World Championship could leave Crucible, warns Hearn

Former World Snooker Tour president Barry Hearn says nan World Championship could enactment successful Sheffield - but only if nan Crucible Theatre was to beryllium redeveloped aliases a caller arena built successful nan city.

The Crucible, which only holds 980 people, has held snooker’s biggest arena each twelvemonth since 1977 but its existent statement expires successful 2027.

Some players, including Ronnie O’Sullivan and Iran’s Hossein Vafaei, person said nan venue is excessively mini and nan arena should beryllium moved elsewhere, pinch China and Saudi Arabia among nan possibilities.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Hearn, 75, said: “Whether we enactment successful Sheffield and put up pinch it is 1 option, action 2 they [Sheffield City Council] build maine a 3,000 seater [arena] and we widen for a very agelong period.

“Option three, we spell location other for 10 years and action four, arsenic a world championship, we spell astir nan world, possibly 1 twelvemonth successful Saudi Arabia, 1 twelvemonth successful China and 1 twelvemonth successful Sheffield arsenic it is.”

The iconic Crucible has go a immense portion of nan history of nan sport, pinch its tight, cramped mounting providing a unsocial ambiance and nan venue regarded arsenic nan location of snooker.

Hearn said his penchant was to support nan world title successful Sheffield, but nan venue had to beryllium improved.

“I americium doing perfectly everything I tin to enactment successful Sheffield and it takes 2 to tango,” he told BBC Two. “I’ll enactment present while we’re wanted. I cognize we're wanted by nan BBC, I deliberation we're wanted by Sheffield.

"But we request a caller venue that seats 2,500-3,000 group because I'm fed up of getting letters from group asking really they tin get a ticket. I'm looking to Sheffield to travel to nan statement and if they do, we're staying. If they don't, they're saying 'We don't want you'."

Earlier this week, Vafaei criticised nan venue, saying it "smells really bad" and nan believe room was for illustration a "garage", though 2005 champion Shaun Murphy defended nan Crucible, calling it "holy ground" for snooker players.

Hearn, who managed Steve Davis passim his six world titles successful nan 1980s, added: “The Crucible has a awesome history and it’s been a monolithic portion of my life, but we’ve sewage to unrecorded successful nan existent world. There’s a value for everything, whether we for illustration it aliases not.

"I want to enactment here. I can't do immoderate much than opportunity that but I request help, I request a logic to enactment here. I can't beryllium much loyal to Sheffield than I person been but everybody needs to propulsion successful nan correct direction."

When Hearn became mostly shareholder successful World Snooker Tour successful 2009 and began moving nan sport, tourney prize money was astatine £3.5m, pinch him saying it is expected to walk nan £20m people adjacent year.

Saudi Arabia person worked intimately pinch Hearn’s Matchroom Sport institution to big a number of high-profile awesome boxing events successful nan state and besides staged their first snooker tourney earlier this year.

"They are buying up sports left, correct and centre," added Hearn. "We've sewage to show we tin compete and raise astatine slightest thing adjacent it to warrant maine not turning astir to nan players and saying 'Why don't we make nan prize money 10 times much than it is?'

"It's each astir money - get utilized to it. The world is changing and I'm sorry, I'm not going to beryllium a dinosaur and not change. I’d emotion to show you we unrecorded successful a fairy story, but it’s not that simple. In immoderate sport, nan first request is prize money and players want to spot it arsenic large arsenic possible.”

Asked whether ‘money talks wholly aliases does history and practice still person a say', Hearn replied: “Trust me, money has nan separator each time. If location are deals retired location that are going to alteration people's lives and summation profitability, there's not really a prime to make."

Hearn besides punted nan proposal of nan title being held astatine different venues each twelvemonth and added: "Why should nan tourney person 1 location and why isn't nan Crucible transported astir nan world to play 1 twelvemonth successful Saudi Arabia, 1 twelvemonth successful Beijing, 1 twelvemonth successful Sheffield?"

In consequence to Hearn's comments, Kate Josephs, main executive of Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield is nan location of snooker. The World Snooker Championship and Sheffield spell manus successful hand.

“We cognize what nan tourney intends to nan group of Sheffield, nan players that travel to compete and each nan fans that watch nan tourney crossed nan globe. We person created a sporting bequest present successful nan metropolis and we want that to proceed for generations to come.

“We are successful regular interaction pinch World Snooker Tour and meet pinch them before, during and aft each tourney and we will proceed doing so.”