adonis 1,454 Posted February 21, 2019 6 hours ago, Humphrey Appleby said: They hoped to get some of the big oval racing events, like Indycar and NASCAR, and I remember going to the first race there some years ago. Don't think those lasted long though. I've been back a few times since for test days, but whilst its a great facility, it always seemed woefully underused. There only seemed to be 2 or 3 cars driving round the track at any given time during the week. BSB used it but the tarmac shredded their tyres so nobody wanted to ride there , Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martinmauger 584 Posted February 22, 2019 I forgot about Rye House closing. So including Coventry at Leicester, though it could be argued Coventry had already closed the year or so before, that makes 5 clubs lost in the last year: Buxton, Coventry, Lakeside, Rye House, Workington. There's hope for them all (except possibly Lakeside at least in the immediate future) as the tracks still exist, but worrying just the same.... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,062 Posted February 22, 2019 Buxton and Rye House are still being used for training, so that is a good thing. As for Coventry, Workington and Lakeside, more likely lost forever, I fear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted February 22, 2019 Most admit I am slightly shocked I missed a big story Like Rockingham closing when it hit. Hadn't been there since an early ASCAR/Pop Concert combo. But was a fantastic facility. One that I always felt warranted a Speedway/Stock Car Stadium tucked up in a corner. If they could of got a Nascar rnd there, then surely that would of sold out twice over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gemini 4,894 Posted February 24, 2019 On 2/21/2019 at 9:23 AM, adonis said: you can hardly blame them , when Sandhu arrived he was going to invest money which the stadium badly needed , but only once he was in did he reveal his true intention . and all his subsequent promises to ensure the bees had somewhere to race came to nothing , he never even looked at a single site , because he never had any intention of seeing the bees keep running . Only complete idiots believe he ever intended to see anythiung oithers than houses and money So you are saying the Ochiltrees had no idea he was a property developer then? "They wanted to turn Brandon Stadium into a housing estate. Instead Avtar Sandhu took it upon himself to transform a famous old fossil of an arena into a stylish and thriving sporting complex. Mixing business with pleasure is not always recommended practice, but for the charismatic Malaysian-born businessman, it has suddenly become a way of life. Having made most of his money from the telecommunications industry, and shrewd dealings in the property market, he seems to have spent most of it indulging his passion for sport - whether hockey, cricket or, as in the last couple of years, speedway, stock-cars and greyhound racing. Sandhu, who also owns the Norfolk Hotel in Birmingham, purchased a 100 per cent stake in Coventry Stadium at the back end of 2002, buying out the Ochiltree family in the process. He willingly admits he bought the stadium with the intention of bulldozing it and building houses on the 25-acre site. "I wanted it for housing, and to start with my offer was turned down even though I outbid everyone else," he explained. "The site was offered to an ex-speedway rider but that deal fell through, and they came back to me. I then bought it at a lower price than I first offered." 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,062 Posted February 25, 2019 6 hours ago, Gemini said: So you are saying the Ochiltrees had no idea he was a property developer then? "They wanted to turn Brandon Stadium into a housing estate. Instead Avtar Sandhu took it upon himself to transform a famous old fossil of an arena into a stylish and thriving sporting complex. Mixing business with pleasure is not always recommended practice, but for the charismatic Malaysian-born businessman, it has suddenly become a way of life. Having made most of his money from the telecommunications industry, and shrewd dealings in the property market, he seems to have spent most of it indulging his passion for sport - whether hockey, cricket or, as in the last couple of years, speedway, stock-cars and greyhound racing. Sandhu, who also owns the Norfolk Hotel in Birmingham, purchased a 100 per cent stake in Coventry Stadium at the back end of 2002, buying out the Ochiltree family in the process. He willingly admits he bought the stadium with the intention of bulldozing it and building houses on the 25-acre site. "I wanted it for housing, and to start with my offer was turned down even though I outbid everyone else," he explained. "The site was offered to an ex-speedway rider but that deal fell through, and they came back to me. I then bought it at a lower price than I first offered." I just carried out a company check search and it appears the name Avtar Sandhu is a very popular name for company directors. There seems to be well over 30! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adonis 1,454 Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) On 2/24/2019 at 11:49 PM, Gemini said: So you are saying the Ochiltrees had no idea he was a property developer then? "They wanted to turn Brandon Stadium into a housing estate. Instead Avtar Sandhu took it upon himself to transform a famous old fossil of an arena into a stylish and thriving sporting complex. Mixing business with pleasure is not always recommended practice, but for the charismatic Malaysian-born businessman, it has suddenly become a way of life. Having made most of his money from the telecommunications industry, and shrewd dealings in the property market, he seems to have spent most of it indulging his passion for sport - whether hockey, cricket or, as in the last couple of years, speedway, stock-cars and greyhound racing. Sandhu, who also owns the Norfolk Hotel in Birmingham, purchased a 100 per cent stake in Coventry Stadium at the back end of 2002, buying out the Ochiltree family in the process. He willingly admits he bought the stadium with the intention of bulldozing it and building houses on the 25-acre site. "I wanted it for housing, and to start with my offer was turned down even though I outbid everyone else," he explained. "The site was offered to an ex-speedway rider but that deal fell through, and they came back to me. I then bought it at a lower price than I first offered." do you believe everything that Sandhus PR dept posts on his behalf ? personally I have never read such a load of bullrubbish and lies , the only bit that's true is he bought it with intention of building houses on it . it's taken longer than he expected .but he's got his way in the end . Edited February 28, 2019 by adonis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Snackette 190 Posted February 27, 2019 One has to applaud the courage of those prepared to invest their time and money into the Rockingham adventure. Sadly their attempt to replicate NASCAR Racing in the UK was always doomed to failure. It isn't a coincidence that the bulk of Nascar fixtures are based in the southern states, where the dry warm climate is conducive to the sport. Northamptonshire has certain qualities, but a dry warm climate isn't one of them! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mickthemuppet 976 Posted February 27, 2019 On 2/21/2019 at 12:13 AM, Gemini said: So Linda and Martin Ochiltree selling to a known property developer get no criticism, just Sandhu? I'd say the beginning of the end was when that happened. The Ochiltree's also sold Leicester speedway for development previously Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Jones 2,119 Posted February 27, 2019 45 minutes ago, mickthemuppet said: The Ochiltree's also sold Leicester speedway for development previously Not strictly true, both Brandon & Blackbird Rd were owned by Midland Sports Stadiums. The Ochiltree family were the " front guys" but not the sole decision makers. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gemini 4,894 Posted February 28, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 8:47 AM, adonis said: do you believe everything that Sandhus PR dept posts on his behalf ? personally I have never read such a load of bullrubbish and lies , the only bit that's true is he bought it with intention of building houses on it . it's taken longer than he expected .but he's got his way in the end How can you say the only bit that's true is he bought it with the intention of building houses? So you are saying it's lies how he made his money, owned a hotel etc? Anyway, you still didn't answer my question about the Ochiltree's having no idea he was a property developer which is what you are implying. I can't believe that. The Ochiltree's wanted to sell and didn't really care who bought the stadium as long as somebody did. They didn't have the passion for Coventry Speedway that Charles did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gemini 4,894 Posted February 28, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 6:22 AM, Ray Stadia said: I just carried out a company check search and it appears the name Avtar Sandhu is a very popular name for company directors. There seems to be well over 30! Yes, but only one has his face. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adonis 1,454 Posted February 28, 2019 8 hours ago, Gemini said: How can you say the only bit that's true is he bought it with the intention of building houses? So you are saying it's lies how he made his money, owned a hotel etc? Anyway, you still didn't answer my question about the Ochiltree's having no idea he was a property developer which is what you are implying. I can't believe that. The Ochiltree's wanted to sell and didn't really care who bought the stadium as long as somebody did. They didn't have the passion for Coventry Speedway that Charles did. Did they sell it to Sandhu .or did Sandhu buy somebody elses share and it was out of their hands ?, anyway I don't consider it worthwhile debating with someone who posts and obviously believes every word of Sandhus spin . If you want to blame the Ochiltrees fine by me . you'll get no further argument ,because i have better things to do with my time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mickthemuppet 976 Posted February 28, 2019 In his book Harry Findlay said he paid 1.5m for the lease to run greyhounds there and lost the lost. He also said he could have bought Brandon Stadium at the same time for £2m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,062 Posted February 28, 2019 46 minutes ago, mickthemuppet said: In his book Harry Findlay said he paid 1.5m for the lease to run greyhounds there and lost the lost. He also said he could have bought Brandon Stadium at the same time for £2m What a shame, just 500K short! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites