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Although the news was leaked in the early hours of Sunday morning, Betfred have now officially been unveiled as the new sponsors of the World Championship for the next four years. Click below to read the details, as well as a few of my thoughts on how the fan experience at the Crucible could be improved…
To read the official statement announcing the deal on World Snooker, please click here.
It is great news that the tournament will now have a sponsor, particular one with previous experience of sponsoring events such as the Premier League, as well as individual players like Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams. As has been said, hopefully this will be the start of a long-term partnership, lasting for at least four years which can only be good for everyone concerned.
From a fan point of view and in particular one who goes to the Crucible, it will be interesting to see how the tournament experience develops with Betfred as backers. On the whole I think that previous sponsor 888.com did a good job with it, but there were a few drawbacks too, in particular the removal of the betting stand which I think had a negative effect on the general vibe at the Crucible. Hopefully Betfred will be willing to install one and this would help add to the atmosphere outside the auditorium.
Also the removal of the Heritage Room from one of the most prominent areas of the building, replacing it with a closed off, corporate hospitality area for 888.com. To me it would make more sense to make this an area for the fans instead, though in fairness to 888.com I don’t know whether it was their decision or instead one from World Snooker.
Furthermore it would also be interesting to see the marketing men at Betfred and/or World Snooker come up with some high quality merchandise this year, an area which I think has been almost taken for granted over the last few years. When I attended the last Embassy tournament in 2005 there were at least a few interesting items such as signed presentations such as these, really nice Embassy World Championship mugs and a few other bits. Over the last few years however, the highlights have pretty much been the same old t-shirts with 147 written on them and a few fridge magnets.
This is certainly an area that I think could be improved to the benefit of both fans who could pick up some nice items to remember the day by, and the WPBSA who make a bit of money. Again I am not sure how much of a say Betfred would have in this, but I can only imagine that it would increase awareness of their business to have fans wearing a t-shirt with their logo on it somewhere.
But anyway, the best of luck to Betfred as sponsors and I look forward to seeing how the set looks with their logo and colours being prominent. I did not like the previous green so anything will be an improvement I think!
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5 comments
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wildJONESEYE
Twitter: wildey_1
says:
April 9, 2009 at 1:06 am (UTC 0 )
how much are betfred investing over a 4 year period?
this years world championship is sponsored in the region of £1,100,000 so does that meen betfred sponsorship is in the region of £5,000,000 over 4 years?
matt2745 says:
April 9, 2009 at 1:08 am (UTC 0 )
The unofficial figure printed in the News of the World on Sunday suggested that they are paying £2m over the next four years, so £500,000 per year. If true this would not cover the prize money, but as someone pointed out to me recently, I guess the WPBSA will be receiving money from the BBC too so that will hopefully make up the difference.
wildJONESEYE
Twitter: wildey_1
says:
April 9, 2009 at 1:14 am (UTC 0 )
yes so if its a figure of 2million and the WSA are making up the difference its misinterpriting the sponsorship deal and in fact its only half the world championship that will be sponsored by betfred…..
i think having betfred onboard is great but they should be honest if its only in the region of £500,000 a year….let them say that.
matt2745 says:
April 9, 2009 at 1:17 am (UTC 0 )
“Walker also said that he could not reveal the amount being invested but that it was a “four year, multi million pound deal.” From Snooker Scene Blog.
I know what you are saying but I guess that they aren’t under any responsibility to make public how much they have paid. I can’t remember if 888.com did previously?
wildJONESEYE
Twitter: wildey_1
says:
April 9, 2009 at 10:18 am (UTC 0 )
why cant he reveal?
has he got something to hide ?
Betfred.com World Championship 2009: Tournament Round-up « Pro Snooker Blog says:
May 5, 2009 at 3:07 pm (UTC 0 )
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