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Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Dan-cat

I think Barry / World Snooker / WPBSA should do something with these empty ready-made clubs. I feel that Barry has done a pretty brilliant job with professional game but it teeters on very shaky amateur foundations right now, in the UK at least.

I was playing tonight in my club the Hurricane Rooms in Kings Cross, London - every table full and peeps queuing for tables, on a Monday night.

Neal Foulds is with me!! :)

TWITTER ATTACK

Dan Gerrett ‏@Dan_Cat 37m
@fouldsy147 @snookerbacker @BarryHearn buy them back Barry (WPBSA / World Snooker joint project?) save the grass roots of our beloved sport.

Neal Foulds ‏@fouldsy147 33m
@Dan_Cat @snookerbacker @BarryHearn Who knows? Maybe BH will do that. Almost all old Lucania clubs were above Burtons Tailors. #memories
Last edited by Dan-cat on 17 Sep 2014, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Riley's closures

Postby The Cueist

I have just joined a members club to play snooker.
Rileys were doing bad, Tables not maintained
Rude staff, They deserved to go down.

They got out what they put in.

Nowt.

Re: Riley's closures

Postby PLtheRef

Personally have always found many tables at my local Rileys to be empty and truthfully can find many clubs which have cheaper table rates. My local club is a fraction of the price of Rileys, but is just as good

On the table rates Riley's charge I'd not be keen on playing Snooker there and if I go now it's essentially for a game of pool.

Re: Riley's closures

Postby Dan-cat

Yup I agree, makes me think that decently run places could thrive and that it's not a lack of interest in playing our beloved game.

I wonder if the table rates were that high due to rent/rate increases? I'd be really interested to look at the figures. You would think that Rileys would know what they were doing though.

My fear is that with nowhere to play, the amateur game in the UK will just die out. I know that sounds a bit dramatic perhaps but it feels like we have a thriving professional sport now wobbling on top of very shaky foundations.

I do believe that Barry loves snooker http://www.inside-snooker.com/snooker/2 ... ike-orient. It gave him his start in his promoting career.

We need him to step up and look at the grass roots.

Re: Riley's closures

Postby Dan-cat

We need a paradigm shift. A business model where the tables are free. Imagine how packed the places could be and how much you could make on booze and food.

Re: Riley's closures

Postby Wildey

We are moving away from Snooker Clubs and more towards Snooker Academys.

there are 3 Snooker Academys is Britain as far as i know.

World Snooker Academy in Sheffield
Grove Leisure Academy in Romford
SWSA in Gloucester

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Roland

They're different, it's not as if people can just decide to have a few frames and a few beers and turn up like they can at clubs like Rileys.

To be honest I've only ever played in one Rileys and that was many years ago. I liked the vibe but it was expensive to play. Tables were good though. Worst thing about snooker clubs is that with dwindling numbers it isn't cost effective to recloth as often as needed to keep playing conditions to a high standard and that goes on everywhere. Sign of the times.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Wildey

Roland wrote:They're different, it's not as if people can just decide to have a few frames and a few beers and turn up like they can at clubs like Rileys.

To be honest I've only ever played in one Rileys and that was many years ago. I liked the vibe but it was expensive to play. Tables were good though. Worst thing about snooker clubs is that with dwindling numbers it isn't cost effective to recloth as often as needed to keep playing conditions to a high standard and that goes on everywhere. Sign of the times.

But for the Amateur game and the real prospect of kids that are trully with potential then they will be more beneficial than Clubs with heavy damp cloths and people getting snake hissed all over the shop.

Clubs are more for Middle age men trying to escape the wife for a few hours and enjoy themselves playing snooker and socializing.

Yes im generalizing but that is how most Clubs are perceived therefore the numbers in these clubs are dwindling because lets be honest most dont do anything about that perception of Snooker Clubs.

They should actively Encourage Kids and stop selling Alcohol then they might start to attract the right sort of clients for the future of the Sport.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby SnookerFan

Wildey wrote:
Roland wrote:They're different, it's not as if people can just decide to have a few frames and a few beers and turn up like they can at clubs like Rileys.

To be honest I've only ever played in one Rileys and that was many years ago. I liked the vibe but it was expensive to play. Tables were good though. Worst thing about snooker clubs is that with dwindling numbers it isn't cost effective to recloth as often as needed to keep playing conditions to a high standard and that goes on everywhere. Sign of the times.

But for the Amateur game and the real prospect of kids that are trully with potential then they will be more beneficial than Clubs with heavy damp cloths and people getting snake hissed all over the shop.

Clubs are more for Middle age men trying to escape the wife for a few hours and enjoy themselves playing snooker and socializing.

Yes im generalizing but that is how most Clubs are perceived therefore the numbers in these clubs are dwindling because lets be honest most dont do anything about that perception of Snooker Clubs.

They should actively Encourage Kids and stop selling Alcohol then they might start to attract the right sort of clients for the future of the Sport.



That's all well and good. But how does a person discover they have potential, if there's no snooker clubs to play at?

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Wildey

See my 3rd and 4th points Regarding Being more kids friendly rather than Bored middle age men getting snake hissed.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Roland

Well that's what academies are for, for those youngsters and pros who want to take the game seriously and to play on the best conditions possible. But that's only a very small %age of people who love to participate. Mind you the fact Riley's is in trouble shows that the video game generation would rather sit at home and play snooker simulations than the actual game itself.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Wildey

Roland wrote:Well that's what academies are for, for those youngsters and pros who want to take the game seriously and to play on the best conditions possible. But that's only a very small %age of people who love to participate. Mind you the fact Riley's is in trouble shows that the video game generation would rather sit at home and play snooker simulations than the actual game itself.

i think you do have a point the problem has been parents do not want the kids to hang out at snooker club and that goes on for years the difference now to even 20 years ago Kids dont have to go out to have a good time.

Stick the Laptop on, Get the X Box out, play on a Play Station or just chat on Twitter/facebook with Mates.

Back in the day Kids defied their perants and dodged school to play snooker because there was nothing else to do.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Dan-cat

Damn Roland/Wildey that's a good point re the all the distractions. I have a 13 year old computer game obsessed nephew and I don't think he even knows what snooker is. When he sits in front of the telly he has a billion channels to watch and endless films. I'm going to get him playing though.
This topic just got a lot broader!!

...but if I get him interested, where is he going to play? He lives near Salisbury and quick google search reveals that there is a pretty nice looking club there: http://www.salisburysnookerclub.co.uk/

Maybe I'm worrying about nothing re the Riley clubs and the work that Steve Davis / World Snooker / Paul Hunter Foundation do bringing it into schools (raising awareness) is the right approach. We need Ronnie to get on board with that and then we will be cooking...

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Wildey

Dan-cat wrote:...but if I get him interested, where is he going to play? He lives near Salisbury and quick google search reveals that there is a pretty nice looking club there: http://www.salisburysnookerclub.co.uk/


Its Catch 22 situation.

Clubs have not been forward thinking at all. they lived in the moment and the World Passed them by.

i Went to a club in blackpool with my dad about 30+ years ago and the locals looked down on the fact there was strangers in town and worst still a kid.

from what ive been reading not a lot has changed in mind sets since and instead of encouraging newbies its been a case of we dont want you on our patch.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Wildey

Roland wrote:You haven't been in a snooker club for over 30 years?

Yes but i was saying how it was when i was a kid in a foreign part when i was on holiday.

they frouned apong kids entering their establishment and i dont think nothings changed that much today.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Roland

There really aren't many kids playing in the local leagues I play. Maybe 3 or 4 under the age of 25, unless they're playing in the lower divisions and I'm missing something but you don't really see many kids or young adults in clubs generally.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Wildey

Roland wrote:There really aren't many kids playing in the local leagues I play. Maybe 3 or 4 under the age of 25, unless they're playing in the lower divisions and I'm missing something but you don't really see many kids or young adults in clubs generally.

Because of the Reputation that Snooker Clubs have been Known for.

Many have been their own worst enemy there are of course exceptions to every rule but when the Wrong people retire or die and their place are taken up by others who are no more than a wage hussy then kids these days lose interest very easily and its tough going building up a reputation again.

The Smoking ban has taken hold of the Snooker Clubs because thats been the mainstay clients over the years A Pint, a fag and a Game of Snooker.

there are true snooker enthusiasts that still goes there like you but its not enough to sustain a club 7 days a week all year Round.

Re: Riley's closures - Barry needs to step up

Postby Dan-cat

I've been in snooker clubs around the country and never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome, so I'm not sure about the 'not on our patch' statement Wildey, I've had no experience with that. I guess it could happen in cliquey working mens clubs. But I do agree that they are stuck in the past. They are generally poorly maintained, 'orrible greasy food and shitty service. I had a plan to start a snooker / pool club in London combined with healthy and nutritious food - try to revolutionise it a bit, teach people about how important that is for a happy life. But it's just an idea.

Until a few months ago my mate and I played in a club in Mile End. The deep fat fryer was at the end of the bar and if someone ordered chips it stank the whole place out, our clothes reeked of fat and my girlfriend started to complain at me when I saw her after. One of the girls behind the bar was so miserable I made it my mission to try to get her to smile every time I went there (I achieved it once.) If she was having a fag outside when we arrived, she would make us wait to finish it before letting us in. The tables were rubbish too, gaping pockets and we constantly got kicks (clanging kicks where the object ball goes in the opposite direction.) Then we got upgraded. We discovered the Hurricane Rooms in Kings Cross, the tables are mostly brilliant (a few idiosyncrasies but that's to be expected, there's a proper match table there with tiny pockets that we sometimes play on if we are feeling brave (It's frustrating, but it actually makes you play better, you have to really focus on pushing the cue through straight and all the rest of your technique.)

I'm playing tonight at 5 at Hurricane Rooms, can't wait! :)