robertson tried, and got into trouble, and then was torn apart on social media for ‘sour grapes’. His only recourse is to implausibly praise other venues such as Riyadh and Wuhan. Make no mistake, it is an implied criticism of the UK venues, particularly the Crucible. Similarly, referees have to stand in different places from normal. The 2-table really set-up is a disgrace, so much so that Joe Davis would reportedly have refused to play there. To someone who hasn’t been desensitised to it over many years, it makes snooker look cheap and amateurish. They will need to find an extra 3 metres in width during the rebuild, or change to a 1-table set-up throughout (which would actually address a lot of problems, but requires a change in format).
Similarly, Monique’s points about the backstage facilities also are critical. The only global media is one Chinese photographer, and even the ES/TNT/D+ commentary team (for me, the best and most dedicated commentators in the game) aren’t able to be present until the semi-finals. There are security concerns (e.g. the orange powder incident), no proper facilities for corporates, VIPs, restaurants, toilets, merchandise, etc. All these need to be addressed by the rebuild, with a budget of 45M.
My biggest disappointment with the whole ‘debate’ was that there was no debate! All these issues were completely ignored, with just a focus on the audience capacity. Yes, 980 was derisory, but I was never arguing for 10000 or 4000. The proposal for 1500 might be just about OK – at least it makes it a little bigger than the Women’s World Championship, and World Championships in the 1940’s.
All of the wildly enthusiastic comments you will see on social media over the last couple of days refer to people’s own fond memories, such like “snooker wouldn’t be the same without…” or clips of Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, and Ronnie’s fastest 147 (now 29 years ago). Not a single comment about the future of snooker, only the past. With the signing of a 20-year deal, WST’s vision for the future is very clear: no change whatsoever. Snooker is at a crossroads right now – most the top players today will not be there much longer, and a new generation of (mostly non-British) players will have to carry the game forward. WST’s response to this crossroads is a 180-degree turn heading back to the previous century. Today’s young people view snooker as a game their grandparents used to watch in the 1980’s; will the new Crucible convince them that snooker is relevant in the mid-21st century? It’s a huge risk, staking everything on rebuilding with very limited plans worked out (an artist’s impression). If the result doesn’t come up to scratch, WST have no options available. Players might find there are better opportunities elsewhere.
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Players might find there are better opportunities elsewhere.->Heyball (Ronnie!)
All these need to be addressed by the rebuild, with a budget of 45M.-> Hopefully not HS2.
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Neutral audience(foreigner-chinese) here, but does the council has enough budget?
(Would be problematic if it is not dealt with extreme caution.
Conservatives may consider this a chance.)
Today Ronnie played a practice match. You can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/PNNS7BULD4k
Thank you Ben!
” but I “persist and sign” as we say in French. ”
What does that mean , Monique? You accept it, but only under silent protest, or something like that?
It means I stand by what I stated before.
Awful take. Let’s be very clear here, snooker is not a global sport and it shouldn’t try to be. It’s not tennis or even darts and it never will be in terms of popularity, it is simply not exciting enough for most of the population, that’s a fact. It is mainly a UK sport. If you watch most of the China events you see hundreds of empty seats, let alone Saudi. If you can’t even get people to come watch the snooker in China, why do you think it’s a sport that could travel the 5 continents? Amateur snooker is dying even in the UK so there is absolutely no reason to globalize the game until it is revived in its homeland. What snooker can offer, for now, is tradition and authenticity and this decision underlines that.
Sure … so that it surely dies. I have been in China, I have actually been at snooker events in China. There are many more people in the arena than you realise watching on TV. Most of them are “upper” in the arena because the silly price policy that makes seats closer to the floor too expensive for most Chinese fans, and unlike what happens in Europe, those people seated high in the arena are not invited to move lower so that it looks better on TV. Snooker may be dying in the UK – maybe – but have you noticed that there are more young players from mainland Europe on tour than ever before? The future of snooker, if there is one is outside the UK.
The reason why snooker is dying in the UK is because it is perceived as a game which is not moving forward – a retro nostalgia cult. It just isn’t relevant anymore to younger people, and most older people have drifted away from watching since the 1980’s or 1990’s.
But if 18.5M people were watching on BBC2 after midnight in 1985, then maybe snooker isn’t such a bad game after all?
In my view, if snooker does become a global sport, then more people in the UK will take interest, not less. They will feel that the game does have a big future.
My point is that it cannot become a global game. Let’s face it, most of the matches are awful. If most games were like the Ronnie-Thep final, sure. But they aren’t. Millions will stop watching the moment Ronnie retires (they already only watch his games anyway).
Ok Santino, lets agree to disagree. You have clearly no clue about snooker outside the UK. Let’s have a guess, will you? Belgium, my home country is tiny. Rigth? How many snooker tournaments at national level do we have on the current yearly calendar? Have a guess … OK?
Right so you reckon Belgium would be a better venue than the Crucible. Let’s remember, Belgium wasn’t even capable of keeping the European Masters alive. Why are you so bitter when litetally everyone that matters is cheering this on?
It wasn’t Belgium that wasn’t able to keep the tournament alive. It was WST that reduced its presence in mainland Europe in general. One factor that strongly contributed to that is that in most countries in mainland Europe doing advertising for betting is strongly regulated, and IMO, absolutely rightly so. And as you certainly know, betting companies were the main sponsors of snooker once advertising for tobacco and alcoholic beverages was “regulated”. But betting is no better than alcohol or cigarettes. It destroys lives just as much. People like Mark King and the late Willie Thorne are prime examples of what betting addiction does to a person and their families. Myself, during my professional life, lost three colleagues to suicide. One was a woman, who, after a terrible car accident, was left disfigured, disabled and in constant pain. The other two took their lives over betting debts … one of the two left behind a young wife and three very young children. And I never even suggested that Belgium would be a better place than the Crucible for the World Championship. That said, if you want a round arena with more space than the Crucible, we have it in in Brussels, it’s called Forest National. It can welcome 8000 persons, and the round floor is big enough to hold a tennis court. And the Sportpaleis in Antwerp is another great venue.
ALSO … my opinion is not about a particular place, it is that the World championship should travel around the World… The way it is now it’s by no way a “world championship” it’s the “Crucible”.
Right so my next question is (even though you completely ignored my point about snooker simply not being marketable outside of Ronnie and a handful of other entertaining players) why would you even want arenas with higher capacity? The exact point of the Crucible is that it is tiny and intimate, with every seat being value for money. This whole conversation about taking snooker to venues where you can’t even see the table properly is utterly ridiculous. Even if you look at the Alexandra Palace, the first row seats are absolutely useless as you are seated miles away from the table. If you want to lose the Crucible, you want to lose the only remaining venue that is almost purpose-built for snooker, and almost every player on tour agrees with that.
Not all players are fond of the Crucible, far from it. And I haven’t mentioned Alexandra Palace, have I? I don’t necessarily want to lose the Crucible. The Crucible is great when there is just one table. It’s the two table setup, with the partition that is a nonsense, And the partition is only needed because the floor is too small for two tables. They are so close to each other that without the partition players would constantly be distracted by what happens at the other table., or even run into each other.. Also, every year work is needed to reinforce the floor so that it doesn’t collapse under the weight of two tables. The facilities backstage are very limited too. Players in the early stages can’t even leave their gear in the dressing rooms between sessions. They have to vacate them for those playing the next session.. If the “renovated” Crucible addresses those problems, happy days but as it is it’s inadequate at least in the early stages. Also it is NOT TRUE that you have the perfect view on both tables from every seat. Actually if you are in the first row, you can’t even see the situation of the balls on the tables, you are sat top low for that to be possible. You have to look at the screens above the tables.
Well if your point is that the Crucible first row is not good enough surely you will concede that every other venue is a million times worse? How is that even debatable?
Also I still haven’t seen any pro player speaking out against this decision.
Thirdly, again, not every sport has to be or can be global. Or just cannot afford to be. I’ll take tradition over empty venues in Saudi (or wherever) any day of the week.
Not at all. I have been in many venues and most of them are better regarding this particular aspect. The Barbican in York offers a good view on the table situation even on the first row. Alexandra palace is better as well. The Tempodrom floor is big ebough so that no partition is needed, If you are some rows up you have a good view on all tables. What TV shows is not always in line with what people on site experience. Being a woman, I’m neither very tall, nor very short:1,67 m. At the Crucible if I’m in the first ten rows and I’m unfortunate to have a tall guy sitting in front of me, I see nothing. The “slope” isn’t strong enough in the lower rows of seats.
I don’t see how an arena that can house 8000+ people would be preferable. I remember the HK Masters boasting about having 10000 viewers and it was hideous. As to all players not being happy: so far I haven’t heard anyone advertising for a travelling World Championship. What some supported was relocating it to Saudi Arabia of all places! Or Dubai. I can’t even dare to start comprehending what made them come up with such shudder worthy ideas.
Most players haven’t actually been seriously thinking about it and, most of the top players are older players and British. They haven’t even questioned the situation. That said not all of them love the Crucible. Neil Robertson has complained about the lack of space when playing with two tables in the arena. Ronnie I know isn’t too happy about the very small dressing rooms, and having to vacate his between sessions. The event is sponsored by the BBC, they are also the broadcasters, you can be sure that nothing negative will transpire, no matter what. If Dubai or Saudi Arabia have come into the conversation, it’s because they have money on offer and are hosting a lot of very “rich” sporting events. And, yes, it’s “sports washing” and i don’t like the idea either. But neither do I like the current situation where a sport that claims to be “world class” is in fact stuck in ideas and concepts that are essentially “UK centric”. The Olympic games travel, the World cup of football travels and early stages are spread across different “venues”. The Nitto APT grand final in tennis travels. Those are NOT shudder worthy ideas, this is how it ShOULD be if snooker has any real ambitions to grow as a global sport.That, as well as qualifiers, if any, being played just before events and in the same area as the event proper. If anyone was suggesting to have the qualifiers for Roland Garros being played in the UK, weeks before the actual event, everyone would find the idea preposterous, because it IS preposterous. Yet, that’s how things are in snooker.
Basically, as long as the BBC is a sponsor of the event, it will have to stay in the UK, I know that, but it does not have to stay in Sheffield. A venue like the Barbican in York has more room for two tables and York is a great city, with lots to see and do when not at the snooker. But, of course, it would not create the same atmosphere as a round arena. However, as a temporary solution while the Crucible is rebuilt, it would offer many advantages. And I still strongly believe that snooker – if it has a real ambition to become a global sport – should have one prestige event that travels around the world.
I have no argument about the need to hold the qualifiers at the tournament venue, or not have them at all, especially not many months before. That should be a given. I’m not sure about the comparison with tennis: I haven’t followed as close as I used to, but in my memory it’s always been the 4 slams that mattered (all tied to a place) and the finals were just an afterthought. So I like the idea of having the worlds in a given place that has become quite traditional by now.
Yes, Olympics travel, but that is exactly the warning sign for me: lately it became very much sportswashing most of the times and I don’t like the idea of potentially giving it to the highest bidder, especially knowing who has that much money to throw around these days. I know not every player like the Crucible, but you won’t find s place everyone likes anyway.
I’ve been a very long-standing critic of the Crucible. With the news of this deal, there is a chance that the facilities can be brought up to an adequate level for such a major sporting event. There is some talk about expanding to neighbouring buildings to include more space backstage. From the outline, and the “artistic impression”, it looks like we are heading for a 1-table set-up. This is probably necessary for snooker in a theatre space. These are discussions for the future.
Right now we should try to be optimistic and get behind WST’s vision, to provide a suitable venue for an expanding global game, and reverse the decline in the UK of what what has been perceived as a tired and dated game.
I’m certainly happy, I said before I’m not a fan of the travelling world championship and IMO it’s a world championship because of its special format, which makes it the most difficult and because players from all over the world go. I hope whatever refurbishment is needed, will be done, and maybe I’m a sucker for traditions (it’s “the Crucible”), but while there might be merit in a travelling WSC, I cringe at the possibility of giving it to the highest bidder, IMO enough damage was made by letting the Saudis tinker with the game (WSC prize money for a low level format tournament and the horrid golden ball).
Precisely accurate. Having it move around would be guaranteed to kill the event’s prestige and it is quite right that nobody has ever seriously considered the prospect, leaving this ridiculous opinion firmly as an outlier.
Well let’s agree to disagree on this. For me traveling around the world would give the event more prestige. As it is it could well be renamed “Sheffield Championship” … it actually would be more accurate than “World Championship”.
Yes, the points you have made are valid, and unlike Monique I’m not convinced about a travelling World Championship.
Where Monique is definitely right is that the facilities at the Crucible desperately need to be fixed. There are players who have to change their technique to play shots in the 2-table set-up. That is inexcusable, but they are forbidden from criticising it. Neil Robertson tried, and got into trouble, and then was torn apart on social media for ‘sour grapes’. His only recourse is to implausibly praise other venues such as Riyadh and Wuhan. Make no mistake, it is an implied criticism of the UK venues, particularly the Crucible. Similarly, referees have to stand in different places from normal. The 2-table really set-up is a disgrace, so much so that Joe Davis would reportedly have refused to play there. To someone who hasn’t been desensitised to it over many years, it makes snooker look cheap and amateurish. They will need to find an extra 3 metres in width during the rebuild, or change to a 1-table set-up throughout (which would actually address a lot of problems, but requires a change in format).
Similarly, Monique’s points about the backstage facilities also are critical. The only global media is one Chinese photographer, and even the ES/TNT/D+ commentary team (for me, the best and most dedicated commentators in the game) aren’t able to be present until the semi-finals. There are security concerns (e.g. the orange powder incident), no proper facilities for corporates, VIPs, restaurants, toilets, merchandise, etc. All these need to be addressed by the rebuild, with a budget of 45M.
My biggest disappointment with the whole ‘debate’ was that there was no debate! All these issues were completely ignored, with just a focus on the audience capacity. Yes, 980 was derisory, but I was never arguing for 10000 or 4000. The proposal for 1500 might be just about OK – at least it makes it a little bigger than the Women’s World Championship, and World Championships in the 1940’s.
All of the wildly enthusiastic comments you will see on social media over the last couple of days refer to people’s own fond memories, such like “snooker wouldn’t be the same without…” or clips of Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, and Ronnie’s fastest 147 (now 29 years ago). Not a single comment about the future of snooker, only the past. With the signing of a 20-year deal, WST’s vision for the future is very clear: no change whatsoever. Snooker is at a crossroads right now – most the top players today will not be there much longer, and a new generation of (mostly non-British) players will have to carry the game forward. WST’s response to this crossroads is a 180-degree turn heading back to the previous century. Today’s young people view snooker as a game their grandparents used to watch in the 1980’s; will the new Crucible convince them that snooker is relevant in the mid-21st century? It’s a huge risk, staking everything on rebuilding with very limited plans worked out (an artist’s impression). If the result doesn’t come up to scratch, WST have no options available. Players might find there are better opportunities elsewhere.
Players might find there are better opportunities elsewhere.->Heyball (Ronnie!)
All these need to be addressed by the rebuild, with a budget of 45M.-> Hopefully not HS2.