Reading Speedway - Smallmead.

[Grachan 7,362]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

Personally I felt that the stadium when it opened was a credit to those involved during a struggle getting the place ready (remember that the 3 day week delayed construction) but it seemed to go down hill very quickly. General upkeep and maintenance appeared to be disregarded and it showed pretty well early on during its short existance. I actually preferred Tilehurst personally. Reminded me of Cowley Stadium!

I would have loved to have gone to Tilehurst, but was a year too late as I started watching speedway in 1974. I've even gone on a pilgrimage to the old site and tried to imagine what it aws like when the stadium was there.

I've seen pictures and can see what you mean about Cowley - the big scoreboard, the same white fencing and a railway track running along the back!

[steve roberts 9,246]

9 minutes ago, Grachan said:

I would have loved to have gone to Tilehurst, but was a year too late as I started watching speedway in 1974. I've even gone on a pilgrimage to the old site and tried to imagine what it aws like when the stadium was there.

I've seen pictures and can see what you mean about Cowley - the big scoreboard, the same white fencing and a railway track running along the back!

If I recall there was a Post Office complex adjacent to the site? We used to travel to it from Oxford via Pangbourne I remember.

[Grachan 7,362]

Just now, steve roberts said:

If I recall there was a Post Office complex adjacent to the site? We used to travel to it from Oxford via Pangbourne I remember.

I'd love to see some pictures of the stadium from a bit further back to get an idea of how the whole are looked. I've seen many from inside and of the entrance but some shots from further back would give a nice perspective of how the area looked in those days.

[racers and royals 8,723]

14 minutes ago, Grachan said:

I'd love to see some pictures of the stadium from a bit further back to get an idea of how the whole are looked. I've seen many from inside and of the entrance but some shots from further back would give a nice perspective of how the area looked in those days.

Not too many pictures here unfortunately http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/reading Tilehurst.htm

Interesting info/pictures here https://greyhoundracingtimes.co.uk/2019/01/30/reading-tilehurst/

Edited June 22, 2020 by racers and royals

[Grachan 7,362]

18 minutes ago, racers and royals said:

Not too many pictures here unfortunately http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/reading Tilehurst.htm

Interesting info/pictures here https://greyhoundracingtimes.co.uk/2019/01/30/reading-tilehurst/

Thanks for those. I haven't seen the aerial shot before, which gives an interesting perspective.

[Technik 491]

Smallmead was a fantastic race track which was a credit to it's curator Doug Harris & Jeff Sealey. The size & shape of the track complemented the bikes used at that time, it might not be as exciting now as most riders use a very short stroke motor.

The Stadium at it's best looked like a garden shed which was OK when it was tucked away at the end of Bennett Road over the river & onto the dirt track. It's sad to think that in the early days we had to wait to start racing as traffic would be queueing down to the Basingstoke Road & beyond. If only some of that money had been put into the up keep of the stadium.

The writing was on the wall when the new by-pass was built followed by the football stadium then Kennett Island & the hotel.

The Dore family sold their interest to John Posthlewhite  who had very little idea of how to run the business & by the time Legg & Holloway stepped up it was only a matter of time. Even the return to the Racers name & dropping to a level that was more appriciated to the dwindling crowd. It was a blight on the landscape & the council would be easily swayed with the weight of investment from the surrounding area.

Driving past now I'm not unhappy that the stadium has been destroyed, I know that I will never see racing in there again. conversely  I feel sorrow every time I go past the Cowley stadium in Oxford it's still there & what would it take to get racing back on track their fan's must be depressed when they see their stadium 

[skydog 156]

19 hours ago, a4poster said:

I have just been looking at Google Earth at the old Smallmead site and you can still see the outlines of both the main track and training track - but unsure if this an updated image or not.

If the site is still in place and the current financial climate regarding development post COVID has anyone explored the idea of trying to re-open at the current site.  With this in mind I am only suggesting what would basically be relaying the track with a couple of portacabins for changing facilities and portable toilets.  Fans facilities would be basic - but it would be a chance to get the sport back - even if even on a short-term lease and would also allow would be prospective promotors the chance to gauge the desire for a full-time return.

Just and idea and no doubt someone has already thought of it but I would just throw the idea out there.

 

We have indeed enquired about Speedway returning to Smallmead. The land has been sold and we were assured that we'll never get back in there. 

[ruckerroo 792]

It was a sad day when they shut smallmead, was a bit of a tip but literally bugger all has been done on the site for a decade

[cityrebel 2,960]

6 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Personally I felt that the stadium when it opened was a credit to those involved during a struggle getting the place ready (remember that the 3 day week delayed construction) but it seemed to go down hill very quickly. General upkeep and maintenance appeared to be disregarded and it showed pretty well early on during its short existance. I actually preferred Tilehurst personally. Reminded me of Cowley Stadium!

Tilehurst was pretty similar to Cowley Steve, but i think Smallmead was a better race track. Tilehurst was too flat in my opinion. The Highlight of my trips to Tilehurst were the excellent pre meeting chippy, just across the road from the stadium!

[Piotr Pyszny 206]

Last time I went to Smallmead, on a warm evening in the early Noughties, I was eaten alive by bugs - presumably from the adjacent sewage treatment plant.

The place was a dump (as are most UK speedway venues) but I guess a dump is better than no speedway at all.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny

[steve roberts 9,246]

3 hours ago, cityrebel said:

Tilehurst was pretty similar to Cowley Steve, but i think Smallmead was a better race track. Tilehurst was too flat in my opinion. The Highlight of my trips to Tilehurst were the excellent pre meeting chippy, just across the road from the stadium!

It was a good shape modelled on Ipswich (?) if I remember but often far too slick...probably to suit Jan Andersson! I recall the first Easter Triangle in 1984 and the circuit resembled a dust bowl and was as slick as hell

[cityrebel 2,960]

2 hours ago, steve roberts said:

It was a good shape modelled on Ipswich (?) if I remember but often far too slick...probably to suit Jan Andersson! I recall the first Easter Triangle in 1984 and the circuit resembled a dust bowl and was as slick as hell

When Smallmead was prepared right, it was excellent. When it was neglected, it was terrible. Attending the world cup final there in 2006 was a surreal experience. Coachloads of Poles parked in the Madjeski stadium car park, thought the meeting was being staged at the football ground!

[steve roberts 9,246]

43 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

When Smallmead was prepared right, it was excellent. When it was neglected, it was terrible. Attending the world cup final there in 2006 was a surreal experience. Coachloads of Poles parked in the Madjeski stadium car park, thought the meeting was being staged at the football ground!

Yes I have plenty of memories of the "Cheetahs" turning them over on their own patch plus the fact that the "Rebels" were the first visiting team to win at Smallmead (albeit a Challenge Match) when based at Cowley!

[racers and royals 8,723]

48 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Yes I have plenty of memories of the "Cheetahs" turning them over on their own patch plus the fact that the "Rebels" were the first visiting team to win at Smallmead (albeit a Challenge Match) when based at Cowley!

Not so many as i have of us winning at Cowley 

[steve roberts 9,246]

1 hour ago, racers and royals said:

Not so many as i have of us winning at Cowley 

Yes you blighters back in the early seventies but we got our revenge when Dag Lovaas joined us and he was the first "rebel" to defeat mighty Mich round Cowley I seem to recall. With the re-birth of the "Cheetahs", however, we more or less held our own against those "Berks" from Reading! 

Edited June 22, 2020 by steve roberts