Talking Sport with Gavin Browne: Snooker’s Crucible call was the right decision

Football and rugby union approach the business end of their respective seasons, with titles, promotions, play-off places and relegations all on the line.

It is the start of the cricket season as counties and clubs return after almost six months away from competitive action.

As for snooker, it is when the World Championship takes place at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

Growing up on t’other side of the Pennines more decades ago than I care to remember, I used to love playing and watching snooker.

It started out with junior tables before moving up to full-sized ones but, despite playing regularly and only living 17 miles away, I never made it to the Crucible in that time.

I don’t remember why, it probably clashed with school dates: it certainly did when it came to my time at university.

It’s Sod’s Law then that, having failed to pick up a cue in the last 20-odd years and now living north of 100 miles away, I’ve now become something of a regular visitor.

Having made three trips back for matches on the two-table set-up, I managed to graduate to the single-table layout a fortnight ago when Shaun Murphy and John Higgins played the second session of their semi-final.

This isn’t a case of White Rose bias but it just reinforced my belief that the Crucible is the best venue around to host the tournament.

With the present capacity of 980, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house if you’re one of those lucky enough to get hold of a ticket.

The two-table set-up gives a sense of claustrophobia, enabling fans to get closer to the action than arguably any other sport on the calendar.

That proximity doesn’t really disappear when it moves to one table.

My ticket to see Murphy against Higgins was more than double the price I paid to see England’s friendly with Uruguay at Wembley at the end of March – but the view was more than twice as good.

Of course, that isn’t to say the Crucible is perfect. Far from it.

That isn’t in relation to some of the events that took place during the championship.

There were continual examples of mobile phones going off during matches, despite pre-match requests for them to be either turned off or set to silent.

Then there was the spectator who interrupted the Yu Wize-Mark Allen semi-final when shouting about the Epstein files, followed by one who decided the final was the perfect platform to make some point about the TV licence.

Venue management can be held responsible for some aspects of what goes on, but not the behaviour of a few idiots who have left their respective villages for the day.

Instead, the room for improvement generally relates to what marketing types would call ‘the customer experience’ presently on offer.

While the seating is comfortable enough, there is a definite need for some re-upholstering with some seats looking distinctly weathered.

More toilets need to be installed. On the half of the theatre I was in, the men’s toilets comprised four urinals and one cubicle.

As a result, it meant the queue at the mid-session interval resembled those that used to be seen outside shops for the Boxing Day sales.

One bar, one food and drink kiosk and one merchandise stand on that side also means spectators are probably best either pre-ordering or buying before play starts in order to satisfy their thirst, hunger or need for a commemorative programme or T-shirt.

These wrinkles are due to be addressed following March’s announcement that the World Championship will stay at the Crucible until 2045, with an option for a further five years beyond that.

Once the 2028 tournament is done and dusted, a redevelopment is set to take place with another 500 seats installed.

It does mean the 2029 competition – and maybe the one in 2030 – will have to be played elsewhere, but it also sees off the threat of a permanent move elsewhere.

The Crucible’s host status had been in question for the last few years with its agreement having been due to expire next year.

While it has been regarded as the home of snooker’s biggest tournament, that hasn’t always meant it would stay there.

Seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has previously said the tournament should move overseas amid reported interest from Saudi Arabia and China.

One of this year’s quarter-finalists, Hossein Vafaei, had labelled the Crucible as ‘smelly’ in 2024 before rowing back and describing it as ‘the home of snooker’ last month.

Barry Hearn, the president of Matchroom Sport, had also talked of life away from South Yorkshire before saying snooker was never close to leaving upon confirmation of the 2045 deal.

While there are more modern venues elsewhere, what they don’t have is the sense of history that comes with 49 years of snooker’s biggest tournament played in one of sport’s smallest venues.

It means the Crucible offers a greater sense of theatre – pun very much intended – for players and fans alike.

Think back. It’s the place where Alex Higgins burst into tears and called for his baby after winning in 1982.

Three years later, 18.5 million people were watching after midnight as Dennis Taylor beat Steve Davis in ‘the black ball final’.

Fast forward to 2016 and Leicester City supporter Mark Selby lifted the world title on the same night his team won the Premier League.

Losing that history and sense of occasion would have been a travesty had snooker’s governing body opted to chase the bigger bucks elsewhere.

I’ll see you all at the Saturday morning semi-final session on May 1, 2027…