tournament in London
The Darts World Cup should remain in the Ally Pally in the long term
According to the organizer’s wishes, the Darts World Cup should also take place in London in the long term. photo
© Zac Goodwin/PA Wire/dpa
Rotation principle and new location? The world association PDC has no plans to change location for the Darts World Cup. You can’t even go into the larger hall of Alexandra Palace.
“We believe that the West Hall of Alexandra Palace is the right venue for the competition. The atmosphere is breathtaking. The infrastructure is also substantial. If the tournament were in the Great Hall, it would be difficult to accommodate the remaining infrastructure in Alexandra Palace. We are planning “Continue as before and are happy with it,” said Matthew Porter, head of the PDC association, to the German Press Agency.
The world’s most important tournament has been held at Ally Pally every year since the 2008 edition. Professionals like Gerwyn Price from Wales repeatedly call for a rotation principle or changing hosts. The PDC, on the other hand, says it is not even thinking about moving to the larger Great Hall (around 10,000 seats).
Exceptional atmosphere
“The nice thing about the tournament is that a Tuesday at 2 p.m. looks the same as Saturday night at 9 p.m. We don’t want to lose that. The atmosphere is the same throughout the tournament, which is perfect for us,” said Porter. The 3,000 or so tickets per session are usually sold out after a short time in summer. In total, the event has space for around 90,000 spectators.
The official also does not see it as realistic to assign individual World Cup games or sessions to other countries or markets. “No, I don’t know of any other tournament in which something like this is practiced, in any sport. The 2030 World Cup is something completely different. Darts is not one game per session, that is not a practical suggestion,” said the official. The PDC is currently not planning to expand the field of participants from 96 professionals again.