Hearn: We could ditch Ally Pally as World Darts Championship hosts
Sports promotion guru Barry Hearn has said he is considering moving darts away from Ally Pally.
The iconic London venue hosts the annual PDC World Darts Championship and sold 90,000 tickets for this year’s 16-day competition.
But with the field increasing by 32 players to form a 128-player draw in time for a new TV deal with Sky Sports, Hearn has his sights set on more ticket sales.
“For the world championship this year, 90,000 tickets sold out in 15 minutes,” Hearn, 76, told TalkSport.
“I asked my people in head office, ‘tell me, how many could I have sold?
“They said, somewhere over 300,000. Now that puts a different emphasis on it. Same as when we moved from the Circus Tavern all those years ago, now I’m looking at Alexandra Palace.
“And I’m saying, well, it only holds 3,500. I have to grow all the time. If you ever get complacent you go backwards.”
Added Hearn: “So, next year we will go from 96 to 128 players. We will add four more days, which is eight sessions, which is another 25,000 tickets.
“Sooner or later, I should be looking and saying: ‘Do you know, like with snooker, I need a bigger venue.’ I mean I can sell out any arena in the world. But can I do it for 30 or 40 sessions?
“That’s the key issue because the atmosphere makes it a great night.”