Sheffield City Council gives update on talks over crucial £10m for Crucible expansion for World Snooker
World Snooker could be worth up to £208m to Sheffield over the next 25 years
Discussions over crucial £10m funding to expand the Crucible for World Snooker are well developed, the city council says.
The authority is talking to potential private sector, philanthropic and partner funders over the cash, which will top up the pot to £45m.
So far, taxpayers are footing £35m of the bill through £25m from the mayor of South Yorkshire and £10m from central government.
Now, the city council says the rest of the contributions are progressing towards deals, which could include memoranda of understanding, funding agreements and in-kind support.
The clarification comes after the city council last week approved the next stage of design work and the preparation of a full business case for the project.
At the time it said there was now a “credible route” to a fully-funded scheme.
The funding package was agreed at a round table hosted by the then Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Crucible in March.
Some £45m is set to be spent upgrading and expanding the iconic venue for World Snooker.
It will have the ability to increase capacity by 50 per cent, from its current 964 seats, to a 1,500-seat theatre in the round.
World Snooker could be worth up to £208m to Sheffield over the next 25 years, the city council estimates.