THE team behind the PDC's William Hill World Darts Championship has been recognised for its delivery of the event in the prestigious Sports Business Awards.
Following the record-breaking 25th edition held at Alexandra Palace between December 14 2017 and January 1 2018, the event's workforce has been nominated in the Best Operations Team category for the 2018 awards.
The Sports Business Awards celebrate the hard work and achievements of individuals and teams who make sporting success possible, including organisers, administrators and companies involved in sport.
And following on from the 2017 edition where the World Darts Championship was awarded silver in the Sports Event of The Year category, this year sees the staff that make the event possible receive a nomination to be judged on by a panel of from the world of sports business.
Up to 500 staff work at the event each day, with the PDC's team supported by venue and catering staff from Alexandra Palace, Sky Sports TV production crew, William Hill's sponsorship and hospitality team, SeeTickets event staff and a host of catering, cleaning, traffic management and other operational contractors.
"I'm really proud that we’ve been nominated for this prestigious award," said PDC Chief Executive Matthew Porter.
"It's fantastic recognition for our hard-working staff who give up their personal and family time over Christmas to deliver a world-class event to over 65,000 fans from across the globe.
"With the dynamic nature of the crowd and often difficult weather conditions, it's an event that requires a huge amount of planning and execution, but the World Darts Championship is synonymous with Christmas in this country now and that wouldn't be the case if our staff didn't deliver to the high levels that they produce day-in and day-out.
"Our team consists of an management group who look after staging, security and tournament officiating, as well as servicing our sponsors, the world's media and our increasing number of hospitality clients.
"We couldn’t do it without the fantastic working relationships we have with Sky Sports, William Hill, Alexandra Palace and SeeTickets – all of whom play a critical part in delivering a successful event.
"When you look across the nominations in all categories, this shows the standing which the World Darts Championship now holds in world sport."
Other nominations in the category are Arena UK & Europe Mass Participation Team, Emirates Old Trafford (Lancashire CCC), Threshold Sports Operations Team and Villa Park operations team at Aston Villa.
The 2018 Sports Business Awards ceremony will take place on Friday June 1 in London. For more details, see www.sportsbusinessawards.co.uk.