PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter has shut down any chance of the World Championship leaving the UK.
The sport’s hallmark World Championship tournament over the Christmas period has been held at iconic North London venue Alexandra Palace since 2008.
But as interest in darts has made a sharp and continuing rise on the back of Luke Littler‘s rise, there has been doubts over the future of the tournament being held at Alexandra Palace.
There was interest from the Middle East – notably Saudi Arabia bringing the event away from the UK in a historic first.
Darts chief Barry Hearn held talks with leading representatives, which could have seen it follow big sporting events such Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk over to the region.
Although he then suggested to talkSPORT that it would now be a highly unlikely move given the event would not permit the consumption of alcohol.
Now, PDC kingpin Porter has poured cold water on the talks in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com.
He said: “100 per cent, we see the future of the Darts World Championship in the UK.
“Ally Pally is an iconic home of the World Darts Championship, it is somewhere we have been happy over the years we have been there.
“Clearly we want to keep growing the event, we will be introducing the new sessions to accommodate more players this year.
“We will keep reviewing that and options available to us as to where the event can go and stay.
“But it must fit its status and keeps it being loved by the fans. It is important that trip to the World Championship becomes part of people’s social calendar.
Ally Pally will remain the sport’s home for now, but it will remain under constant reviewGetty“Ally Pally is an important part of the event, but it is important we keep reviewing things.”
The potential of a move of the tournament to Saudi drew mixed reactions from the PDC tour.
Ticket demand was unprecedented as fans flocked to watch Litter’s record-breaking run to the title in January, but it is believed a more popular choice could be to keep the tournament in it’s current home.
One way that is being explored by the PDC is a move to the larger hall inside Ally Pally, which could accommodate an increased 8,000 fans per session.
It is currently looking a challenging ask though, given the big hall currently plays host to the fan village.
And Porter has admitted the logistics of a switch could prevent it from happening.
He concluded: “The big hall has always been a challenge because the amount of space elsewhere.
“But they have plans to enhance their venue, and things can be done differently as technology evolves.
“It’s an ongoing process, we are in constant contact with them over their plans.
“But again this is also something we will continue to review as time goes on.”
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