SNOOKER IS STAYING HOME!
If you're reading this blog you probably have seen the wonderful news that the World Snooker Championship will stay at the Crucible until, at least, 2045 - with an option to extend the deal until 2050.
In case you missed it, you can read the official WST announcement here and the Metro report here. And if you want to hear more reactions and details about the new contract I'd reccommend you listen to the latest "Radio Snooker" podcast with Nick Metcalfe and "Snooker Scene" podcast with Dave Hendon.
Now, I've said many times in here (most recently in this January blog) how much I hoped the World Championship would stay at its home, Sheffield.
The Crucible is synonymous with the event itself, but Sheffield embraces the event like no other city could ever do. 50 years of parallel growth of the tournament and the city made it become the snooker capital of the world. Part of the experience, or most of it I should say, of attending the World Championship is being in Sheffield and living that enthusiasm.
12 months ago it looked odds on to leave the city, but in the last few months signs have been leading us to believe that it would stay in the UK and likely at the Crucible. And now I'm sure everyone is delighted the announcement has been made before this year's event - for the last few years, especially the last two World Championships, the event was overshadowed with the "will it leave?" debate. That is, thankfully, over now.
And it's over for good. Even with growing hopes that it'd stay, a 20-year deal came as a bit of a shock. Credit where it's due, leaving should never have been considered but the negotiations have led to an incredible result for both the sport and Sheffield.
£45m was raised, coming especially from local and national government funding. That will help make the place bigger (the capacity is going from just under 1,000 seats to 1,500 - doesn't seem much, but means 23,000 extra tickets available per year), more modern, and more about snooker. When this year's event gets underway in just under four weeks, instead of the annoying talks of uncertainty about the future there will be excitement about what's to come.
We don't know yet what's the trigger for the 2045-2050 extension option, but all that money and engagement from the national government shows how serious all sides are about keeping the tournament at the Crucible not just until 2050, but beyond that.
Even the format we all love... 17 days, long matches, multiple sessions... all that feels safe now.
It's now time to celebrate of course, and when all that sinks in we'll begin prospecting about the future. Like, how will the "new Crucible" look like? We know the playing area will be preserved, with the extra seats being added in the side where we currently have the commentary boxes, so the crowd will go round the table (like illustrated above). Plus there will be several enhancements in the backstage (VIP accommodations, fans experience, dressing rooms, media room, TV studios, practice room).
All that work is set to take at least 18 months, beginning on summer 2028. Therefore, the 2029 event will be held in a temporary venue, and possibly the 2030 as well, before we comeback to the new Crucible for good. Although the prospect of having World Championships somewhere else used to be terrifying, now that we're sorted out with the Crucible the once in a lifetime opportunity to have it somewhere else (without the sad feeling of having left) is somewhat exciting. Where will it be held for this one or possibly two years?
Personally, I see it as a great opportunity to have it in China. It would be a way to give something back to a nation that has given so much to snooker for the past two decades. I'm sure they will be excited at this chance and hopefully they come up with strong bids.
However, realistically it won't be leaving the UK and will likely still be held in north England. There are two good reasons for that: 1) even though the main event won't be held at the Crucible, qualifiers will remain in Sheffield. And because the window for the qualifiers in the calendar is so tight (draw is only made after the penultimate ranking event and, consequently, final round is only played days before the main event) the logistic of having the tournament far away from Sheffield is too tricky; and 2) BBC has already secured the broadcasting deal until 2032. It'd be a shock to see BBC going abroad for this, and it'd be an even bigger shock to see BBC give up those one or two years of very healthy 17-days viewing figures.
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