STILL NO NEWS ON CRUCIBLE'S FUTURE
In 16 months time the current deal to host the World Snooker Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield will be over. For the last several World Championships the talk of the event potentially leaving the venue after 50 years have overshadowed the action on the table. Will it happen once again come April?
In May 2025 it was said that a firm decision would be taken by the end of the year, leading many - myself included - to believe that something would be announced last month during BBC's coverage of the UK Championship. Nothing was said, though.
Either way I think Matchroom would like the news of the World Championship's new venue deal to come out before this year's event in order to avoid another 17 days filled with debate about it.
An event of this magnitude also needs as much time as you can get to put up, especially if it's going to a a new venue for the first time. Therefore, as we get closer to the Crucible's expiring date, it becomes unlikely that they've found a new home for it.
We also can't ignore that in January last year BBC renewed its deal to broadcast snooker's Triple Crown events until 2032. Although it doesn't guarantee anything, it's a strong hint that the World Championship won't be leaving Britain until at least 2032, as it would be highly unexpected to see BBC going abroad for snooker.
All that matches rumours I've heard from fellow media folks: "expectations are that a new deal to stay at the Crucible will soon be announced, but it'll be short-term as WST remains looking for a venue with a more lucrative return".
If all that proceeds to be true, I have high hopes of news coming out this week during BBC's coverage of the Masters.
I've written my opinion about this many times in here, and I stand by the conclusion I reached the first time I visited Sheffield: the World Championship ideally should not leave the Crucible, and crucially should not leave Sheffield.
It ideally should not leave the Crucible because... the venue has become synonymous with the tournament, and its five decades of history add something to the event that will never be recovered if it ever left.
You should not fix what is not broke - the World Championship is ages ahead any other snooker event. If anything needs an upgrade in the snooker season it's the gap between its main event and the rest. Also, what would the Crucible have to be to settle the debate? A 1,000 seat arena like very few other snooker venues? 45,080 tickets are sold for £100 on average every year in Sheffield.
If we look at London, the next big thing when it comes to snooker attendance, they sell about 35,000 tickets for the Masters on an average of £70 each.
It crucially should not leave Sheffield because... for a very particular reason Sheffield can sell tickets like nowhere else can: it is 'The Snooker Capital of the World' and that's a valuable thing you can't afford to lose.
How many sporting events are embraced by a city like the World Championship is embraced by Sheffield? The buzz around the city on April-May is fantastic, it really does breathe snooker. Visiting the city is a main part of the experience for a fan attending the World Championship.
It's home to several professional and some of the best snooker academies in the world, and it all happened because of little "coincidences". The Crucible first held the World Championship in 1977, but with the arrival of colour TV and BBC using the sport to showcase its new technology, snooker became by chance the most popular sport in the UK during the 80's, and by chance Sheffield was home to its blue ribband event.
During 50 years the championship and the city grew along and now Snooker and Sheffield have this unique connection between sport and city that should be preserved.
I'm all for making the Crucible bigger and more about snooker (like it was proposed here in 2022). More than just a modern arena for the sport it would be great for Sheffield as well, attracting more snooker fans from around the world - even not during the championship. But if an agreement is not reached to keep it at the Crucible, then just don't leave Sheffield.
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