Wimbledon-style extension plan could save the Crucible’s snooker future
Building the ‘Billiardrome’ next to the Crucible, could save the World Snooker Championship for Sheffield – James Burland Architect
Saudi Arabia could help bankroll a multi-million-pound expansion of The Crucible or the construction of a new home for the world championship – instead of poaching the event – Barry Hearn has revealed.
This year’s championship has been dominated by the news snooker’s spiritual home faced being stripped of the sport’s flagship tournament after Hearn publicly threatened to take it to the likes of the Middle East or China unless a new 3,000-seater venue was built in Sheffield.
But, ahead of crunch talks between World Snooker and the city council during this weekend’s final, Hearn has indicated the Saudis could help provide a solution that would suit all parties.
That has opened the door to an expansion of the 980-capacity Crucible, current plans for which can also be revealed by Telegraph Sport courtesy of a British architect best known for Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, James Burland.
Building on a ‘Billiardrome’ design first developed almost two decades ago and previously explored by local officials in Sheffield, the proposal would involve the construction of a 3,000-seater arena across the road from the existing venue.
A bridge connecting the two would also leave the door open for the world championship to be staged across both facilities in a concept akin to Wimbledon’s Centre and No1 Courts.
The proposed site for the new arena is the O2 Academy – the former Roxy nightclub – which was forced to close in September amid reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete concerns.
The Crucible has a contract to host the World Snooker Championship until 2027, which will mark its 50the anniversary at the theatre – Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Hearn’s disclosure follows a cryptic comment from the man who has made snooker the latest frontier in Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented shake-up of world sport’s established order.
Last month, Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced Riyadh Season had become an official partner of the world championship.
Speaking during the launch about the possibility of poaching the event when World Snooker’s contract to stage it at the Crucible expires in 2027, he told Sky Sports News: “It would be a pleasure to have everything in our country and we support what happens in other countries, also. That means, maybe one day, we’ll do something huge here in England.”
Hearn, the president of World Snooker owners Matchroom Sports, told Telegraph Sport that could mean the GEA helping fund the construction of a new home for the tournament.
“I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to pre-empt anything His Excellency may come up with,” he added.
“This man has an enormous passion for sport and he is so enthusiastic for putting the Saudi message across.
“It doesn’t necessarily follow that the event has to be in Saudi.”
Burland and fellow snooker enthusiast Peter Bainbridge, with whom the architect collaborated on the ‘Billardrome’ concept, found during the design process that 3,000 seats was the maximum capacity for such an arena that would allow those attending a snooker match to follow the action.
The Crucible has staged the game’s greatest moments – Adrian Murrell /Allsport
Talks have been held with World Snooker and Burland was invited to the World Championship two years ago to carry out research into the atmosphere at the Crucible in order to replicate and enhance it at any new venue.
Bainbridge has estimated the minimum cost of a facility at around £50 million, a figure that could rise were additional features, such as a hotel, to be incorporated into the scheme.
Hearn said: “I’m aware of the building. It’s an interesting building. And, like everything else, these are the types of things I’d love to sit down and discuss.”
Amid fears Sheffield is among scores of local councils in danger of going bust, Hearn acknowledged the bulk of the money for any such project would have to come from elsewhere.
He also warned the Saudis could ultimately decide they would rather host the World Championship than help extend its stay in the city beyond half a century.
‘Leaving the Crucible is going to be horrible because we love it’
Whatever the Gulf state’s intentions, Hearn has told Sheffield council it has a year to provide a 3,000-seat arena or risk World Snooker walking away.
Other options would include effectively bulldozing the Crucible and rebuilding it from scratch – something likely to meet with fierce resistance given it is a working theatre – or making use of a pre-existing venue.
The chief executive of the council, Kate Josephs, alluded to the latter in response to Hearn’s demand for a larger capacity.
She told Telegraph Sport: “Sheffield is the home of snooker, much like Wimbledon is to tennis and Aintree is to the Grand National. The World Snooker Championship and Sheffield go hand in hand.
“We know what the tournament means to the people of Sheffield, the players that come to compete and all the fans that watch the tournament across the globe. We have created a sporting legacy here in the city and we want that to continue for generations to come.
“The atmosphere the Crucible Theatre offers is unrivalled. It is an experience you cannot get anywhere else. In recent weeks we have heard players such as Tom Ford, Shaun Murphy and Barry Hawkins describe the magical mood when competing at the venue. Shaun said the theatre was ‘one of the best in the world’ and to the sport it was ‘home’, and we couldn’t agree more.
“We have a proud sporting history and we’re home to amazing facilities including the English Institute of Sport and the Olympic Legacy Park. We have just built the 3,000-seater Canon Medical Arena, home of the Sheffield Sharks and the Sheffield Hatters. We have two snooker academies too, and many of the upcoming stars of the game have made the city their home.
Sheffield has recently completed the building of the Canon Medical Arena to host the city’s basketball and ice hockey teams
“As snooker grows, Sheffield is growing too – the city centre is undergoing a massive £470 million transformation, with a new world-class hotel, more restaurants, cafes and entertainment spaces. Snooker fans have seen for decades that Sheffield knows how to put on a show, and there’s much more to come.
“In terms of the snooker, we have a contract until 2027 that we are delivering, and our priority is to ensure that everyone has the best possible experience here in Sheffield, whether that be the players, the visitors or our local residents. We are in regular contact with World Snooker Tour and meet with them before, during and after each tournament – we will continue to have conversations with them about a way forward that works for us all.”
The council declined to comment on whether it would be prepared to explore the feasibility of expanding the Crucible, citing commercial confidentiality.
Hearn, meanwhile, poured scorn on suggestions the World Championship could move to the home of the city’s basketball and netball teams, which is to host qualifying events for snooker’s Scottish Open and German Masters in the autumn.
“Our goal is to move eventually to a stadium designed to keep the feeling and imagery of the Crucible in a bigger facility,” Hearn said.
“It’s not just the number of seats, because I can get 3,000 seats in my back garden. But I wouldn’t suggest holding the World Snooker Championship there.
“To leave the Crucible is going to be such a horrible experience, because we love it. But, frankly, if you walk around backstage at the Crucible, it’s not great. The atmosphere in the arena, however, is world class. So, we need a purpose-built facility, which captures as much as possible of the atmosphere of The Crucible but, just simply, with three times the number of seats.
“For them to suggest that we could take our World Championship out of the Crucible to move to a leisure centre just so we’ve got the capacity to increase the money is actually fairly insulting.”
Representatives for the Saudi GEA and the owners of the O2 Academy, Academy Music Group, did not respond to requests for comment.
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