2011 UK Championship boosts economy of York – Snooker news
One of the World Snooker’s Triple Crowns, the UK Championship, has finished successfully at York Barbican Centre. The championship had returned to York after four years of its absence. Before coming back to York, it was held at the Telford International Centre, in Telford, from 2007-11.
The nine-day championship received a marvellous support and appreciation from snooker lovers of York city. The return of world snooker’s second biggest event attracted thousands of snooker fans to the Barbican Centre arena to be a part of this glorious tournament.
The 27th edition of the UK Championship has also given a boost to York‘s economy. According to the event organisers at York Barbican, who hailed the championship for providing support and entertainment, the tournament has made the Barbican Centre arena a centre of attention for snooker followers and has drawn them to the venue.
The ticket sale stats provided by the organising committee show that the final encounter of the UK Snooker Championship, which was played between the young Englishman, Judd Trump, and the Pistol, Mark Allen, has pulled a record number of spectators to the arena.
The committee stated that the ultimate encounter, which finished on December 11, enjoyed the highest ticket sales in the 34-year history of the championship. They added that an average crowd of 650 attended all the matches of the event regularly.
Speaking to local media after the championship, operations manager for Spectator Management Group (SMG), Steve Ford said, “We’ve hosted a number of sold-out events since re-opening in May and the level of support the people of York have shown this iconic venue is brilliant.”
He added, “The reaction performers get when they play here, coupled with excellent ticket sales, has given entertainment promoters the confidence to return next year with bigger and better shows including Katherine Jenkins, Van Morrison and Matt Cardle.”
SMG is one of the largest operators of arenas for indoor sports like snooker, badminton and table tennis in United Kingdom and runs the management of the Barbican Centre. They told that the return of the 2011 UK Championship has brought an incredible change in the economy of York city for the last eight months.
On the other hand, the city of York was full of visitors and tourists from around the world, who came before the start of the event and spent some time visiting the city. York’s tourism organisation, Visit York, was also busy because snooker fans were paying a visit to the city.
Visit York’s chief executive, Gillian Cruddas, stated that the UK Snooker Championship organisers had the best event in the city. The snooker event drew the attention of global media as well as the fans who visited the place. He also said that the number of visitors increased due to the championship.
Cruddas spoke, “It is difficult to put an exact figure on economic impact just yet but so far we estimate it in excess of £1 million additional spending.”
Meanwhile, a rise in the customers was also seen in local businesses operating near the arena as they earned massive profits throughout the tournament. According to Jon Fulton, a businessman who owns The Phoenix Inn near George Street, there has been a clear increase in the number of customers since the Barbican Centre re-opened for the 2011 UK Championship.
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