English: Sheffield: Crucible Theatre with new roof The Crucible Theatre has a few sporting links apart from the obvious connection with the World Snooker Championships. It has also hosted a major squash championship, and it was built in 1971 on the site of the Adelphi Hotel. At meetings held at the Adelphi, the following sporting institutions were formed: on 30 January 1854, Bramall Lane Cricket Ground, later to become the home of Sheffield United Football Club; on 8 January 1863, Yorkshire County Cricket Club; and on 4 September 1867, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.

Looking quite different from last year (see 495326), the Crucible is undergoing a major £15m refurbishment between May 2007 and October 2009 - opening during that time only for the 2008 and 2009 World Snooker Championships. This picture was taken on the first day of the 2008 tournament.

Since last year, the major visible difference is the replacement of the familiar red roof with a new brass one; the sprung floor of the stage has also been replaced with one that is simpler to maintain and, in snooker terms, easier to instal two tables weighing a couple of ton. In the next twelve months the interior will undergo major changes, with the box office being moved, the bar area and refreshments area moved round, recarpeting and new seating in the auditorium, and much improved disabled access. Such is the tightness for space backstage that, when the snooker is on, wheelchair access is available only to one table and involves a circuitous route through the players' lounge to the one lift.

The Crucible management hand the keys over to contractors on 9 May 2008, and regular snooker visitors like myself await the appearance of the building in 2009 with great interest.