'Crucible is snooker's Wembley - it puts Sheffield on the map'

The news that Sheffield's love affair with the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre can continue well into the future has been welcomed by people across the city.

Home to the annual showpiece event since 1977, the Crucible will remain host to the prestigious contest every April until at least 2045, after it was announced the famous venue would be expanded with up to 500 additional seats.

It puts an end to speculation the tournament could leave Sheffield, and perhaps even the UK, altogether and brings a sporting boost to the city, many of whose residents cherish the unique buzz it generates and the good it does to the coffers of local businesses.

Dan Kirkland, manager of the Spot On Snooker Club, on Langsett Road, says the announcement is "brilliant for snooker and even better for Sheffield".

"Snooker clubs really benefit - not just from local people coming in, but for us during the World Championships, we get people coming from all over the country and all over the world," he says.

"We get people from Ukraine and even as far away as South America coming in, because when they come to the Crucible, they also want to play at a local snooker club."

Kirkland says snooker clubs across the country are having to navigate tricky times just now, as there is a limit on how many people they can accommodate at any one time.

"Discussions around business rates haven't been kind to us," he says.

"Snooker clubs are one of those venues that have to have big spaces, but that doesn't necessarily mean big capacity in terms of people.

"The World Championships is one of our busiest times of the year, and without it being at the Crucible it just wouldn't be like that."

Kirkland adds that as a snooker fan himself, he is delighted the World Championship is set to stay in Sheffield.

"I've been going to the Crucible for the last 30 years," he explains.

"I go to Ally Pally [where the Masters is held in January] and other tournaments, but the Crucible is special.

"It's snooker's Wembley, and having it here puts Sheffield on the map."

Martin Chesworth, who runs a snooker cue shop and repair service on Abbeydale Road, has also benefited from international visitors during the Snooker World Championship at the Crucible.

Chesworth, who has supplied some of the sport's top players, including Ronnie O'Sullivan and Zhao Xintong, says the news that the contest is staying in Sheffield is "brilliant".

"It gives the city such a buzz. You can just feel it in the air that we've got something on - everything's positive," he says.

"If it had moved, I would've lost those overseas customers. I'd have still survived, but it would have been a shame."

Holding the Snooker World Championship at the Crucible brings an estimated 12,000 visitors a year to South Yorkshire.

For many businesses, particularly in the heart of Sheffield, the trade that brings is vital.

Lewis Elliott, deputy manager of the nearby Head of Steam pub, says the mid-April to May period is "like a second Christmas".

"The concept of it moving away would have been detrimental to the business as a whole," he says.

"The news allows us to look forward and sustain the business, whereas it would have been a big hole in sales without the snooker here."

Paul Taylor, director of Taylor Taylor Hairdressing, has had snooker legends Jimmy White, Steve Davis and Alex Higgins all come to his shop for a trim.

He says: "I think it's the best news Sheffield's had for a long time.

"[Speculation] has been lingering on and on over the last so many years, it's overshadowed the snooker itself.

"It's not just like a football match where it's 90 minutes, it's the full duration over the two weeks. The buzz is phenomenal and it appeals to all ages."

Tim Nye, who owns Marmadukes cafe, which lies a stone's throw away from The Crucible and has also fed the sport's great and food, says it would have been a "tragedy" if the snooker had left the Crucible.

"It's been in Sheffield forever and it just wouldn't feel right, regardless of the business. It belongs here," he says.

"I'm just so happy and so relieved. I've just been in a meeting and the mood has been lifted by this news. Everyone's just so happy."

Meanwhile, once the annual travelling snooker circus leaves town after 17 days, the Crucible is, for the rest of the year, a traditional theatre staging plays, productions, talks and music.

The planned 500-seat increase to the venue's current 980-seat capacity means that ultimately more people will be able to enjoy the culture Sheffield has to offer.

Mary Newey, who chairs the Woodseats Musical Theatre Company, based in the south of Sheffield, says she "loves" the Crucible.

"It's one of the top theatres in the country and one that every actor - amateur or professional - wants to play at," she says.

"So much goes from the Crucible to London and the West End afterwards, it's something we should be very proud of."

One of the Crucible's defining features, remarked on by actors as well as the world's top cueists, is its intimate nature and the intensity of the atmosphere that generates.

Newey says this is one of the things that makes it such a "lovely" place to watch a show.

"I'm no architect so I don't know where they will put the extra seats in, but I hope they don't lose that atmosphere," she says.

"I'm sure they won't, because it is so important.

"Anything they're doing to bring more people in to theatre is definitely a good thing."

The expansion work at the Crucible will, however, mean the Snooker World Championship will need a new temporary home for just one year, in 2029.

But the news it will then remain at the Crucible for at least another 15 years seems to be a relief and a delight to the city with which the sport is most deeply intertwined.

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