Venue Location

There's a lot said about how the UK Championship should be moved back to Preston, or at least not be in Telford. I was considering this when I was in Telford, and in defence of World Snooker, the TIC is a big venue, and rather nice in my eyes. And there is ample opportunity to meet the players, as they allow you in as early as you like to get autographs and photos. Something Wembley fails to do. And other benefits to Telford are it's on a motorway, so driving there is very do-able. Thusly there is a lot of hotels there, as a motorway town. And, of course, a station and a coach station. (Though the coach stations is in the middle of nowhere, in a place where road-signs haven't been invented, so it's hard to know where your going even if you have a map.)

Point is, it should be a good venue. I was at the hotel next door to the TIC. As was Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy, Stephen Hendry, Stuart Bingham, Rob Walker, Pete Williamson, Jan Ver Haas and Paul Collier. And those are just the ones I saw coming and going. I didn't really talk to them much, apart from a short but rather nice chat with Rob Walker, because I didn't want to bother them on their own time. Point is, though, it should've been a really nice venue. Get to meet players, easy to find somewhere to say, large modern arena. But something is missing.

On my first year in Telford, I arrived on coach the evening before the matches started. Telford is pretty small and insignificant, and full of trees. When I got there, it was like stepping into a forest. I saw no evidence that anybody lived there for the first ten minutes of my walk to the hotel, it was like one of those old horror films. Somebody arrives in town, and it's dark and deserted. That's when I noticed the problem, originally. The probelm is, it's not Sheffield. When you go to Sheffield, everybody in the city knows the snooker is on. It's been there every year since 1977. You walk off the station, the sign is up there saying; "Welcome to Sheffield, City of Snooker." You get a cab to the hotel, the driver says; "So, you here for the snooker, mate?" The hotel I go to is right next door to The Crucible, so every single person is there for the snooker. The players don't stay there for fear of having to talk to all the fans.

At Telford, I once had somebody ask me in the pub 10 minutes away from the TIC where the snooker was being held. The hotel staff knew the snooker was on, but didn't bother to make any conversation about it. Something that would be unthinkable at Sheffield. Even the hotel staff that don't know about it, swot up on it so they can make some conversation about it. The problem at Telford is, and was especially obvious at the hotel local to the TIC, they see it as just another event. The TIC hosts conferences, and exhibitions. This is treated as no different. I was staying in a hotel with a lot of snooker personalities, but nobody made any conversation about snooker with me. It still felt very, very dry. I enjoyed being live in the snooker, but the rest I just felt like I was staying in a hotel. Alone. Not staying in a hotel with a large group of the snooker family. Also the fact that the majority of people that are there are only there because it's their nearest venue, not because they want to travel to watch snooker. There was only five people in the Shaun Murphy match, it don't help.

I know this isn't the fault of World Snooker, per se. Barry Hearn isn't going to turn up at all the hotels in Telford and tell staff; "Engage people in conversation about snooker, or else." But surely, something can be done to help promote it a bit more, market it. Make people more aware that the snooker is there.

Sorry, that was a long rant, but something I've noticed. I never went to the Preston Guild Hall. It is supposed to have atmosphere as good as The Crucible. Is that something that is held across Preston, and does it compare to Sheffield those who've gone to both? And, though I want the worlds to retain their aura, what else can be done to make the UK and other tournaments more 'Crucibley.'

Preston or York are better places than Telford. But world snooker are probably getting the venue on the cheap. Which is their starting point when it comes to venues. It is why you can end up with a dump like that place a few years ago in Edinburgh, or the ice rink in Newcastle, and never once have a ranking event in Birmingham.

I can see why they do it. It's cheap, but still close to a big city. And the venue itself is actually very nice. The Newport Centre is used because it's cheaper and close to Cardiff. Though isn't that nice, to be fair.

But what is missing more, is the passion for the game. Sheffield want to continue to hold The Worlds. They've bent over backwards to keep it. At one point they were updating The Crucible to keep World Snooker sweet, and they had no other shows all year at the theatre. You just don't see that passion at Telford, or at Wembley. In those two place, it's just another event or show. It goes largely unnoticed by the people that live there. That's what is missing in my eyes, not the quality of the venue itself.

SnookerFan wrote: There was only five people in the Shaun Murphy match, it don't help.

- he was lucky to have that many.

It seems that Telford in general are complacent with regards to the snooker being there, and this includes the local community, the hoteliers, the whole nine yards. I take your point in comparison to Sheffield 100%. People know its snooker time, locals stop to chat, or watch the big screen, hotels know the score.

Anyway glad you enjoyed yourself.

StalinESQ wrote:

SnookerFan wrote: There was only five people in the Shaun Murphy match, it don't help.

- he was lucky to have that many.

It seems that Telford in general are complacent with regards to the snooker being there, and this includes the local community, the hoteliers, the whole nine yards. I take your point in comparison to Sheffield 100%. People know its snooker time, locals stop to chat, or watch the big screen, hotels know the score.

Anyway glad you enjoyed yourself.

I did. I don't know if I'd go again as I've been to Telford three times now, but I've said that every year.

The hotel only had a small amount of channels, no BBC Interactive or Eurosport, so that didn't help. And, it wasn't that the hotel was bad. It just didn't seem to care too much about being chatty to people. Maybe the fact I've stayed at a different hotel each time hasn't helped.

But, sitting two tables away from Rob Walker in the bar, being next to Stephen Maguire when I'm eating a bacon sarnie, and he's eating bran flakes, having Rory McLeod say; "Alright?" to me as I walked in, as I'd been in his match in a bright red T-Shirt and he remembered me were all priceless memories. Especially as I asked Rob Walker if he could smuggle me a World Snooker mug out. He said no.

I wish each venue had that Crucible-factor is all.

S/fan

You are bang on mate, those things are priceless. I recall fondly any meetings with players. Pisstake or no pisstake - it makes it all worthwhile. I've loved meeting players or getting a photo (blurred or not blurred - it made my day).

You are a hardened, proper, core, solid, old school, new school, SNOOKER_FAN of the highest order.

So, Mags is a bran-flake consumer. I wonder how Michaela likes her eggs done

StalinESQ wrote:S/fan

You are bang on mate, those things are priceless. I recall fondly any meetings with players. Pisstake or no pisstake - it makes it all worthwhile. I've loved meeting players or getting a photo (blurred or not blurred - it made my day).

You are a hardened, proper, core, solid, old school, new school, SNOOKER_FAN of the highest order.

So, Mags is a bran-flake consumer. I wonder how Michaela likes her eggs done <laugh>

Don't we all?

Makes the Ronnie speech before the championship more laughable. "The Telford fans are very passionate..." in other words they clapped a bit when I dished up a 147 in the decider two years ago..
Telford has no snooker tradition and while crowds are not the be all and end all of snooker I would imagine the WSA will be looking to change things around sometime soon.

Im thinking bristol? or reading..theres nothing in the south west at all.. so bristol suits.

And the london crowd for wembley are just awesome..so reading not being far would be nice, plus the hexagon is a great venue and still there is only the one tournament in the south east..up north you have the two majors, pretty much a stones throw from eachother, seems pointless. Its not as if the telford internation is unique or anything.

randam05 wrote:Im thinking bristol?

randam05 wrote:Im thinking bristol? or reading..theres nothing in the south west at all.. so bristol suits.

And the london crowd for wembley are just awesome..so reading not being far would be nice, plus the hexagon is a great venue and still there is only the one tournament in the south east..up north you have the two majors, pretty much a stones throw from eachother, seems pointless. Its not as if the telford internation is unique or anything.

Wembley fans make a lot of noise, and is good for television, but the venue itself is pretty atmosphereless. People only talk to the people they came with. I went by myslef once, epic fail. You don't get to meet players or anything.... The fans do come out in numbers, and do cheer loudly, but the "Crucible factor" I mentioned is missing more at Wembley, then anywhere else, in my opinion.

[youtube]0Y0_8KN9i_4&feature=related[/youtube]

watch these

good memories, you wont see memories like this from the uk this year..

so many UK haters on this forum......................

I don't hate it but I don't love it either and I should, matches over two sessions, qualifiers come through and causing upsets, over a weeks coverage on the BBC but it leaves me a little bit flat and I'm not sure why. Any way I've got to go to go out now, you won't catch me saying that during the Masters or Worlds! even the Open made me more housebound than this.

so many UK haters on this forum................................

I don't hate it. I think the last session of Honest John last night was amazing. Ding played well against Higgins. Bingham scored an upset. It was good to see Jimmy White play Stephen Hendry live. I don't know who is going to win Robertson vs Smurph. I even enjoyed Murphy's match against Patrick Wallace.

The problem is with the lack of what I dubbed earlier as the 'Crucible Factor'. That and matches such as Mark Allen vs Ding Junhui aren't on television.

snookerfan

ive been 2 or 3 times to telford and although i agree there's some aspects its good but to say its near the centre of the city is stretching it a bit....

it might be in the city its a long way from actual people with a car park that's bigger than the venue itself you could park in the car park and have to walk a mile to get in to the building not ideal this time of year.

yes you could get close and personall with players and presenters one year i had lunch with dougie donnelly lol

but as a venue i rate it one of the worst only the CIA Beats it as rubbish

wildJONESEYE wrote:snookerfan

ive been 2 or 3 times to telford and although i agree there's some aspects its good but to say its near the centre of the city is stretching it a bit....

it might be in the city its a long way from actual people with a car park that's bigger than the venue itself you could park in the car park and have to walk a mile to get in to the building not ideal this time of year.

yes you could get close and personall with players and presenters one year i had lunch with dougie donnelly lol

but as a venue i rate it one of the worst only the CIA Beats it as rubbish

what did Dougie have for dinner.......................let me guess..............................fish fingers, chips and beans