Barry Hearn Hints at World Snooker Championship Moving Abroad as He Reveals 3,000-Seat Venue

BARRY HEARN expects the 2029 World Snooker Championship to remain in the UK when Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre is redeveloped – but has sensationally opened the door to a possible move to Berlin.

Last month, it was announced that the sport’s biggest tournament – which has been held in the Steel City venue since 1977 – would remain there until 2045.

Barry Hearn expects the 2029 World Snooker Championship to remain in the Crucible upon its redevelopment Credit: Shutterstock Editorial But Hearn has sensationally opened the door to a possible move to Berlin

There is the option to extend that deal with Sheffield City Council by another five years to 2050 if all parties agree.

Yet in three years’ time, the will move from the Crucible for one, maybe two years as the builders come in and begin the £45million refurbishment.

An extra 500 seats will be added to take the arena capacity up to about 1,500 per session.

For now, there are no plans in place for the 2029 and maybe 2030 tournaments and host cities can make their pitch.

The 3,000-capacity Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany is well liked by the players and is the home for the .

The BBC will have a say in the talks as they are contracted to host Triple Crown events until 2032.

Hearn, the President of Matchroom Sport, was chairman of World from 2010 to 2021.

And the former manager of six-time world champion Steve Davis has vowed to still be attending the Worlds when he is close to 100 YEARS OLD.

The sports promoter, 77, said: “If I was a gambling man I would go odds on it staying in the UK.

“But being the money man I also am, if the right offer comes in I will have to consider it.

“If we went abroad, if I had to choose, I’d say Germany. Maybe we should look at the Tempodrom for the World Snooker Championship as it is the same TV times as the UK.

“It can house 3,000 customers. These are things you evaluate. That is a process that will continue for the rest of this year.

“My personal feeling is I would like it to stay in the UK but it’s probably because I am a lazy b****** and I don’t want to travel.

“I believe the UK is the home of snooker. It’s where we grew up as a sport, and I’m very loath, subject to commerciality, to move it anywhere else.

“Clearly I have a great partnership with the BBC and we don’t want to take it anywhere which has a different time frame.

“There are opportunities to take it elsewhere, but these opportunities come with downsides.

“As much as I love the , it was getting a bit aged – it was becoming not fit for purpose and money needed to be spent.

“It’s a one or two-year gap. But everyone will put pressure on to make it just one year away.

“We have to really try to make it just one year away. Roll up your sleeves, we need a hand with the plastering.

“The team at World Snooker and Sheffield City Council have done the sensible thing and pulled off a deal that ticks everybody’s boxes.

“I would’ve hated to not be here, I’m so happy we’re staying. It was in doubt, but if people are sensible, the key word is ‘respect’ in negotiating a contract and then you have to respect both sides.

“You never get everything you want, but a great deal leaves everyone with a bit of bread in their mouths.

“Credit to the government, they came up with the money. Without that government money, this deal could not be done.

“I pretty much always knew we would be at the Crucible as long as everyone treated the game and World Snooker with respect. And they did. It wasn’t the best deal in the world and wasn’t everything I wanted.

“I would’ve loved 3,000 seats but I can’t have that and I’m a realist. I live in the real world.

“I will make sure that we can do a perfectly good job with 1,500 seats and expand the commercial boundaries around that event.

“The beauty of this deal is we were all in this together. We made it happen.

“So 2045, that’s 19 years. That makes me 97, I can’t wait. You can bet your bottom dollar I will be here.”