Ally Pally at risk of losing World Darts Championship as Barry Hearn copies Crucible threat
Barry Hearn looks set to shake up the sporting landscape in the UK
PA
Barry Hearn has revealed the future of the World Darts Championship being held at the Alexandra Palace is 'under discussion' as the Matchroom president plans to shake up sport in the UK.
The 75-year-old angered some snooker fans last month when he suggested the World Snooker Championships could be moved to Saudi Arabia or China.
The famous event has been held at the Crucible, which only holds 980 people, since 1977 but its contract expires in 2027 and Hearn has repeatedly called on the Sheffield City Council to build a new bigger venue.
If that doesn't happen, Hearn is prepared to look at other offers on the table from foreign countries prepared to pay big money to host snooker's biggest event.
Barry Hearn looks set to shake up the sporting landscape in the UK
PA
And Hearn is now looking at doing something similar with the World Darts Championship, which has been held at Alexandra Palace since 2008.
Tickets for the sport's showpiece event often sell out before hitting general sale as the popularity has boomed in recent years.
Luke Littler's rise to the top of the sport has increased the sport's popularity to another level with this year's World Championships expected to be it's most popular yet.
Alexandra Palace currently holds 3,200 people at full capacity and Hearn feels there is scope to move the event somewhere much bigger.
“Do we need to move to a bigger venue? The bigger hall at Ally Pally needs a lot of work done to it but it could handle 6,000 people per session,” Hearn told the PA news agency.
“So there is the potential. But the other side of it is the game of darts around the world is getting so huge I actually need to make the World Championship longer.
“If I have got eight extra sessions I have got 25,000 more tickets to sell. But inevitably in the end we are going to be looking at what we are going to do.
“It is one step at a time, I am not a gambler, but sometimes you get a curveball like Luke Littler and you have to rethink your strategy.
Luke Littler has been credited with darts' huge rise in popularity
PA
“We reckon we could sell 250,000 tickets for the World Championship and they wouldn’t fit in the Ally Pally.
“It’s one step at a time, we are looking at the big hall but it needs a lot of work done.
"We are keeping our options open because we have learned with Luke Littler that you sometimes can’t see what is coming.
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Barry Hearn has threatened to move the World Snooker Championships from the Crucible
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“It’s under discussion with everybody.”
Hearn's comments come a few months after Gerwyn Price suggested the World Darts Championship needed to move away from the Alexandra Palace.
He said in December: "Maybe move it to Germany, Holland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales or Belgium. I don't see any reason why they can't do it.
"I know they have the history with Ally Pally, but times move on, things change."
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