Peter Craven/grand Opening

[ProperSport 96]

Just got back - many fans around me understandably upset / frustrated and wondering yet again why they have bothered - felt very sorry for the young lad crying ( I gave him my programme and my badge on the way out ) and the couple who had travelled from Eastbourne , I had been looking forward to a rare night with my daughter for months ( both love the sport ) but have no intention of going to the restaged event ( if there is one ) and just when you think the sport shows a bit of 20th century vision we are back to square one , total farce and the management/riders should feel ashamed

 

Chris

[Bagpuss 10,781]

 

Harris said the track was rideable.

 

In the circumstances (huge crowd, opening meeting etc) the meeting should have gone ahead.

 

The fact that the meeting would have been crap is down to the promotion. The fact that it was abandoned is down to the riders.

 

 

 

 

I haven't said what Belle Vue have done is OK at all. They deserve a great deal of criticism for the fact that the track was not ready.

 

However, the track was rideable. What you have said is what happened is entirely down to Belle Vue and that the riders are not to blame in the slightest when this could have gone ahead.

 

Simple truth is that a crap meeting would have been down to Belle Vue, but total abandonment is down to the riders.

 

Not many seem to be agreeing with you HT but I do....while the Belle Vue management deserve plenty of criticism it annoys me that top riders nowadays are reluctant to ride on anything which isn't a billiard table. The meeting really ought to have been called off long before the turnstiles opened but in the context of the stadium being full it would be nice to think that some kind of show could have been put on, unfortunately there appeared to be absolutely no appetite to even try and run a few heats.

 

Both sides at fault and British Speedway's customers once again treated appallingly

[Blazeaway 1,501]

The only people to blame for tonight are the clowns who "prepared" an unfit track.

 

Why on earth should the riders "give it a go" on an unsafe surface?

[Argos 262]

The last time I went to a new track that was newly laid was Birmingham in 20077 and and that was in early March, so it can be done, it done professionally, I like many have lost a lot of money, I will never give BV my cash again

[CUFC_Brummie 132]

Someone just put a dagger in this sport, what a farce.

[Jacques 3,114]

The only people to blame for tonight are the clowns who "prepared" an unfit track.

 

Why on earth should the riders "give it a go" on an unsafe surface?

 

I have no doubt that there were many reasons why they refused to ride it. But I expect that no1 is that the season hasn't even started, why run the risk of injuring yourself? Madness. It's not as if weather doesn't affect other sports, horseracing, Football girlies, even the tough rugby types but they get called off in advance.

 

The blame lies solely at the door of the Belle Vue promotion!

[scaramanga 904]

its always disapointing when your trackside and its called off

but when you travel for hours to get there its just sole distroying traveling home cold and unhappy

[bruno 1,790]

The 3rd and 4th bend were very bad and would have cut up and got worse after a few proper races.lm getting tired of losing bits of my life to speedway which il never get back.was supposed to be going there again a week on Monday but proberly won't bother now

 

Sad day for speedway once again but are we really that surprised

 

Well done bomber for at least facing the fans,couldn't really hear what he was saying as we decided to get out sharpish

[Daniel Smith 5,665]

Not many seem to be agreeing with you HT but I do....while the Belle Vue management deserve plenty of criticism it annoys me that top riders nowadays are reluctant to ride on anything which isn't a billiard table. The meeting really ought to have been called off long before the turnstiles opened but in the context of the stadium being full it would be nice to think that some kind of show could have been put on, unfortunately there appeared to be absolutely no appetite to even try and run a few heats.

 

Both sides at fault and British Speedway's customers once again treated appallingly

I know you'd gone tonight GB but I have a question.

 

You're right, the meeting should have been pulled days, if not weeks ago. Let that sink in

 

So, the promoter's allow the gates to open fully aware the tracks not in a condition to race.

 

Tonight the riders rock up for the first ever time without a scooby on ever knowing how the track is, discover it's unsafe and rightly refuse to ride.

 

It's it fair to put the pressure on the rider's to give it a go because there's 6000? But it's ok to call it off on a regular night because there's only 600.

 

If it's unsafe and all riders agree, that really pushes the blame back on the promoter's.

 

Very unfair to lay blame on the rider's.

[Midland Red 2,383]

Just got back - many fans around me understandably upset / frustrated and wondering yet again why they have bothered - felt very sorry for the young lad crying ( I gave him my programme and my badge on the way out ) and the couple who had travelled from Eastbourne , I had been looking forward to a rare night with my daughter for months ( both love the sport ) but have no intention of going to the restaged event ( if there is one ) and just when you think the sport shows a bit of 20th century vision we are back to square one , total farce and the management/riders should feel ashamed

 

Chris

 

That's the trouble - 20th century vision in the 21st century!

[fatface 2,554]

How sad that this had been allowed to happen on what really should have been the greatest day in British Speedway since the first Cardiff GP.

 

What is particularly cringeworthy is that the management hung their hat on the track being their number one priority in this lengthy process - even compromising on the surrounding stadia given their limited footprint. So for tonight's abandonment to be down to the track not being raceable is, well, pretty indefensible.

 

The big picture is that management deserve massive credit for getting a modern stadium built for a minority sport in today's climate. For that, we all should be grateful and fulsome in our praise.

 

But, now we have our superb facility, are they the best people to make sure we make the very best of this opportunity deep into the 21st century?

 

If I had put my money into a multi-million pound multi-sport facility to thrive with community use and national and international events, are they the people I would employ to run it? Hmmm.

[Bagpuss 10,781]

You could be right screamer but I have a problem with riders nowadays, especially the top ones, who have very little appetite to race on a track which is anything less than perfect. No doubt Belle Vue are heavily at fault tonight but I don't think riders make enough effort sometimes, they are too quick to say no and clear off home.

 

I could be completely wrong, but Bomber himself said the track could have been ridden tonight just not raced hard. So to me both parties were at fault this evening.

[SCB 0]

If I had put my money into a multi-million pound multi-sport facility to thrive with community use and national and international events, are they the people I would employ to run it? Hmmm.

Some of us have said this since day one, sadly tonight has only proved us right

[speedwaysliders 176]

Who was the ref for tonights meeting? does he not have any clout to at least get the riders out for heat 1?!!

What does "soft in places" mean on bends 3and 4 ? Would it not been possible in this day and age to fix it?!!!!

when did they lay the track for the first time? was it the last thing to be done?

Im as thick as two short planks but even i can see there has to be a figure in speedway who is tough and makes the correct decisions to get the best results.

[damosuzuki 696]

Terrible shame but they should have had a series of invitation only mini meetings in the weeks running up until the official opening. I don't know why this wasn't done tbh. However, they built it and I'll still go on my ill advised trip this summer, assuming it's all sorted out. Sorry for everyone disappointed, but I'm going to stay positive about 2016 and Belle Vue.