Peter Bainbridge Passes Away
Snooker visionary Peter Bainbridge has passed away at the age of 79.
A former Billiards Chairman and director at the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in London, Bainbridge was a successful businessman and entrepreneur who held a lifelong passion for our sport.
Successful projects included the creation of the World Seniors Masters held at the RAC Club and won by the late Willie Thorne in 2000, the trophy of which now stands proudly at the World Seniors Snooker Championship, held annually in May at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Peter also played a key role in the revival of the incredibly popular Pot Black, held at the same venue in 2005-2006.
During the 2000s, Bainbridge also brought significant proposals for the restructure of snooker with many of his ideas having since come to fruition in recent years. He also worked on a concept to create a purpose-built snooker arena, known as Billiardrome.
In 2016, with the support of the WPBSA he arranged for the transport of his personal antique table to be shipped from London to Chennai, ultimately to be housed at a school in the coastal village of Kovalam, in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Bainbridge was passionate about providing support to an area that has historically suffered from significant poverty. The school, developed by The Venkat Trust, was eventually placed on the map as the only government high school offering snooker to its pupils. The village has since seen players go on to compete in major national and international championships.
The snooker room is currently undergoing refurbishment, and it has been announced that it will be renamed as The Peter Bainbridge Snooker Room in his honour.
Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman said: “I first met Peter in the late 1990s, he was a wonderful man with a jolly and infectious personality and with incredible entrepreneurial spirit.
“He went on to create the World Seniors Masters, a new concept at that time to maintain the careers of players heading into retirement and beyond. He further assisted in the revival of Pot Black, held at the prestigious Royal Automobile Club in London.
“Peter, through sheer passion to see the sport thrive, attempted to restructure snooker’s commercial rights in the early 2000s, following a long period of highly political and turbulent times. His vison for snooker to be able to grow commercially were not much different what is there today, a structure which has produced exponential growth in the sport since 2010.
“Peter was a visionary, a highly intelligent man, and in my opinion born years before his time. On a personal note, I will never forget the many meetings we had in the coffee shops around London where he freely bestowed his vast knowledge on to me about the corporate world of the city he had worked in for many years.
“Just before the Christmas break, I attended the RAC Club Annual Dinner to speak about Peter’s life in snooker, the influence he had on the sport, and on me personally. Peter was loved by all; our thoughts are with Peters family and close friends at this very difficult time. Rest in peace old friend.”
