Players Back Belfast Venue for 2029 World Snooker Championship

Waterfront Hall in Belfast has received support from professional snooker players as a potential venue for the 2029 World Snooker Championship, when renovation work at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre is expected to prevent it from hosting the tournament. Northern Ireland's Jordan Brown and England's Jack Lisowski believe the Belfast arena could provide a suitable setting for snooker's biggest event.

The Crucible redevelopment includes an extension adding 500 seats, according to Metro. The work could force the championship to move for at least one year, although a longer absence from Sheffield remains possible. Organizers have not announced the temporary venue.

Alexandra Palace in London, the Barbican in York and Manchester Central are among the locations being considered as possible alternatives. Waterfront Hall, which regularly hosts World Snooker Tour events, is another candidate and will stage the Northern Ireland Open again this month.

Brown, who reached the Northern Ireland Open quarterfinals last season after defeating Zhao Xintong and Shaun Murphy, believes the Belfast venue could accommodate the world championship. The arena has a snooker capacity of approximately 1,400 spectators.

"I'm not being biased because it's obviously my home tournament and venue, but I've said it loads of times in the past that the Waterfront would be a perfect venue to hold the World Championship," Brown told Metro.

He highlighted the arena's layout, which allows spectators seated around the venue to watch the action from balconies overlooking the playing area.

"Anywhere you sit in the crowd is good, with the way it's set up with balconies overlooking the arena. I think it's the absolute perfect venue, why not have it there?" Brown said.

Brown also pointed to Belfast's proximity to Sheffield and the local support that a major tournament could attract. He cited previous finals in the city as examples of the atmosphere spectators could experience.

"It's not too far away from where it's held in Sheffield, a 40 minute fight. I think it would be great for Belfast, with the fans, you'd get a great turnout for it, that's guaranteed. You've seen it with last year's final [Jack Lisowski 9-8 Judd Trump] and Mark [Allen]'s final with John Higgins – very, very special occasions. If it was the World championship, boy, you'd be in for a treat," Brown said.

Lisowski, who won the Northern Ireland Open last year, also endorsed Waterfront Hall as a potential championship venue. He described the proposal as appealing and praised the atmosphere he had experienced there as both a spectator and a competitor.

"It's a cool idea," Lisowski told Metro.

Lisowski has attended events in Belfast for years and recalled staying in the city after an early tournament exit to watch Judd Trump compete. He also remembered the atmosphere when he later played at the venue himself.

"It gets my vote. I love the place. It's incredible.

I've been going there for years. One year I lost early and I stayed for another five or six days because Judd was in it. I was just going out in Belfast drinking and he was still in it.

He played Ronnie in the final, it was amazing. Then to then play him there myself, it was very special. Luckily I was playing well enough to deal with it because it was getting quite rowdy, at the end especially, it was rammed.

That was my dream when I started playing snooker, playing in somewhere like that, so it made it extra special. It couldn't have happened in a better place," Lisowski said.

Lisowski is scheduled to begin his title defense against Huang Jiahao on Sunday, October 18. His victory in the previous year's final came against Judd Trump, with the match finishing 9-8. Metro also reported that the win carried particular emotional significance for Lisowski following the unexpected death of his father a few months earlier.

Recalling the immediate aftermath of that victory, Lisowski described struggling to process the result before returning home to celebrate with his family.

"When I first won, I was just gone and then I felt like I was going to pass out, felt really light-headed. It was really weird, I felt like I was dreaming. It doesn't really sink in, then you're just floating and going home, seeing everyone at home, my family, my sister came down from London the next morning. It was just so special, it was perfect," Lisowski said.