Hearn’s BDO Takeover Latest

Posted on October 22nd, 2009

BARRY Hearn has questioned the authority with which Olly Croft has turned down the PDC’s £1m offer to buy the British Darts Organisation and inject an additional £1m into the grass roots of the game.

The Professional Darts Corporation’s Chairman made the offer in an open letter to the BDO’s shareholders – its 66 member counties – and directors on Tuesday, but quotes from Croft, whose position within the BDO is described on its official website as ‘Founder’, reject the offer out of hand.

Hearn however, believes that Olly Croft as a Director of the BDO has a formal duty to take the PDC offer to his shareholders (the counties) to make the final decision.

“I don’t believe Olly Croft is in a position to turn down the offer,” Hearn said. “The BDO claim they have a democratically elected board and a county structure that form their shareholders – so why don’t they go through the proper procedures to discuss this offer?

“Croft’s claims are laughable: the public don’t buy his ideas about having the two best tournaments in the World and I would ask him to prove one recent instance of where the BDO has supposedly ploughed its profits back in to darts for the benefit of its players.

“The PDC subsidises tournaments for the benefit of our own players: we offer bigger prize money, more opportunities for television exposure, attract bigger crowds and stage superior events.

“These aren’t even boastful claims – anyone who has seen the two products will know they are accurate statements.

“The PDC wants to preserve darts long in to the future. The fact that the top players broke away from the BDO in 1992 and players continue to desert them for the PDC shows that the BDO has failed to do this in the past and is failing to do so again.

“I’m interested in the response of the counties to both the PDC’s offer and Olly Croft’s claims. They are the real decision makers and we have already heard from some of them that they are fed up with the way their Inter-Counties system is run with ridiculous schedules and heavy costs for scant rewards.

“It is up to the Counties to accept or reject this offer and I am happy to personally sit down with all 66 of them to discuss our thoughts.

“But I’m afraid that through his statement Olly Croft has again proved himself to be out of touch with the modern game and incapable of taking darts forward, at either professional or amateur level.”

Tags: Barry Hearn, BDO, Olly Croft, PDC, Takeover
Filed under BDO-WDF, General, News, PDC |

4 Responses to “Hearn’s BDO Takeover Latest”

1. Paulyboy Says:
   October 27th, 2009 at 8:29 am

   I wish somebody would invest in ladies darts there are awesome players in uk and Europe however laughable prizemoney prevents many from participating! Some so called big titles ie British classic you would have to get to the final to break even! The bdo have failed miserably to promote the ladies winmau masters an obvious example not even 1second of coverage for the girls.trina Francis julie Irina Deta tricia Karen deserve much more !! Womens game is treated as 2nd class with scraps from the table if bdo are not carefull I can envisage another split with top ladies seeking a better deal elsewhere

2. admin Says:
   October 31st, 2009 at 5:33 am

   Very true but I’m not sure what the answer is. The ladies game has never been box office but the way to take it forward isn’t to push it into the shadows as the BDO are currently doing. And they continually champion themselves as looking after all forms of the game away from the PDC. People aren’t dumb and the rumblings of discontent are becoming more audible.

3. John Says:
   January 31st, 2010 at 3:06 pm

   Yeah the BDO is poorly managed and because of this its dying. Croft always tries to fool himself and us by saying the quality of darts in the BDO is getting better every year…. its not! More money needs to be invested, more sponsors, more tv events and bigger prize money. And as for the women’s division, its so badly looked after that it shows how much of a stubborn, sexist, deluded and out of date man Olly Croft is.

4. admin Says:
   February 1st, 2010 at 8:30 am

   We can’t really disagree with that. It’s reached the point where the BDO is definitely suffering. I’m not totally convinced Barry Hearn has their best interests at heart but he can’t do any worse. Olly has now backed himself into a corner and he must deliver in the next couple of years to justify this decision. The counties have backed him this time but trust me there are a lot of dissenting voices now and he can’t plod on like he is. The BDO are very fortunate to still have the backing of the BBC and that is what is keeping them going – Lakeside & Winmau. Problem is though, the BeeB call the shots now and for me it is to the detriment of those two tournaments.

   I’m personally not happy with the PDC’s response – it’s childlike and will only fan the flames, prolonging the silly war of words. But then I guess that’s the level the two sides are at.

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