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13 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Once the clubhouse was sold (for a different use than the current one) there is no realistic way for speedway to run around it.

So many ifs & buts, it was a brilliant race track producing great racing BUT never getting the crowds it deserved. R.I.P. the Oaktree Arena. 

This is the nail well and truly hit on the head.

Many promotors tried before the Hancock’s (Hewlett, Toogood, Golding, Pavitt and even Mark Saunders and co from Sharp amongst others) but ultimately if the Hancock’s can’t make it pay, or can earn a lot more from other avenues, when they owned the food/drink, car park, land and just about everything else in between - then there is no chance of leasing that to someone else.

Somerset has I feel been somewhat in reverse and on the wind down since our final season in the Premiership. A very attractive team and the World Champion in a bid to conquer everything didn’t come cheap and was, in my opinion, the beginning of the downward spiral to where we are today. 

As I said earlier, such a huge shame for it to end this way.

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Great deal for the Hancocks .. heavy heart hardly 

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Really sad to read about another club closing.  It’s not the first and won’t be the last :sad:

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Very sad to see a speedway track close, unfortunately under the current circumstances I fear Somerset wont be the last. 

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Sad news indeed - a fantastic race track and some really lovely people involved!

Fair play to Debbie for making a detailed statement - but not sure too many people will buy the as if by chance conversation etc!   With Bungalow Bill holding a high rank locally, he quite understandably has cashed in on prime land, who can blame him in current times!    I'm also sure he could have got planning applications through around speedway and use if he really wanted too, so part of her statement has tarnished things a bit for me!

Just be honest and say we are making a tidy sum by flogging the land, instead of losing money running speedway!  No one can blame them for that!  

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49 minutes ago, Barry The Cat said:

Sad news indeed - a fantastic race track and some really lovely people involved!

Fair play to Debbie for making a detailed statement - but not sure too many people will buy the as if by chance conversation etc!   With Bungalow Bill holding a high rank locally, he quite understandably has cashed in on prime land, who can blame him in current times!    I'm also sure he could have got planning applications through around speedway and use if he really wanted too, so part of her statement has tarnished things a bit for me!

Just be honest and say we are making a tidy sum by flogging the land, instead of losing money running speedway!  No one can blame them for that!  

Spot on post .. we  give up on speedway to makes lots of money .. nothing wrong with that so no need  for the bull crap .

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24 minutes ago, orion said:

Spot on post .. we  give up on speedway to makes lots of money .. nothing wrong with that so no need  for the bull crap .

Agree ,no shame selling up  in the current climate,and the state of the Sport in GB.Only owners with deep pockets and Supporters Club Donations keeping most Clubs afloat.

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Gutted to hear this what sad news. I’ve witnessed several remarkable seasons of action at the OTA so thank you to the Hancock’s all riders and volunteers over the years  you have facilitated fantastic entertainment it really was a pleasure attending every week - you cannot beat the Friday night race nights for me. I just hope their is a miracle and someone takes the reins on however unlikely that is in the foreseeable future. Best of luck to all involved and thank you for the memories 

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Does anyone know if the track is remaining in place ? 

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At the end of the day it's their land and they are entitled to do what they see fit. Business is business. However the loyal Somerset fans who have spent their hard earned cash at both the speedway and the clubhouse over the years deserve honesty. The Hancock's would have more respect out of this if they were just honest and said "look, we've had an offer on the land we can't refuse and have sold it". Disappointing yes but at least honest. Hiding behind the Covid curtain and blaming it all on that is just a blatant lie. I was in the area last month and went and had a nosey. The land was being dug up and most of the signs for speedway were being removed. It was fairly obvious what was happening. 

Honesty goes a long way. 

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3 hours ago, Najjer said:

This is the nail well and truly hit on the head.

Many promotors tried before the Hancock’s (Hewlett, Toogood, Golding, Pavitt and even Mark Saunders and co from Sharp amongst others) but ultimately if the Hancock’s can’t make it pay, or can earn a lot more from other avenues, when they owned the food/drink, car park, land and just about everything else in between - then there is no chance of leasing that to someone else.

Somerset has I feel been somewhat in reverse and on the wind down since our final season in the Premiership. A very attractive team and the World Champion in a bid to conquer everything didn’t come cheap and was, in my opinion, the beginning of the downward spiral to where we are today. 

As I said earlier, such a huge shame for it to end this way.

I regret not going there now its closed was the location a problem for previous promoters?

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10 minutes ago, RebelDan said:

Does anyone know if the track is remaining in place ? 

Yes .. NO 

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2 hours ago, Barry The Cat said:

Sad news indeed - a fantastic race track and some really lovely people involved!

Fair play to Debbie for making a detailed statement - but not sure too many people will buy the as if by chance conversation etc!   With Bungalow Bill holding a high rank locally, he quite understandably has cashed in on prime land, who can blame him in current times!    I'm also sure he could have got planning applications through around speedway and use if he really wanted too, so part of her statement has tarnished things a bit for me!

Just be honest and say we are making a tidy sum by flogging the land, instead of losing money running speedway!  No one can blame them for that!  

I agree with you. It's a sports club not a shoe shop. The fans deserve that.

I don't like the final paragraph of their statement.

 

 

 

 

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40 minutes ago, noaksey said:

I agree with you. It's a sports club not a shoe shop. The fans deserve that.

I don't like the final paragraph of their statement.

 

 

 

 

The sentiment is effectively “we’re closing - we aren’t saying anymore about it.” - that doesn’t come across very well to be honest. Especially when everybody who has been associated with the club has been thanked.... except the ones who kept the club going, the fans.

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I would like to think the Hancock's will give a more in-depth interview on the overall reason why Somerset Speedway is no more, the loyal fans deserve it & other promotions could learn from it. 

I have said it before: I'm sure the year in the Premiership created huge debts, this hopefully would under normal circumstances have been clawed back over the last few years but with forced race nights & covid this didn't happen. 

To their "credit" the Hancocks never presented the begging bowl to the sponsors or the fans, maybe they should have? Maybe if they had been more open with any problems a solution might have been offered. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe, what is fact another one bits the dust.

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