{"id":40530,"date":"2022-05-04T16:05:02","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T15:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=40530"},"modified":"2022-05-04T16:05:02","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T15:05:02","slug":"snooker-should-stay-at-iconic-sheffield-venue-say-players-and-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2022\/05\/04\/snooker-should-stay-at-iconic-sheffield-venue-say-players-and-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Snooker should stay at iconic Sheffield venue say players and fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Ronnie O\u2019Sullivan claimed a record-equalling seventh World Snooker Championship title at the Crucible on Monday, debates over whether the venue should continue to host the tournament raged amongst fans and players.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it never moves from here,\u201d said former World Champion and BBC presenter Ken Doherty. \u201cIt\u2019s the home of the world championships and it should never ever be moved. There\u2019s no place like it in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it is moved it will be a catastrophe. There are some things in life that money can\u2019t buy. You can\u2019t buy history and you can\u2019t buy nostalgia and you can\u2019t buy the Crucible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sheffield City Council has a contract to host the tournament until 2027 but concerns over the venue\u2019s spectator capacity have caused both the council and Word Snooker Tour to consider other options.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Crucible<\/p><\/div>\n

Plans were revealed this week to build a 3000 seat \u2018Billiardrome\u2019 in Sheffield, featuring practice rooms and a snooker museum alongside a 300 room hotel to appease the growing discontent among some players about facilities at The Crucible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Judd Trump, who lost out to O\u2019Sullivan on Monday has joined Niel Robertson and Scottish player Stephen Maguire in criticising holding the Championships at the venue, but in his interview after the final on BBC television, Trump said: <\/span>“I think I was wrong when I said I wanted to move from here, think it should definitely stay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump had previously said that he would like to see the tournament move away from Sheffield altogether and relocate to Alexandra Palace which hosts the Master’s tournament and can accommodate over 2000 fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sheffield based player Ashley Hugill, however, has voiced his opposition to snooker moving away from the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, the world snooker championship and The Crucible theatre are one and the same thing, they go hand in hand, and for me, that should never change,\u201d said Hugill.<\/span> \u201cIt may not be a perfect venue as it is quite tight with the crowd in so close and also the TV cameras on both tables, but no venue is perfect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ashley Hugill<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhat the small size of the venue takes away in space it more than makes up for in atmosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen players and fans are at matches it\u2019s not just about what\u2019s happening in that session, it\u2019s all the historic moments of snooker that have taken place there over the years. If the world championship is moved from the crucible all that history feels like it is gone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Perry, who is considered a mentor to Niel Robertson as well as a professional himself, said: <\/span>\u201cPersonally I\u2019d hate to see it moved, the crucible in my opinion is the perfect venue to hold the World Championships. It creates a different atmosphere to any other that we play in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a bigger venue would obviously create more revenue but would lose the intimacy and atmosphere of the crucible. Also, the history of the crucible is special and why every young aspiring snooker player dreams of playing there one day. Add to that the city of Sheffield that has become the home of snooker and is buzzing with excitement for the entire 17 days, to try to recreate this would be a near impossible task in my opinion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fans who attended the final in Sheffield this weekend are also largely unanimous in wanting the Championships to stay in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n