Mark Selby urges bosses to keep World Championship at Crucible as Qatar show interest in hosting
Mark Selby urges snooker leaders to hold World Championship at the Crucible after Barry Hearn revealed Qatar had expressed interest in hosting the tournament, with the historic Sheffield venue’s contract expiring in 2027
- Mark Selby urged snooker leaders to hold the World Championship at the Crucible
- It comes after he achieved a historic first maximum in the final at the venue
- The venue’s contract expires in 2027, with Qatar expressing interest in hosting
Mark Selby has urged snooker leaders to hold the World Championship at the Crucible – after producing one of the greatest moments the ancient theater has ever seen.
World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn revealed last week that Qatar had shown an interesting host of the showpiece tournament when the contract with the Sheffield venue expires in 2027.
But Selby is hoping the sport’s bosses resist moving away from the Crucible, after getting another reminder of the special atmosphere when he reached the first-ever maximum in a world final against Luca Brecel.
“Hopefully it will stay here for years to come,” said the 39-year-old, who received a lengthy standing ovation after turning 147 on Sunday night. “I’ve read that Qatar may be coming, but it’s such a special location.
“You’re shaking all over. Any other location doesn’t seem to do that for you, but that’s the Crucible itself. It’s not the biggest venue we play in, but it’s definitely the best.’
The World Championship has been held at the Crucible since 1977. But with a capacity of just 980, there have been calls for the event to be moved to a larger venue – by building a larger arena in Sheffield or moving cities or countries.
Mark Selby has urged snooker bosses to hold the World Championship at the Crucible
It comes as the historic venue’s contract to host the tournament expires in 2027
Barry Hearn revealed last week that representatives from Qatar were happy to host the event
Hearn, who stepped down as WST chairman two years ago, said last week: “The debate continues. 980 seats. The Qataris said to me last week: “What year does that World Snooker contract with Sheffield expire?”. I said, “It’s 2027-28″. They replied, “Can we qualify? Can we say something about it?”
‘They don’t have a snooker background, but it’s, ‘If you want to do a nice big event, we’ll put you in the mix’. Who knows what will happen.’
Mail Sport announced a proposal from Etihad Stadium architect James Burland last year to develop a new 3,000-seat arena in Sheffield, but those plans have not progressed further.
Hearn expressed disappointment at the lack of action from Sheffield City Council. “I told them what to do,” he said. “I haven’t seen too much activity that way.”
However, a spokesman for the World Snooker Tour said: ‘We recently had a positive meeting with Sheffield City Council.
Fans have been flocking to the Sheffield venue all week to catch some of the riveting action
Performer Damien Hirst was also seen at the Sheffield venue carrying Ronnie O’Sullivan’s cue into the arena
Selby made history this weekend by taking the first maximum in the final of the tournament
“We have four years left on the current agreement and it will be an ongoing discussion with Sheffield over that period. We love the city, the players and fans love it, and of course we have an incredible history here.
“We are always looking for ways to make tournaments bigger and better. We are a developing sport and we are excited to take snooker forward.
‘We also want as many snooker fans as possible to be able to enjoy the World Cup, the highlight of our calendar.’
Sheffield City Council Executive Director Kate Martin added: ‘We look forward to many more successful World Snooker Championships here in the coming years.’