BREAKING NEWS! As chair of Sheffield Theatres we are delighted that the World Snooker Championships are staying in Sheffield - at The Crucible - until at least 2045! This is a big deal which is worth millions of pounds to the city but also enables us to revamp The Crucible, make it even more special, bring it right up to date and secure it for generations to come. The cost of the project is £45,000,000 and we have secured £35,000,000 worth of government funding and the other 10 is coming from the private sector and some of our partners. A lot of people have worked really hard to get this deal over the line and the city council have put the hours in. We know there are understandable questions about closing The Crucible for a projected 18 months and we will answer all of those. I should say that Sheffield Theatres will keep producing work in the Lyceum and the Montgomery while the Crucible is getting refurbished with capacity for an extra 500 seats. We feel that the benefits of this deal give us the chance to secure a sporting and theatrical legacy for Sheffield. This is a HUGE moment for the city but it is also significant for the arts in north of England and the whole of the UK. @crucibletheatre @SheffCouncil