Sheffield snooker: City chiefs must schmooze BBC 'to keep World Snooker in Sheffield'

The BBC is key to keeping World Snooker in Sheffield, a former sports minister has said.

City leaders must pay as much attention to the needs and desires of the broadcaster as to players, or those calling for a new location for the championships, according to Richard Caborn.

The Beeb gives the 17-day event top quality wall-to-wall coverage seen by millions free on terrestrial television - massively boosting its value to advertisers, he said.

Without that, its profile would drop dramatically, even if it was bankrolled by Saudi Arabia or China, he argued.

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Mr Caborn, a former Sheffield MP and sports minister in Tony Blair’s Labour government, spoke out amid a furore over the future of the tournament. 

The world’s top player, Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has signed an ‘ambassadorial deal’ with Saudi Arabia committing him to play in WST events in the country, has said he’d “much rather it go anywhere than The Crucible.”

And Barry Hearn, who owns 51 per cent of World Snooker, has said Sheffield needs a 3,000 seater stadium if it wants to retain the event after 2027, when the current contract ends.

The 980-seat Crucible has been the home of the sport’s biggest event since 1977.

Mr Caborn urged Sheffield council leader Coun Tom Hunt and chief executive Kate Josephs - and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard - to focus on the BBC.

He said: “It’s not the Crucible, or World Snooker, it’s the BBC that makes it so big. In terms of coverage on terrestrial television it’s second only to Wimbledon. 

“Ronnie O’Sullivan won a tournament in Saudi Arabia and I didn’t know about it - the same with the breakaway golf tour. 

“If snooker didn’t get the coverage it wouldn’t get the advertising. The BBC is the best in the world at sports coverage, that’s why it is coveted and its importance must be recognised.”

The majority of players love the Crucible, he added.

Kate Josephs said her priority was to ensure everyone has the best possible experience in Sheffield, “whether that be players, visitors or residents.” 

She added: “We are in regular contact with the World Snooker Tour and meet with them before, during and after each tournament – we will continue to have conversations with them about a way forward that works for us all.”

On X, formerly Twitter, Philippa Willitts highlighted one aspect of Sheffield’s appeal.

She wrote: “I love this time of year, when people start posting about all the snooker players they randomly bump into in town. That's one of the reasons the Crucible is such an excellent venue for fans. It's so central that the superstars - and emerging stars - don't feel beyond reach.”

The Star approached the BBC for comment. It is understood that the BBC has no plans to scale back its coverage whilst it retains broadcast rights to show WST events.