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2 minutes ago, Grand Central said:

There was nothing like a capacity crowd at Wembley for the WTC Final in 1970.

Estimates in the Star put it at 40k ... 

Well it was along time ago, they made enough noise ; )

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Just now, Goldhawk said:

Well it was along time ago, they made enough noise ; )

But it just shows that you are talking fantasy numbers ... About today and about 1970.

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ANYWAY, it is academic. The FA wouldn't consider parts of their hallowed turf being disturbed and the cost of laying a track would be north of £250,000. 

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3 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

THEY wouldn't go because there are 11 SGPs, including ones in their own countries, the risk of weather intervening is too high and I think you are recalling racing at Wembley through rose coloured spectacles. And, don't forget, Wembley would require a temporary track, no different to Cardiff.

Maybe but lets hope the new organisers at least consider . Cardiff is going down . Don't know how you can says fans from Europe would go , why not ? Warsaw and Wroclaw apart hardly going to the others are they ?? Do you think they would go to Voyens or Germany instead or some of the others ??  Most SGP stadiums very basic.! If you don't think Cardiff has lost its appeal why are crowds dropping there ? It has I am afraid become a bore - fest !! 

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7 minutes ago, Grand Central said:

But it just shows that you are talking fantasy numbers ... About today and about 1970.

Was talking about WTC and Ove Fundin not the World Finals there. Appreciate all very expensive but sure if poll was done many fans would want it back at Wembley if it was at all possible.

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2 minutes ago, Goldhawk said:

Maybe but lets hope the new organisers at least consider . Cardiff is going down . Don't know how you can says fans from Europe would go , why not ? Warsaw and Wroclaw apart hardly going to the others are they ?? Do you think they would go to Voyens or Germany instead or some of the others ??  Most SGP stadiums very basic.! If you don't think Cardiff has lost its appeal why are crowds dropping there ? It has I am afraid become a bore - fest !! 

THEY aren't dropping at Cardiff ... have remained around 40,000 which considering how many people in the UK regularly attend speedway is impressive.

One of the most popular SGPs for fans from outside the staging country is Prague. Why? The racing isn't fantastic. They are drawn by the city and all it has to offer.

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2 minutes ago, Goldhawk said:

Was talking about WTC and Ove Fundin not the World Finals there. Appreciate all very expensive but sure if poll was done many fans would want it back at Wembley if it was at all possible.

BUT it isn't ...

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in my view the only London stadium to offer some of the facilities supporters in this day and age require is West Ham's ground. plenty of restaurants etc a 5 minute walk away, but i don't know about accomodation.

Wembley would be a no-go because nothing interferes with the FA.

as a Cardiff alternative i can only see Belle Vue, but would struggle getting a good crowd because of a lack of local facilities.

Bradford would be good, used to love the track, but once again only lends itself to people coming in and getting out (quickly) so would be a no-go for a lot of the Polish supporters that swell the Cardiff crowd quite considerably

Edited by stevehone

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24 minutes ago, Goldhawk said:

Was talking about WTC and Ove Fundin not the World Finals there. Appreciate all very expensive but sure if poll was done many fans would want it back at Wembley if it was at all possible.

NO you stated that there was a capacity crowd at Wembley in 1970 ...

45 minutes ago, Goldhawk said:

I watched Ove Fundin as a kid in the 1970 WTC . He had "walked" on Wembley's club which come back to league racing that year. He was BOO'ED out of the stadium by a capacity crowd . The more they booed the faster he went ! Only beaten by Briggo if my memory serves me right in four rides ?

And that was complete fantasy.  ... But  because the 40 k made a lot of noise it misled you.

And 40k at Cardiff making a he'll of a lot of noise ...  That is some sort of failure.

La La land.

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1 hour ago, PHILIPRISING said:

ANYWAY, it is academic. The FA wouldn't consider parts of their hallowed turf being disturbed and the cost of laying a track would be north of £250,000. 

Nonsense. The FA will consider anything if the price is right, which is why umpteen concerts have been held on the pitch there, and why several are scheduled even this year.

Speedway can't/won't/doesn't want to pay the asking price. Just be honest about it...

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Harking on about Wembley, it's in the past. Cardiff has served the sport well for many years now so need to knock it. Yes, there could be a new venue out there to stimulate the British GP but in my view, Wembley is not the answer. 

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3 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said:

BUT that's all it is ... history. And, I repeat, Wembley is not really in London as such. 

Wembley is in Greater London, inside the M25, and on the Underground. How is that not London?

You are right that 55k fans at a British GP is fantasy stuff though...

Edited by Humphrey Appleby

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3 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said:

ANYWAY, it is academic. The FA wouldn't consider parts of their hallowed turf being disturbed and the cost of laying a track would be north of £250,000. 

Why would a track cost any more at Wembley than Cardiff?

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It's been fun reading about Wembley dreams on a thread about Odsal....

I'm totally confused about why some think that Wembley would automatically mean a 55k crowd. When Wembley was used, there were a bunch of tracks with good crowds around London. There are none now. Speedway is dead in the capital.

I get the dream of the "history", but the current Wembley stadium ISN'T the one that the history was at, and I'd be surprised if thousands of extra fans turned up JUST BECAUSE it was Wembley. Let's not forget that Ullevi also had a pretty good history in the sport, but didn't really capture the crowds for a GP.

Let's also not forget that the racing at the old Wembley generally wasn't anything to get too excited about. Cardiff has been called boring by a good few on this thread.
Feel free to call me crazy, but I've seen more good races from Cardiff than I have from Wembley. Most of the old World Final races from Wembley that I have seen have been, frankly, awful. There were a very small number of classics, but most of the racing was gate and go boredom...In my opinion, the World Finals at Odsal (sorry for bringing up the subject of this thread) provided FAR better racing than either Wembley or Cardiff, but Cardiff is STILL the best option for a GP in the UK for many reasons, if you ask me (especially if the Welsh are willing to chuck a bunch of cash at our sport :D)

 

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