Swindon Robins 2020

[mikebv 10,240]

39 minutes ago, Trees said:

The SKY millions really wasn't that much was it though?

Wasn't it around 20 years at over a million a year? 

Not bad that for such a minority sport...

Sky pulling the plug the way they did probably didnt too much for the "brand" either I would think in the wider media world...

Be interesting to see how Discovery make good their big plans..

[Skidder1 7,632]

21 hours ago, thecoombdog said:

"Changes to Greyhound media rights in 2024 could well see Swindon losing a number of meetings. "

I saw that someone had posted the above comment on the Adver story about the stadium. It could explain a lot because its always been said that the payments from the bookmakers has made the greyhounds profitable. If that income is lost then no need for the stadium. Delay the stadium build enough so we can't commit to 2023 and then say the greyhounds don't make it pay anymore and then they have the perfect excuse to apply for housing. 

....which is very similar to what has happened/is happening at Poole. Greyhounds are long gone - several trainers transferred to Swindon!!

The only difference being that GI don't 'own' Poole Stadium!!

[thecoombdog 2,367]

3 minutes ago, Skidder1 said:

....which is very similar to what has happened/is happening at Poole. Greyhounds are long gone - several trainers transferred to Swindon!!

The only difference being that GI don't 'own' Poole Stadium!!

And that's why you are ok and we are f*cked!!!!

[Skidder1 7,632]

16 minutes ago, thecoombdog said:

And that's why you are ok and we are f*cked!!!!

Poole only have a deal at the agreed rental for 2023, Although the Council's draft Local Plan is due out at end July and they might even make some official comment about the Stadium future!, but even then any scheme across the connurbation in the final Plan will not become effective until at least 2024? Then there has to be planning applications submitted and approved (or challenged).

As with Swindon it would be great to actually get some official statements so everyone knows where they are.............!

Good Luck to the Robins

[orion 7,610]

Pretty clear what happened at Swindon . Plans to build on the Stadium  caused outrage so Tomlinson and Sbc  puts in  clause that allows the Houses to be built and at the same time appeased the gullible Swindon fans (not everyone ) thinking they would get a new Stadium .

Of course Tomlinson understands with GI   track record it's  unlikely it will ever be built but of course  he can say it was never his fault .. The more i think about it the more i blame him .

[Hackett 220]

Imagine that the Abbey Stadium situation will follow a similar path as Brandon and Milton Keynes which I saw somebody highlight on twitter I believe.

Plans to rebuild Milton Keynes Stadium at the Elfield Park site near the Milton Keynes Bowl were unveiled in 1998 and early 2005. The plans failed to materialise and the Greyhound Stadium closed down on Boxing Day 2005, it became derelict and then suffered major fire which resulted in the demolition of the site before a housing estate replaced it in 2014. 

As for Poole - yes speedway is the town's premium sport but will that matter when the Council see the colour of money for property development .. I doubt it. 

 

[lisa-colette 6,018]

3 minutes ago, Hackett said:

Imagine that the Abbey Stadium situation will follow a similar path as Brandon and Milton Keynes which I saw somebody highlight on twitter I believe.

Plans to rebuild Milton Keynes Stadium at the Elfield Park site near the Milton Keynes Bowl were unveiled in 1998 and early 2005. The plans failed to materialise and the Greyhound Stadium closed down on Boxing Day 2005, it became derelict and then suffered major fire which resulted in the demolition of the site before a housing estate replaced it in 2014. 

As for Poole - yes speedway is the town's premium sport but will that matter when the Council see the colour of money for property development .. I doubt it. 

 

Unfortunately you are probably right about the Poole situation. Why I am trying to enjoy this season and 2023 whilst we can! 

[thecoombdog 2,367]

On 6/30/2022 at 12:23 PM, Skidder1 said:

Poole only have a deal at the agreed rental for 2023, Although the Council's draft Local Plan is due out at end July and they might even make some official comment about the Stadium future!, but even then any scheme across the connurbation in the final Plan will not become effective until at least 2024? Then there has to be planning applications submitted and approved (or challenged).

As with Swindon it would be great to actually get some official statements so everyone knows where they are.............!

Good Luck to the Robins

Same to Poole mate. A 2023 top flight with Swindon, Poole and Oxford in it is the absolute dream but it's never going to happen.

[JessicaJones 15]

@racers and royals - we are there every Sunday to raise awareness about how cruel the greyhound racing is.  We have supported the speedway all along.  The speedway team wasn't interested in working with us.  We have stated every time we have made a public statement that we support the speedway and that relying on greyhound racing will hasten the end of the track, not keep it going.  

@thecoombdog - greyhound racing isn't profitable for Gaming International Ltd.  They only reported a profit in their last set of accounts because they sold off land to housing developers on the site.  Greyhound racing on its own makes a loss for the company.  But worth it in the short to medium term for the money they will get when they sell off the rest of the site.  

[JessicaJones 15]

@Orion - yes, JT will be culpable but it's the council officers and the councillors on the planning committee that will be responsible.  Were you at the most recent two council meetings at which it was discussed?  I was.  JT's mum (a councillor at the time) had quite a lot to say.  He wasn't there though. 

We also tried to call a council debate on it but the officers wouldn't allow the debate to go ahead.  

Edited July 4, 2022 by JessicaJones

[JessicaJones 15]

The sensible thing to do would have been for the council to have agreed with GI Ltd to take a lump sum for a speedway track that is then built out of town, away from the houses.  Allow GI Ltd to build the houses/whatever else they are putting on the site because they are going to do that anyway.  But the council could have negotiated with the company for the lump sum at the beginning then there wouldn't be all this messing around now.  Look at what happened with Wallyford stadium in Scotland.  By the way, this suggestion did not come from me.  It came from someone I was in touch with who was working with the council on various developments but who asked me to keep his involvement confidential.  

With only around 100 people going in on the main greyhound racing night of the week now, down from 200-300 pre pandemic (in a venue with a capacity of 2,000) to watch the greyhound racing, even with the streaming rights, it's not worth it for GI Ltd.  Getting income from selling off the land will make them far more money.  We have been saying this to the council for years.

Thanks to whoever referred to us as a 'mob' on here though!  We are a group of citizens who want to stop cruelty to greyhounds and who have consistently supported the speedway team from the very beginning!  We have pointed out that relying on greyhound racing for the Robins' survival is not sustainable.  We would have been happy to have worked with the Robins fans and you are always very welcome to join the 'mob' on Sunday evenings at the track if you like.  If we'd have pooled our resources at the beginning, we could have had a very effective campaign. 

By the way, one of the Swindon trainers has applied for retrospective planning permission for his 50 dogs to be kept in an old grain store - basically a big tin shed that's hot in the summer, cold in the winter, no ventilation and only a small space to exercise the dogs when they are let out of their cages for a short time during the day.  Not a great life for any of them.  That is one of the many reasons why we are raising awareness about the cruel industry of greyhound racing and why we want speedway teams to disassociate themselves from it.  There are other speedway teams that operate as a sole entity without relying on a cruel industry to prop them up.  Even if you don't agree that greyhound racing is cruel, a quick look at GI Ltd's history would have shown that they have form in shutting greyhound tracks so it was never a good idea to rely on that side of the business to keep the speedway going.  

Edited July 4, 2022 by JessicaJones

[mikebv 10,240]

Councils benefit hugely by house building through "new" council tax being paid.. 

Therefore they wouldnt want to put too many "difficult" demands on developers.. 

So asking any developer to stump up a few million to get planning permission isnt likely to happen..

And if the developer has zero intentions of carrying out any promises from the outset then why would they offer up some cash that they dont need to...?

The bottom line is that any council will be very pleased to have 300 or more Band D and above houses paying them well over half a million a year for decades...

You can do lots of good with this money, can get plenty of funding with that guaranteed income behind you...

And some developer spending a few million on, (as examples I have come across when being involved in new store builds), re routing congested roads, paying for traffic calming measures, building a new roundabout somewhere within the borough to improve traffic flow, or sponsoring some local public amenities...

In short someone improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people over decades...

Will always find themselves out weighing the arguments of a few hundred protesters...

And come election time, the councillors will all be happy to jump on the positive message bandwagon...

Edited July 5, 2022 by mikebv

[auntie doris 2,339]

We live in hope. At least I visited Ox to watch some speedway. Big crowd, nice stadium, good racing, couldn't support them though. Be great to see them, Poole, Windon in Premier. No teams left in south/west now. Fans being kept in dark at Blunsdon.

Edited July 5, 2022 by auntie doris

[orion 7,610]

On 7/4/2022 at 11:25 AM, JessicaJones said:

The sensible thing to do would have been for the council to have agreed with GI Ltd to take a lump sum for a speedway track that is then built out of town, away from the houses.  Allow GI Ltd to build the houses/whatever else they are putting on the site because they are going to do that anyway.  But the council could have negotiated with the company for the lump sum at the beginning then there wouldn't be all this messing around now.  Look at what happened with Wallyford stadium in Scotland.  By the way, this suggestion did not come from me.  It came from someone I was in touch with who was working with the council on various developments but who asked me to keep his involvement confidential.  

With only around 100 people going in on the main greyhound racing night of the week now, down from 200-300 pre pandemic (in a venue with a capacity of 2,000) to watch the greyhound racing, even with the streaming rights, it's not worth it for GI Ltd.  Getting income from selling off the land will make them far more money.  We have been saying this to the council for years.

Thanks to whoever referred to us as a 'mob' on here though!  We are a group of citizens who want to stop cruelty to greyhounds and who have consistently supported the speedway team from the very beginning!  We have pointed out that relying on greyhound racing for the Robins' survival is not sustainable.  We would have been happy to have worked with the Robins fans and you are always very welcome to join the 'mob' on Sunday evenings at the track if you like.  If we'd have pooled our resources at the beginning, we could have had a very effective campaign. 

By the way, one of the Swindon trainers has applied for retrospective planning permission for his 50 dogs to be kept in an old grain store - basically a big tin shed that's hot in the summer, cold in the winter, no ventilation and only a small space to exercise the dogs when they are let out of their cages for a short time during the day.  Not a great life for any of them.  That is one of the many reasons why we are raising awareness about the cruel industry of greyhound racing and why we want speedway teams to disassociate themselves from it.  There are other speedway teams that operate as a sole entity without relying on a cruel industry to prop them up.  Even if you don't agree that greyhound racing is cruel, a quick look at GI Ltd's history would have shown that they have form in shutting greyhound tracks so it was never a good idea to rely on that side of the business to keep the speedway going.  

More Guff.....we know what Gaming int are  trying to do  and how its more profitable to have houses on the land..Do you think only your mob know that  .Not sure  why speedway fans would join up with you.If Greyhounds shut down at the Abbey  we will have little or no chance of ever having speedway again there ..Yet again as I have explained to before if Greyhound stops then no one is ever going to breed them for pets .They are bred to race just like a pig is bred to  be eaten .

Edited July 5, 2022 by orion

[JessicaJones 15]

That’s rubbish, Orion. Greyhounds have  been around for thousands of years and raced in this country for less than a hundred. And many are bred for racing but go missing each year-an RTE report commissioned by the industry estimated that around 7,000 go missing each year. So even if fewer are bred, fewer will be killed as wastage for the industry. 
I’m sure I’ve explained all this to you before!

Relying on greyhound racing to keep the stadium going will see the end of speedway. You should have pushed for alternative uses to prop up the speedway. 
 

Shall be muting you again (which I thought I had done already) as conversations with you are never very constructive or helpful.

Edited July 5, 2022 by JessicaJones