Grand Slam of Darts here to stay at the Civic

The cross-code tournament begins for the eighth time at the Civic for eight days from this afternoon, live on Sky Sports.

And the owner of the PDC insists there are no plans to move the event to a bigger arena, such is his engrossment with the 3,000-capacity hall.

Matchroom Sport have also used the venue for their Prizefighter boxing series and Hearn will see growth with this year's Grand Slam, which has shifted 12,000 tickets.

He said: "Every tournament has got to stand on its own merits and have its own personality, the Grand Slam has got that with the BDO lads mixing it with the top PDC lads.

"It's a huge event for us and quite unique in the calendar. I am happy with the Civic and it's a lovely, atmospheric venue.

"Most importantly, you only ever move if you lose the support of the locals. As long as we have that, we will be staying. It's not broken, so there's no need to fix it.

"We are expecting record crowds. I am waiting to get to a point where you can't do much more but, every tournament, we are up again.

"The people of Wolverhampton turn out in big numbers and I hope they all go home with a smile on their face, after a good night out."

The 66-year-old will be in Wolverhampton to watch his creation unfold and is equally looking forward to his post-Grand Slam curry!

Hearn is a big fan of the nosh at award winning Michelin-rated restaurant Bilash, a short walk from the Civic on Cheapside.

He said: "I never miss a Grand Slam and there's a little restaurant up the side that I always go. As you get older, food is all you think about.

"It used to be parties, but now I really look forward to the restaurants!"