Birmingham

[Deano 1,318]

Rogh, so where are the dogs and rugby club going? This sounds similar to the Exeter debacle, did the vikings explore joining them?

Edited August 21, 2006 by Deano

[RogH. 0]

Deano, the dogs have just folded, and the rugby club left 4 years ago for the new KC Stadium. Certainly no room for speedway there.

[BriG 0]

For new tracks to have a realistic chance of opening up in well populated areas more work needs to be done at the BSPA / SCB level to develop a uniform strategy for noise reduction and implementation of the appropriate measures. In this day and age the technology exists it's all down to costs and when individual promoters are left to fund all that it takes to 'soundproof' a speedway stadium it just isn't going to happen.

 

The only way I can see it happening is if funding was made available to build stadiums to a blueprint in terms of environmental issues. The concept of soundproofed indoor tracks has been discussed elsewhere and it could be achieved if the funding were available. They don't have to be grand affairs like the Millenium stadium but more modest with say 5-10,000 capacity. Some of the smaller circuits alreaduy in league speedway would be swallowed up inside some of the modern industrial structures or old aircraft hangers.

 

If I win the lottery I kn ow what I'd do.

[czechhero 32]

It's been said many, many times on this forum at various times that noise is the big issue with the sport and the more you read of the problems of Exeter and Birmingham and others the more you come to realise that perhaps the bikes should be silenced further. I can remember when silencers were first used back in the 70s, most fans thought that the sport would never be the same, but the reality was that it was hard to tell any real difference. So perhaps the time has come for a more efficient silencer to be used. On the other hand, the nimbys will still complain even then.

As far as costs go, another plan I recall from the late 70s, early 80s was to use petrol instead of methanol. I think the view was a move to normal fuel could attract more sponsorship from the big oil companies. I wonder, has this plan been looked at again since?

[greyhoundp 990]

Deano, the dogs have just folded,

 

Rog; My information from the Dogs side of things; is they have been kicked out due to H&S issues, ie dangerous structures within the Stadium, and many thousands need spending to eliminate this.

[RogH. 0]

The dogs were unlicensed anyway.

 

As part of the regeneration of the area, the stadium was scheduled for demolition within a couple of years, but last week the Council announced that they hoped to carry this work out before the end of this year. Much of the stadium is now derelict and vandalism has become a problem.

[greyhoundp 990]

The dogs were unlicensed anyway

 

The NGRC have been advised by Kingston upon Hull City Council that Hull Greyhound Stadium have been served a “Notice to Quit” the site at Boulevard Stadium in Hull.

 

 

 

In accordance with the NGRC Rules of Racing and in the interests of public and greyhound safety together with the report received by the NGRC from Kingston upon Hull City Council, the NGRC has informed Hull Greyhound Stadium that the track is no longer licensed to race greyhounds under NGRC Rules.

 

RogH as you can see Hull Greyhounds were licensed up until they received their notice to Quit, may i just add were there Speedway at The Boulevard then that would not have been able to continue either.

Edited August 22, 2006 by greyhoundp

[south coast robin 0]

Seems a pity there are no teams in London now where it was a hotbed after the war pulling over 100,000 fans weekly

[Kevin Meynell 2]

That's a misguided rule anyway. As retailers like Starbucks seem to have found, the winning strategy is paradoxically to cluster around an area if you want to stir up interest and dominate the competition.

 

Yes, but again, sport is not the same as running a regular business. Most people drink coffee, and usually do so more often than once-a-week. By contrast, it's not desirable for professional sports teams to compete with each other on business terms.

 

The idea of sports franchises being granted an exclusive area is not a bad one, although clearly exceptions can be made for large population centres. I think the 30-mile rule is reasonable for most areas, although exceptions clearly have been made in the past. Obviously though, a couple of teams in places like London and the West Midlands could be complimentary.