THE UK are in danger of losing snooker to Saudi Arabia or China, according to a financial expert.
The World Championship has been held at the Crucible in Sheffield since 1997 and it has become a staple of British sport.
The World Championship could leave the Crucible[/caption]
Barry Hearn has admitted the ‘clock is ticking’ on a decision[/caption]
But the deal expires in 2027 and chief Barry Hearn has hinted at moving the event away from its spiritual home.
Ex-Bank of England chief economist Andrew Haldane has urged the government to intervene and come up with a plan to keep snooker’s home in the UK.
Haldane has called on them to invest in the game as it is “growing rapidly” across the world and losing it would damage the economy.
In his “Save our Snooker” SOS in the Financial Times, he wrote: “The WST wants a larger, more state-of-the-sport venue, perhaps with Saudi Arabia or China as hosts and backers.
“Capacity at the Crucible, at under 1,000, is small and unchanged in half a century. Prize money for the world champion, at £500,000, is modest by modern sport standards.
“This is nuts. The UK can ill-afford to lose winners like these.
“The government will only achieve national growth by growing the UK’s regions and nations. Backed at scale, sport is one of the most effective drivers of local growth.
“In this century Sheffield and snooker could become as synonymous, and internationally recognised, as were Sheffield and steel in the previous one. Industrial strategy is not about picking winners but sticking with them.
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“For the UK economy sport, snooker and Sheffield are a winning team and rising star.
“An investment here would deliver the holy grail of local growth to meet national objectives with global ambition.”
Haldane uses the Premier League and Wimbledon as examples of how sport can boost the economy and improve local areas.
Discussing the future, Hearn told Radio Snooker: “We’ve got to live in the real world.
“So much of professional sport is about money.
“We must know by the end of the year. The clock is ticking.”