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Image copyright - Burland TM architects

Cue the Billiardrome

A proposal to build a cue sports centre in Sheffield has been unveiled. If approved and funded could it be the deciding factor in Sheffield's bid to keep the prestigious World Snooker Championships in the city for the long-term future?

:: January 2005

Attempts to retain the World Snooker Championships for the long-term future could mean the build of a venue which could keep the competition in Sheffield.

Named the 'Billiardrome', the purpose-built venue aims to provide seating for between 3000 and 3500 spectators, many more than the 970 capacity of The Crucible. If the investment is made it could keep the championships in the city for years to come.

The venue also has the potential to stage other sports such as table tennis, boxing or weight lifting and would add to the already extensive sporting facilities in the city.

The World Snooker organisation received bids from Preston, Newcastle/Gateshead, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham to host the championships in 2006, threatening The Crucible's 27 year reign.

Image copyright - Burland TM architects

However, an announcement made before the 2005 competition secured Sheffield as the home of snooker for the next five years.

Snooker enthusiast Peter Bainbridge's idea for a cue sports venue was taken a step further by architect James Burland when he put together the design for the Billiardrome - both developed their ideas from a snooker fan's perspective.

The design for the building's exterior retains the cue sports theme as it resembles a cube of chalk, they have planned to bank the seating very steeply to provide the best view, and the facility will also provide a coaching centre, qualifying area and offices.

It's hoped that funding for the building could be provided by national and local organisations including Yorkshire Forward and Sport England. It's estimated that the build will cost between £12m and £15m.

David Fletcher is the director of investments and marketing for Sheffield First for Investment Group and has been working on the proposal for the last few months with two objectives in mind.

"One is to retain the World Snooker Championships here in Sheffield, the second is actually to work with World Snooker in the future to help them develop the sport, one of the aspects of that would be the development of the World Snooker Academy within the city," said Fletcher.

"The one thing the World Snooker Championships would benefit from is a facility which is designed specifically with that use in mind, the one drawback of The Crucible is of course the size.

"Having said that The Crucible has offered, over a number of years, a very unique atmosphere for the World Snooker Championships, but we are in a time when commercial reality plays a part in all these decisions."

The economic implications are huge for Sheffield - a study carried out by Sheffield Hallam University estimated that the 17-day competition generates over £3m of additional income for the city's services and businesses, and helps advertise the city globally.

Click on the link on the right hand side of this page and take a look at the artist's impressions of how the Billiardrome could look.

last updated: 11/06/2008 at 10:33
created: 17/01/2005

Have Your Say

What you think of the proposed venue? Is the Billiardrome worth the investment?

Tommy M
great idea. ?It would compliment the ongoing regeneration in Sheffield.

daf
how come so many of the articles on the sy regeneration page are so old and yet the work to which they refer is nowhere near to completion? C'mon Sheffield Council- sort it out and actually FINISH what you start, before you begin digging up the rest of the city (i can dream).

carl
great idea! only drawback is that it would lose the crucible's unique atmosphere but hey, were in the 21st century now!!

Paul
If it is to be built. It must be located in the city centre. If sheffield is to develop we must use the city centre not out at don valley. There is so much space in the city centre (this includes unused buildings roxy etc). There will be moaners re traffic but those who think sheffield is conjested need to get out more

Jazz
Excellent idea, needs a central location. Agree with AndrewC about the old roxy site- would be a fantastic welcome to the city for people leaving the train station.

rug
Great idea, as long as sheffield keeps the championship.

d royston
Superb Idea... If it means that Sheffield keeps its connections with the great game. The old Roxy would be superb I'm sure...

Jim McGuire
I made a mistake in the comment that you published. I said "3,000 players is too many to fit around an 8ft snooker table" A snooker table is of course 12ft long.

Chris M
Brilliant - and it just has to be called THE CUEB

Jim McGuire
I'm not convinced. 3,000 players is too many to fit around an 8ft snooker table. I've been to Wembley (currently the largest snooker venue at around 2,000 capacity) for the Masters a number of times and it's never fun to be stuck at the back. The crucible is the most popular venue because of its small size. I think it would be far better to build two 1,500 seater venues for Snooker. The World Championships plays two matches at the same time, what better way to host it than two stadiums on the same site?

Richard
Fantastic idea and the design is dazzling!

John
Excellent idea, nice to see the council been forward thinking. I agree with AndrewC that the old Roxy is an ideal site. It would be nice if the venue could encourage more high profile boxiing as the Arena seems to be failing there. All we need to do now is sort the liscensing laws out for the city.

Andrew Griffiths
A civic theatre would be more useful.

matt s2
quality!!! the council NEED to keep snooker.sheffield needs this

Mark
The snooker needs to stay in Sheffield so we need this new building.You would not move the tenis from Wimbledon so why move the snooker from Sheffield.We have lost enough in Sheffield like losing our airport to Doncaster

AndrewC
This is excellent, not only could it retain sheffields status as the home of snooker but it can help youngsters develop and improve the game. This would be an excellent replacement for the run down Odeon or Roxy Disco buildings on Arundel Gate.

thomas paris
if it keeps snooker in its rightful home then it is worth it. Hopefully it would have a good central location. any ieas?

Christopher Graham
I suggest the Billiardrome would be worth the investment, primarily to keep the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield. Where is the proposed location for this venue?

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