Six-times world champion Steve Davis has been chatting to the Lancashire Evening Post about his memories of the Guild Hall in Preston as a venue for top class snooker…
Steve told the LEP:
“When people talk about snooker, the Guild Hall was one of our best-ever venues.
“Every player that ever played there would only have good words to say about it.”
“Over the years, Preston has been synonymous with snooker,” he says.
“There has always been fond memories for me. To think of how many great matches have been shown on TV from that perspective and from that venue is marvellous.
“If the UK Championship was to come back to the Guild Hall at some stage, I don’t think there would be a snooker player that experienced it before that wouldn’t be jumping up and saying, ‘That’s where it should be’.
“Whether or not I’d be playing, I don’t know, but it would be nice to come back and say finally the UK has gone back to its spiritual home.”
“China recently has been making enquiries about the World Championship but I think that we’d be foolish to take the World Championship out of the country just for the sake of a few quid because of all the history you’d lose.
“It’s a shame in a way that there was all the history at the Guild Hall that is now forgotten.
“It was lovely memories. The UK Championships at the moment is in Telford, which is OK as a venue, but I don’t think it’s got anywhere near the soul and personality that the Guild Hall had.”
Unfortunately I never had the chance to watch live snooker at the Guild Hall but from what people have told me it would appear to much-missed venue by the fans as well as the players. Would anyone here like to see it go back?