Guest Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) Chris116: In the 1980s when I was working at the 'South London Press' we became involved in coverage of the car racing at Wimbledon Stadium and sponsored several superstox world championships when staged there. I cannot ever recall the SLP sponsoring a Wimbledon speedway event. Edited November 29, 2020 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Snackette 190 Posted August 29, 2019 Anyone "brave" enough to invest money in returning speedway to Odsal, should be compelled to have a psychiatric analysis first! I remember one weekend in 1997. On the Friday night the Bradford Bulls played Paris St Germain in front of 20,000 fans to win the Super League title. The following evening Bradford Dukes raced Swindon Robins on their way to winning the Elite League that season. This was a Dukes team with Mark Loram, Joe Screen, Gary Havelock, about to win the league............and a crowd of less than 500 bothered to show up! It suggests to me that the Bradford public has a limited appetite for speedway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Jones 2,124 Posted August 29, 2019 20 minutes ago, Mr Snackette said: Anyone "brave" enough to invest money in returning speedway to Odsal, should be compelled to have a psychiatric analysis first! I remember one weekend in 1997. On the Friday night the Bradford Bulls played Paris St Germain in front of 20,000 fans to win the Super League title. The following evening Bradford Dukes raced Swindon Robins on their way to winning the Elite League that season. This was a Dukes team with Mark Loram, Joe Screen, Gary Havelock, about to win the league............and a crowd of less than 500 bothered to show up! It suggests to me that the Bradford public has a limited appetite for speedway. Whilst I wouldn't disagree entirely with your comment, I've often wondered whether the reason for the speedway's struggle to attract numbers was down to the tremendous success of the "Bulls" around that period.The rugby was such a huge success at that time & it attracted very large attendances week in & week out ,to the detriment of all the other sports in the area perhaps? Affording rugby and speedway might have been too much for many people. The rugby club are in the doldrums presently and they don't get the support that they previously enjoyed so perhaps there's a place for something else now . I do believe the stadium is to be sold now , I can't think of anything else that it could be used for as it is a rather "unique" place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave67 15 Posted November 29, 2020 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/55057985 Looks like Bradford Bulls want to go back to odsal. Deal agreed with stock cars & they also want speedway... Good luck with the latter.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moomin man 76 171 Posted November 29, 2020 46 minutes ago, Dave67 said: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/55057985 Looks like Bradford Bulls want to go back to odsal. Deal agreed with stock cars & they also want speedway... Good luck with the latter.... The Bulls may well wish to go back to Odsal, but whether they do or not, will not determine if speedway is staged. The article is somewhat disingenuous, as any speedway staged will generate revenue for the RFL, rather than the Bulls, given that the former holds the lease on Odsal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 29, 2020 On 8/29/2019 at 8:20 AM, Mr Snackette said: Anyone "brave" enough to invest money in returning speedway to Odsal, should be compelled to have a psychiatric analysis first! I remember one weekend in 1997. On the Friday night the Bradford Bulls played Paris St Germain in front of 20,000 fans to win the Super League title. The following evening Bradford Dukes raced Swindon Robins on their way to winning the Elite League that season. This was a Dukes team with Mark Loram, Joe Screen, Gary Havelock, about to win the league............and a crowd of less than 500 bothered to show up! It suggests to me that the Bradford public has a limited appetite for speedway. Have attitudes changed from those days to justify a speedway return at Odsal Stadium, Bradford? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neila 1,149 Posted November 29, 2020 2 hours ago, JohnHyam said: Have attitudes changed from those days to justify a speedway return at Odsal Stadium, Bradford? After 20 odd years of no speedway I think the people of Bradford/Halifax and surrounding areas will support it in the short term, 2-3 years, when Workington re opened in 1999 after 18 years, the crowds in 1981 were around 300 hard core fans, opening night 4000 ish fans and the first few years crowds were 2000 plus well above break figures crowds dropped off in the end, but we went out in style with the treble and made H18TORY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piotr Pyszny 206 Posted November 29, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, Neila said: After 20 odd years of no speedway I think the people of Bradford/Halifax and surrounding areas will support it in the short term, 2-3 years, when Workington re opened in 1999 after 18 years, the crowds in 1981 were around 300 hard core fans, opening night 4000 ish fans and the first few years crowds were 2000 plus well above break figures crowds dropped off in the end, but we went out in style with the treble and made H18TORY During Halifax’s last season (1985) at The Shay, the average attendance was circa 3,500. Bradford never got anything like that. After 20-odd years without speedway, there is a danger what interest there was has evaporated. Edited November 30, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goldhawk 76 Posted November 29, 2020 Would be great to see them back but such a large stadium and likely few fans will be hard to generate much atmosphere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Clemens 646 Posted December 1, 2020 On 11/29/2020 at 9:44 PM, Piotr Pyszny said: During Halifax’s last season (1985) at The Shay, the average attendance was circa 3,500. Bradford never got anything like that. After 20-odd years without speedway, there is a danger what interest there was has evaporated. I know what you mean. We went to Bradford for a couple of seasons after Halifax closed. It was never the same and with the meetings being on a Friday night, eventually, we just stopped going. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piotr Pyszny 206 Posted December 1, 2020 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Mr. Clemens said: I know what you mean. We went to Bradford for a couple of seasons after Halifax closed. It was never the same and with the meetings being on a Friday night, eventually, we just stopped going. I think a combination of switching to Bradford, and Kenny Carter's death soon after the move, cost Dukes upwards of a thousand supporters. Edited December 1, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted December 2, 2020 As a neutral, i enjoyed both the Shay and Odsal. It will need a brave man with deep pockets to bring professional speedway back to Bradford. It's an iconic venue for sure, but i can't see it being financially viable. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Derwent 271 Posted December 9, 2020 It’s been confirmed that stock cars are returning to Odsal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piotr Pyszny 206 Posted December 9, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Derwent said: It’s been confirmed that stock cars are returning to Odsal Thanks for posting! For those who CBA to listen to the whole thing: an opening meeting is planned for April 3 (Easter Saturday), with 2,000 tickets - stadium capacity to be decided - on sale from January 1. Promoter Steve Rees is asked about speedway. He believes 2022 is a more realistic prospect than 2021. Edited December 9, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattB 177 Posted January 21, 2021 On 12/2/2020 at 5:06 AM, cityrebel said: As a neutral, i enjoyed both the Shay and Odsal. It will need a brave man with deep pockets to bring professional speedway back to Bradford. It's an iconic venue for sure, but i can't see it being financially viable. Bradford always had excellent crowds for big meetings, but I'd question the viability of league fixtures there. The crowds were probably decent for smaller venues, but would get lost in the vast spaces of Odsal. Bear in mind that they had strong teams for a lot of the time between 86 and 97. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
