York loses its major snooker tournament (From York Press)

York loses its major snooker tournament

10:39am Tuesday 5th June 2007 in News By Sam Southgate

WORLD class snooker will not be held in York this year due to delays in a multimillion pound revamp of the Barbican Centre.

Organisers of the UK Snooker Championships have announced they will hold the tournament elsewhere because they are not confident the venue will be ready.

The news that the city has lost the prestigious contest - the second highest profile competition in the snooker calendar - after six years will come as a bitter blow to fans of the game.

Tourist chiefs and councillors also expressed their regret, saying it would hit the city's economy.

The two-week event is televised on the BBC and watched by snooker fans around the world.

It features star players such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, who controversially walked out of the tournament mid-match last year.

A spokesman for World Snooker said: "We have decided to move the tournament elsewhere from 2007.

"The venue, owned by Absolute Leisure, is currently undergoing major redevelopment works and we were not 100 per cent convinced that it would be ready to stage one of the biggest events on the snooker calendar in December."

He added: "We would not rule out the possibility of professional snooker returning to York at some point in the future."

But Coun David Scott, leader of the opposition Labour group, said he feared the event could be gone for good.

"It is very disappointing that a world class event is no longer coming to York," he said.

"We may lose it for good because who knows where it is going to go. It again shows the lack of planning in relation to the Barbican sale and refurbishment that we have always complained about."

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said it was a huge loss to the city.

She said: "It is an extremely important event in the city's calendar and is very important for York.

"We just hope that the organisers will come back to the city once the state-of-the-art facilities are built."

Snooker fans will also miss top class action on their doorstep. Gary Penrose, of the Cueball Snooker Club, in James Street, said: "It's bad news. Because we don't get a great deal here, to lose the second highest-profile tournament is a bit of a blow."

York MP Hugh Bayley also said he was "disappointed", adding: "It is a blow to have lost the tournament."

Ernie Dickinson, former chairman of the Save Our Barbican campaign group, said it was the latest debacle in the Barbican saga. But council leader Steve Galloway said the Barbican would be an "attractive venue" when it was renovated, saying: "I am sure Absolute Leisure will be doing the best they can to ensure that there is a good range of entertainment put on there."

The new venue for the championships has yet to be confirmed and organisers say they expect to make an announcement within three weeks.