Studland Bee

Sheffield clearly want to be in the Premiership (not), what a complete farce of a meeting. Its an obvious fix, Kelvin and Nigel not doing a good job of making it look competitive, Sheffield riders clearly not trying. Joke!

I went for a walk this afternoon and had a good look around the Stadium. It really is very sad to see the state of the place, the back of the stand is insecure with doors wide open, the hanger and most of the outbuilding are also insecure. I noticed a stack of the flood light posts behind the old dog kennels, these were cut with an angle grinder and not in my opinion salvaged for re use, its simply malicious damage. There are piles of rubbish all over the place near to the old kennels. The caravan previously used by the Security Guard is also insecure. Surprisingly the windows of the office area and the main stand are still intact. It is only a matter of time before the place is vandalised beyond any possible repair, or the travelling fraternity move in. I am actually amazed this hasn't happened already. There is no evidence of any work at the Stadium. I drive past the Stadium most evenings and the place is in darkness. There used to be security lights in the driveway by the riders entrance and along the side of the main stand, these are no longer in use. I would urge all parties to move quickly and resolve whatever the problems are, that is if indeed they are still actually talking. I fear we will never be back at Brandon, and we certainly won't survive racing at Leicester.

I totally agree with Abbo, I first went to Brandon 47 years ago on my Dads shoulders. If we are not at Brandon this year I will most certainly not travel to Leicester or any other stadium to watch Coventry.

My view is that Simon Gilbert has not helped with his recent articles in the Coventry Telegraph, compulsory purchase by Rugby Council on 10th January, most likely to have angered Brandon Estates whoever they are, and today he reports Coventry Speedway unlikely to agree a track deal, quoting a Lawyer for Brandon Estates. He uses the words unlikely in his headline and quotes the lease deal is now dead in the body of the article. Both articles are totally unhelpful as long as talks are continuing. From my perspective the original agreement for the lease would no longer apply when the fixtures and fittings had been removed / damaged. Who can blame Mick Horton for not trying to renegotiate, or come to some agreement with Sandhu and Brandon Estates. I remain hopeful of a positive outcome until I hear otherwise from those directly involved.

Happy New Year everyone, I hope we hear some good news very soon. Nick

The latest developments following the statement issued by Brandon Estates is quite alarming really for a number of reasons. Who exactly are Brandon Estates? As a business, they should know that this is a Civil matter around disputed assets and contract of sale and not something that Warwickshire Police would be interested in. The Police will not investigate this as a theft or burglary. Sandhu was the previous owner of the Stadium and at the time the property was taken had lawful access to the Stadium in the form of a lease. The key thing here is that he or persons acting for him were not trespassers. It may be, as reported that damage was caused in the removal of property, but again this in my view is a Civil matter and not Criminal. I suspect that this will drag on and we will need the services of Councillor Stokes again to help resolve this. I have heard that there is real concern around the time scales in relaying the track. I understand a period of time is needed for bonding of the sub base and shale surface. I have also heard that the electrics were removed and the work required to replace / reinstate the systems is substantial. I don’t think Mr Horton is in a position to comment other than to the negative at this stage until the issues involving Sandhu and Brandon Estates are resolved.

I can't actually believe what's happened in the last 48 hours, I honestly thought it was the end of Coventry Speedway and Stock cars at Brandon. If what's reported today actually happens and all parties stick to whatever has been agreed, I like many supporters will be very happy and relieved. From the pictures its clearly going to be a huge task to reinstate the fixtures, fittings, Armco fencing, lighting, etc, but hopefully this can be done. I drove past the stadium tonight and the main car park gates were again wide open with little visible security lighting at the Stadium. My worry now is that unless the Stadium is secured by the new owner within days, the travelling fraternity will return and cause further damage to the Stadium.

Having read the various posts on different forums and seen the latest pictures, I stopped off at the Stadium on my way home today at 1635 hours. The main entrance to the car park is now completely open and the water tanker is no longer blocking the gates. This has been in place since the summer due to continued problems with travellers / Gypsies. I spoke with one of Mr Sandhu’s representatives who was manning the riders entrance gate to the Stadium. He basically confirms the story reported in the Coventry Telegraph and supported by the brief entry on the Coventry Stox site. He states as of yesterday afternoon, Mick Horton failed to meet a deadline that had been set in respect of agreement for the usage of the fixings and fittings at the Stadium. He states Sandhu has removed all his property from the Stadium, including all lights, track, fencing, mechanical equipment, and this can be used in a new Stadium. He said the keys to the whole site would be handed to the new owner tomorrow, and he clearly puts all the blame on Mick Horton for failing to complete on an agreement. Obviously there is another side to this situation, but to me it now appears to have gone beyond a retrievable position. As a supporter of Coventry Speedway for 47 years this is a very sad day indeed.

In answer to a couple of points; I stood on the roof of my van in Speedway Lane so not the best view of the inner track area, but i could see the stand and general look of the place. I also walked around into the woods and could see the contractors at the rear of the main stand with two skips. The skips contained old rubbish, a section of temporary link fencing and other materials. There was no armco barrier sections or other materials that I could identify from the track as I know it. The pictures I have seen show the track entrance where there is no armco barrier anyway. I have not seen any pictures of the bends / straights, that shows where armco has been removed. I have pictures of when the armco was installed many years ago. The foundations have steel sections six feet in length set in concrete under ground, the visible armco is also filled with concrete, this would be a major job to remove and would need some serious machinery. The only machinery I could see today was a cherry picker in the riders car park, not being used, and a mini digger being used by the contractors. I am only reporting on what i could see and on what one of the contractors said to me.

I have just spent an hour at Brandon Stadium, had a good walk around, stood on the roof of my van to see inside, and spoke to one of the contractors from JJ Commercials, scrap metal company from Birmingham. From what I could see, all the light fittings on both corners have been removed, the centre lights and all light fittings along both straights are still in situ. The plastic seating on the Rugby bend side of the Stadium has been removed, but are stacked at the back of the stand. From what I could see, most of the seating is still in place. There is no evidence of any on going work at the track, no evidence of any of the fencing, armco etc being dismantled. Speaking with one of the contractors, he states they have been brought in to clear out all the metal ware and fittings from the dog section of the Stadium, the metal turnstiles from the two disused turnstile buildings, and years of old metal and other rubbish from under the main stands. He told me they have not removed anything from the track including the lights and are not under instruction to do so. I witnessed the workmen remove a large stainless steel cylinder from under the stand, and I watched as they unbolted the old turnstiles from the disused turnstile buildings, these are the building with the pitched roofs near to the dog kennels. On walking around the stadium I saw a skip in the car park that contained plastic and other non metal scrap. There were a number of old cash registers, printer, bunting, and advertising boards. I believe these are old items that have been removed from under the old stand. So; I know Mick is currently in Florida and returning next week, hopefully he will post something on the web site. At this stage, having spoken to the contractor and visited the site, I hope this is a general clear out and not stripping of the Stadium as we all feared. I pass the Stadium daily and will provide a further update if anything changes.

With regards to the posts on the Stadium being stripped out, lights, seats, bar fittings etc. Has anyone on this Forum actually visited the Stadium and witnessed this happening ? I will visit the Stadium tomorrow morning and report back what's going on.

I am pleased to see Danny King and Josh Bates back, I think 2016 will have given Danny a real confidence boost and hopefully he can build on that. I think there's a lot more to come from young Josh also and hopefully we will see that this year. I have never really been a big fan of Kenneth Bjerre, to me he is a gate and go type of rider, not a racer who can mix it and come from the back. We have also seen Bjerre struggle on heavy tracks and go missing on the play off stage. That said; I hope both Kenneth and Lasse Bjerre have a good year at Coventry. Now KK has signed for Poole I really hope Mick can produce a big name signing!

My money is on Eddie Kennett and Stuart Robson as the next signings, you then have four British riders who can all ride any track in the UK.

Congratulations to Wolverhampton on winning the Elite League Championship over two legs. Some fantastic racing especially tonight, I feel for Belle Vue but Wolves responded well on a track much different to Monmore. I agree it’s good to see and hear banter from the terraces, but some of the Belle Vue fans were unnecessarily targeting Woffinden all night, I don’t know why, I don’t blame him for responding in giving some back. Well done to PK a brilliant rider over the years for wolves, a fitting end to his career in the UK. I look forward to 2017.

Congratulations to Wolves on a job well done and good luck in the final. Two awful decisions by the referee though, Tungate should never have been excluded in heat 15. A good effort from the Poole reserves tonight, Newman should not be allowed to stay at reserve in 2017. Enjoying a beer on a school night in the best interests of the sport and British Speedway!