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Speaking to SportsBoom, the former world snooker champion now a BBC TV commentator on the game, Ken Doherty, has made the case for the World Snooker Championships to remain at the Crucible, the theatre in Sheffield city centre.
Doherty said: โI donโt get the argument that they can earn another half a million or whatever from ticket sales by going somewhere bigger.
โMy idea, my way of thinking, is this: If I was World Snooker I would sell the game around the world on the fact that it is based somewhere as special and as iconic as the Crucible.”
โPeople travel from all over the country, from all over the globe, because it is here. Iโve spoken to fans whoโve come over from South America because they know all about the Crucible and want to experience it. Thatโs a unique selling point that really needs exploiting ….”
Doherty’s point has echoes throughout sport, and indeed the yet wider world of entertainment. Gone are the days when much if not all of a spectator sport’s revenue was from ticket sales, and some broadcasters’ money from the BBC. First came commercial satellite broadcasters, to challenge the free-to-air stations, and since then online channel (and pirates stealing the intellectual property). Money from the paying customers at the venue still matters – as anyone stung for food and drinks will grumble; but the real wealth comes from the global audience of potentially billions, rather than thousands who attend. Most of the billions will never seek to attend the Crucible, nor Old Trafford (cricket or football) nor the Camp Nou nor Stade de Paris, nor Wembley (whether for an FA Cup final or a Taylor Swift concert), nor Glastonbury; most will only ever consume it remotely.
Where does that leave event security and stewarding? At first glance, in a poor place – squeezed by promoters, regarded as an after-thought (if thought about at all). Ever since open-air music festivals, and (thanks to TV) sport such as snooker took off as a mass attraction in the 1960s and 1980s respectively, they’ve been prone to ups and downs, whether because of fashion or the weather. As in business generally, for every long-lasting Glastonbury, the many failures (and the entrepreneurs behind them) get forgotten.
To return to the snooker; Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Theatres know the value of the Championships as free publicity for the city, making it a tourist destination year-round (who would not want to visit the Winter Gardens, where the BBC hold their chats with Doherty and fellow commentators during the two weeks of the tournament?). Like other city centres, it’s had a programme of bollardisation, discreet but effective physical security around the Crucible (pictured) to counter the threat of ‘vehicle as a weapon’ terror attacks. Good customer service by stewards (including Sheffield centre’s on-street private patrollers) and a feeling of public safety are marketable assets, besides the history that only accumulates. Put another way, poor customer service and protective security can do harm. Here we come to the crux about security, as a service among many; it’s so easily taken for granted, only noticed when it goes wrong.
Into all this will come Martyn’s Law, the legal requirement under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 to take measures to counter the threat of terrorism. The likes of the Winter Gardens and Crucible will already do those things (yet to be detailed by statutory guidance from the Home Office, that the Security Industry Authority (SIA) will regulate and inspect). Martyn’s Law, then, properly brought in by the authorities, has potential to make Britain a yet more marketable safe and reliable tourist destination.
