York Barbican a hit for UK Snooker Championships

After a four-year break due to the £2 million redevelopment of the iconic York Barbican, the UK Snooker Championships returned to York this month.

The UK Championships, which were staged in York from 2001 until 2006 when the complex closed, are a real coup for the city. Second only to the World Championships and featuring top stars such as John Higgins, Judd Trump and Mark Allen, the event is estimated to have boosted the city’s economy by £7.5m – more if additional spending on hotels and restaurants are taken into account.   The final also received the highest number of ticket sales in the competition’s 34 year history.

Laura Freer, Business Tourism Marketing Manager for York & Scarborough Conferences, said:

“With several thousand attendees and millions of people watching internationally, the Championships have provided a great platform to promote York globally as a fantastic destination for major events.

“York Barbican re-opened earlier this year and is proving to be a fantastic addition the city’s existing event spaces. It’s unique, flexible and centrally located – all key things that organisers look for when booking an events venue.”

Speaking exclusively to The York Press, chairman of World Snooker Barry Hearn described returning to the York Barbican as a ‘no brainer’ saying: “I need the right venue – something that sits well on an international stage. York [has] one of the best venues in the country.”

Lisa Turton, Conference & Events Manager for York Barbican, said:

“York Barbican offers everything for event organisers and the investment has paid strong attention to enhancing the conference and events facilities to ensure all our equipment is state of the art. The UK Snooker Championships have showcased not only what the Barbican can do as a venue but also what York is capable of when hosting such a prestigious event.”

As well as being centrally located and easily accessible, York Barbican offers a number of versatile events spaces suitable for hosting anything from 2 to 1500 delegates. The auditorium is the perfect space for large conferences, associations and product launches as well as dinners for up to 400. There are two large foyer areas ideal for drinks receptions, exhibitions and networking, and there are also 6 syndicate rooms perfect breakout spaces for larger events, team-building, training and workshops.

-Ends-

Editors’ Notes

• York & Scarborough Conferences is the official business tourism body for York & Scarborough 
• York and Scarborough Conferences is supported by Visit York, Welcome to Yorkshire, City of York Council, Scarborough Borough Council and tourism businesses in York and Scarborough.
• Key facts include:

-       In York business tourism generates a total of £203 million turnover annually and York was ranked 7th in the top ten business tourism cities in England in 2007

-       Scarborough generates £9 million of business tourism spend annually and won the title ‘Europe’s Most Enterprising Place’ at the European Enterprise Awards 2009

For more news and a free image bank visit www.yorkshire.com/mediacentre

For further information please contact:

Victoria Sowerby – Welcome to Yorkshire

Email: victoria@bandhcommunications.co.uk  

Direct Line: 0113 243 4713 

Mobile: 07968 732630

Laura Freer – York & Scarborough Conferences

Direct Line:  01904 554453

Email: lf@visityork.org