The World Darts Championship has been at Alexandra Palace since 2008, but it could be about to jump up-sticks and move elsewhere.
The sport has rapidly increased in popularity since making the switch from the Circus Tavern to Ally Pally and fans are consistently disappointed about missing out on tickets.
The PDC sold 90,000 tickets in under 15 minutes for the 2025 World Darts Championship, which saw Luke Littler become the youngest World Champion of all time.
PDC boss Barry Hearn is desperate to stay at Ally Pally, but he says the venue needs to look into one thing in order for it to happen.
Barry Hearn demands Ally Pally becomes ‘fit for purpose’
The atmosphere at Alexandra Palace at the World Darts Championship is matched and is something Hearn wants to nurture rather than leave.
With demand for tickets higher than ever, however, it is something the PDC is looking into due to Ally Pally’s size.
Speaking to Online Darts, Hearn said: “We’ve got to look at that and that brings in the consideration of other venues or a move and it’s something that we won’t rush into.
“It won’t be next year it may not be the year after but the way the game’s growing I’m going to have to ask these questions.”
Despite long-held rumours of the biggest event in darts moving to the Middle East, the Matchroom mogul confirmed that’s not going to happen.
“I’m not going to go to Saudi Arabia for a big sight fee and lose the atmosphere of the Alexandra Palace that’s for sure,” said the PDC head honcho.
However, Hearn admitted he needs something different from the Palace and has called for them to change it before the company decides to move.
“What I am doing is saying to Alexandra Palace: ‘Look at next door, the Frans Village, get it fit for purpose’.
“If I can get 7,000 people a session in there instead of 3,500, that’s another 90,000 people that I can satisfy without potentially losing their support and I’ve got to think like that.
“If that’s not possible I will look at other venues because if we want to see prize money continually increase we’ve got to continually increase our revenue.”
Ally Pally has seen eleven different World Champions in its 18-year history, including the likes of Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, and Luke Humphries.
Barry Hearn warns of darts’ next generation
Littler took the sport by storm when he reached the final of the 2024 World Darts Championship, but Hearn has teased there are more elite teenagers to come from the PDC Youth Tour.
Talking to The Sunday Times, Hearn said: “The guys coming through are going to knock your teeth out. Littler is not just a once-in-a-generation prodigy.
“He’s the guy holding the flag for the next generation of superstars and they are coming through in huge numbers.
“We’ve already seen the start of it. On the junior tour, these kids are ten years old throwing nine-darters.”
In 2024, the likes of Wessel Nijman and Mike De Decker won their first-ever ranking tournaments, while Josh Rock broke into the PDC Top 20.