Time for a change
Ross says BDO World Darts should move from Lakeside
Ross ‘The Boss’ Montgomery reckons the BDO World Darts Championships should leave its Lakeside home and welcome bids from other countries to host the showpiece event.
Following months of uncertainty, the 2019 Championships were last week confirmed for the Lakeside Country Club in Surrey – making it 34 consecutive years at Frimley Green.
The Boss, who reached the quarter-finals in 2015, is pleased to hear January’s tournament will take place, but believes it’s time to shake things up.
The 56-year-old from Greenhills said: “It’s good that it’s all sorted. At least now we know it is happening and the players can prepare for it.
“But I feel it should have been moved to another venue.
“Our sport needs to move with the times because we’ve been struggling for attendances the last few years.
“I know Lakeside is iconic and has the history, but I feel it’s time for a change.
“The following darts has is massive. When I go to the Dutch Open, there’s 4000 folk there for the finals day. You don’t get that at Lakeside.
“So why not play it somewhere different every year and let countries bid to host it?
“Players travel all over the world to play in the BDO World Championships.
“If countries, who have players competing, can raise the sponsorship or TV money and increase the prize fund, then why not?
“Taking it elsewhere might double or treble the money that comes in for the tournament.
“We play the Europe Cup and World Cup in different countries, so why not the World Championships? One year play it in Holland or the US.
“I know that’s probably a pipe dream, but it might generate more interest in our game.”
Last month Montgomery told the News players in the BDO were concerned that no venue had been announced for the championship, while tickets – which normally go on sale in August – were not available.
However, you can now purchase briefs from the official Lakeside website ahead of the championships, which run from January 5-13, 2019.
Channel 4 and BT Sport provided live coverage of this year’s tournament, but the BDO announced Eurosport and Freeview channel Quest have picked up the rights to broadcast the 2019 championships.
Ross added: “Finally sorting the TV deal is good as it allows the players to bring in sponsors.
“Eurosport is a channel that most people can watch it on and Quest is on Freeview, so that should allow more people to tune in.
“BT Sport was a killer for a lot of folk last year because it’s an expensive subscription channel, so it’s good that more people should get to see it.
“I know the BDO board have worked really hard to get this deal for us, so a lot of credit has to go to them for that.”
Montgomery is 15th seed for the Lakeside and will warm-up with three ranking events over the next two months. He will play the Czech Open next week, followed by the Italian Masters on November 2324.
The Boss has also picked up a wildcard for the Finders Masters in Holland from December 6-8.
“It’s a busy time of year for me and I’m looking forward to it,” he added.
Why not play it somewhere different every year?