Matthew Edgar has never been shy of an opinion, and this week he’s decided to put Alexandra Palace on the chopping block. The three-time World Darts Championship qualifier reckons the sport’s biggest event has simply outgrown its iconic North London home, warning that darts is at a crunch point when it comes to demand.
Speaking recently to Online Darts, Edgar said:
“Just visualise it. You’re stood outside selling tickets, you let everybody in, and then you close the door – sorry, nothing left. Then you look outside and you could fill it ten times more. You go, ‘I’m turning away more people than I’m letting in.’ That’s not good business sense.”
He makes a fair point. At Christmas, Ally Pally looks like someone tried to squeeze Glastonbury into a garden shed. The queues snake halfway to the car park, and people treat a golden ticket to the Worlds like Willy Wonka has just invited them to tour his treble-20 factory.
Edgar, though, is blunt:
“Do you think Barry Hearn is going to stand for that for long? He’s not seeing people, he’s seeing pounds. And the players, they’re going to sit there going, ‘Barry, can you sort this out?’ Because if we get all these people in, ticket prices will go up, which means our prize money goes up. So it benefits everybody. And it benefits the fans too, being able to get in there and watch this. I think we’ve got to be looking at least a 5,000-seater venue now.”
In Edgar’s eyes, the World Championship has hit superstar status where the players themselves almost don’t matter.
“We’re at a point now where darts is selling regardless. It’s become the WrestleMania. People book their tickets and flights before even knowing who’s on the card – it doesn’t matter. That’s what the World Championships are now. It’s the Christmas party, it’s the big event.”
So, as for Ally Pally? Matt suggested that Alexandra Palace could become the permanent home of the revamped Winmau World Masters.
“I think its time as the home of the World Championships has gone. Get rid of soulless Milton Keynes and put the new Winmau World Masters at Alexandra Palace. I know it’s not the same tournament from the old days, but it’s still the same name, it still has that stature.”
Edgar however is adamant the Worlds must remain in a major city. London certainly ticks that box at least:
“It’s got to stay in a major city, with connections and good accommodation. You can’t put it somewhere without hotels or transport links… I think it has to stay in London for that reason.”
And in classic Edgar fashion, he also wandered off into seaside philosophy:
“Blackpool works because it’s a holiday destination in summer. Why not more seaside, holiday-style events? Look at Butlins Minehead – it sells out in the coldest months of the year, people happily stay in caravans, even when the pipes froze and there was no running water. That tells you it works.”
Well, with frozen pipes, I wouldn’t exactly say happily Matt. Perhaps more reluctantly. But in short, Edgar wants darts to stay glamorous, stay London-based, but also spend its weekends by the seaside.
EDGAR ON CURRENT DARTS ISSUES: Matt’s full interview with Online Darts
Whether the PDC will listen is another matter. But if Ally Pally really has had its day, it’s time to ask: which venue has the shoulders broad enough to carry the biggest party in sport?
The O2 would get many a vote.
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC
