Inside a £200 million snooker venue where Ronnie will play will look like Disneyland
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN competes today at one of snooker’s largest permanent venues – a venue that could become a future home to the World Championship.
The World Open, shelved for five years due to the Covid pandemic, will be held this week at the grand Yushan Sports Center in China’s Jiangxi province.
7
7
A five-hour drive south-west of Shanghai, the Center claims to be the world’s first purpose-built venue designed specifically for billiards and snooker events.
The building, which looks like something out of Disneyland Paris, has a construction area of 35,500 square meters and is 25.7 meters high, the equivalent of an eight-storey building.
The arena for the cloth campaign has 3,000 permanent seats, but there is capacity for an additional 1,000 seats.
And should the Rocket go far this week – there’s £170,000 on the table for the winner on Sunday – there’s a good chance every seat will be filled.
The seven-time world champion will play Welshman Michael White in the first round on Tuesday and he already has more than £1 million in prize money on the table this year.
The sports center is the centerpiece of an ambitious project to form the Yushan International Billiards Culture City project, which is estimated to cost more than £200 million.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the sport’s governing body, claims the building has “high-quality maple flooring from Canada to prevent vibrations and ensure snooker tables remain stable at all times”.
These are said to be “the most advanced soundproofing materials to minimize distractions for the players.”
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
LED screens are said to have been installed at each entrance so fans can follow the latest scores between frames.
And there are up to “45 bespoke rooms” suitable for snooker and other indoor sports.
There are also areas for the media, tournament staff, commentators and drug testers, while other facilities include a heated swimming pool, gym, children’s play area and fitness centre.
Jason Ferguson, president of WPBSA, said in September 2018 that China wants to make Yushan County a “home” for snooker.
And given the sheer size and scope of the Centre, this opens up the debate as to whether it would ever be a suitable venue for the World Championships.
Traditionalists might want to stay at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, which opened its doors to action in 1977 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary of top-level snooker in 2027.
Yet the hall there can only accommodate fewer than 1,000 seats and the contract must be renewed in three years.
Although the BBC is still broadcasting the event, it will certainly remain in Britain, but there is talk of money in the corridors of power at Matchroom Sport.
Veteran sports promoter Barry Hearn, who founded the Essex-based organization in 1982, does not want to move the event away from Sheffield.
He has close ties there given his management of six-time world champion Steve Davis and the success of the product this century.
7
7
Yet in recent years he has told the city council that he wants to see more investments in infrastructure and behind the scenes.
His son Eddie now runs the company and is not as involved in the day-to-day running of snooker. He is more hands-on with boxing.
So who knows? Perhaps one day during the World Snooker Tour, officials in Yushan will make a compelling argument that the sport’s flagship event could be held in their city in April and May. The building and facilities are all there.
That would have been an unthinkable prospect last year when 10 Chinese players were banned from the sport, two for life, for match-fixing offenses and corruption allegations.
But almost a year later, with the cheaters thrown out, a new breed of Chinese players is emerging.
And it only takes one of them, perhaps someone like Zhang Anda or Si Jiahui, to make that breakthrough at the highest level and the case for taking the Long Road to China becomes stronger.
7
7