heathen52 384 Posted April 5 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: But, can you blame Osbourne for:- Lakeside, Rye House, Wimbledon, Hackney, Wolverhampton, Stoke, Boston, Eastbourne, Newport, Exeter, Cradley Heath..........etc etc! Lakeside, Am i correct in thinking the land owner no longer wanted Speedway their. Rye House, The Owners again do not want Speedway. Wimbledon, GRA did not want Speedway nor in the end Greyhound racing. Hackney, Was that site required for the Olympics. Wolverhampton, Yet another requested to leave by Stadium owners. Stoke, Landowners sold the Stadium. Boston, No idea. Eastbourne, Unviable or should i say Bills unpaid. Newport, Closed and demolished by Owners. Exeter, I,m guessing that yet again Stadium developed by Owners. Cradley Heath, Sold for development by the owners. Long Eaton, Sold for development by the owners. Coventry, Situation fluid and ongoing. The common factor amongst the majority of closed Stadiums is that they were closed for future development by the Stadium owners, some of the exceptions being Sunderland, Newcastle, Bradford, Workington (Rugby). The major issue is that primarily Speedway promoters are tenants of these Stadia and therefore it is out of their hands what the Stadium owners decide to do ie take the big bucks from developers or loose change in rent from Speedway promoters usually on an annual lease. As for Osborne he is a developer, sold Bristol, Closed Reading, Milton Keynes, and Swindon, something went wrong at Hereford, and Torquay don't want to play ball with his new Stadia idea, I have no doubt he is on the look out for potential none League Football Stadiums preferably in the South West.. Edited April 5 by heathen52 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted April 5 1 hour ago, heathen52 said: Lakeside, Am i correct in thinking the land owner no longer wanted Speedway their. Rye House, The Owners again do not want Speedway. Wimbledon, GRA did not want Speedway nor in the end Greyhound racing. Hackney, Was that site required for the Olympics. Wolverhampton, Yet another requested to leave by Stadium owners. Stoke, Landowners sold the Stadium. Boston, No idea. Eastbourne, Unviable or should i say Bills unpaid. Newport, Closed and demolished by Owners. Exeter, I,m guessing that yet again Stadium developed by Owners. Cradley Heath, Sold for development by the owners. Long Eaton, Sold for development by the owners. Coventry, Situation fluid and ongoing. The common factor amongst the majority of closed Stadiums is that they were closed for future development by the Stadium owners, some of the exceptions being Sunderland, Newcastle, Bradford, Workington (Rugby). The major issue is that primarily Speedway promoters are tenants of these Stadia and therefore it is out of their hands what the Stadium owners decide to do ie take the big bucks from developers or loose change in rent from Speedway promoters usually on an annual lease. As for Osborne he is a developer, sold Bristol, Closed Reading, Milton Keynes, and Swindon, something went wrong at Hereford, and Torquay don't want to play ball with his new Stadia idea, I have no doubt he is on the look out for potential none League Football Stadiums preferably in the South West.. The point I was making, is the loss of speedway tracks/teams, is not just Osborne. As for Coventry, Cradley Heath and I think Stoke and maybe Somerset, they did own the tracks, but that didn't save speedway. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1Tsunami 33 Posted April 5 5 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: The point I was making, is the loss of speedway tracks/teams, is not just Osborne. As for Coventry, Cradley Heath and I think Stoke and maybe Somerset, they did own the tracks, but that didn't save speedway. I think Stoke lost their track due to the expansion of the industrial estate. They only rented their land. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,277 Posted April 5 30 minutes ago, 1Tsunami said: I think Stoke lost their track due to the expansion of the industrial estate. They only rented their land. Dave did an incredible job for many years to keep Stoke running and competitive... A true unsung stalwart of UK Speedway.. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Najjer 2,890 Posted April 6 13 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: The point I was making, is the loss of speedway tracks/teams, is not just Osborne. As for Coventry, Cradley Heath and I think Stoke and maybe Somerset, they did own the tracks, but that didn't save speedway. Somerset speedway owners did own the land in which the track sat - but was approached with what I’m led to believe was “an offer which couldn’t be refused”. The clubhouse is now owned by a fuel company with surrounding car park areas now housing screwfix, Howdens kitchens and a Ford car garage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1 valve 558 Posted April 6 20 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: The point I was making, is the loss of speedway tracks/teams, is not just Osborne. As for Coventry, Cradley Heath and I think Stoke and maybe Somerset, they did own the tracks, but that didn't save speedway. Those owners who eventually sold up, by & large, did so after many years of owning, developing & maintaining the facility whilst ensuring as best as possible, a competitive team was put together. Osborne, on the other hand has an undeniable history of acquiring stadiums/clubs and running both into the ground with little or no investment in either before selling off for development. The message is clear, When Osbourne comes calling, so does the Grim Reaper. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted April 6 7 hours ago, Najjer said: Somerset speedway owners did own the land in which the track sat - but was approached with what I’m led to believe was “an offer which couldn’t be refused”. The clubhouse is now owned by a fuel company with surrounding car park areas now housing screwfix, Howdens kitchens and a Ford car garage. What I am suggesting, is speedway fans say tracks are lost due to promoters only renting the stadium, but speedway has been lost, when promoters own their stadiums! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted April 6 6 hours ago, 1 valve said: Those owners who eventually sold up, by & large, did so after many years of owning, developing & maintaining the facility whilst ensuring as best as possible, a competitive team was put together. Osborne, on the other hand has an undeniable history of acquiring stadiums/clubs and running both into the ground with little or no investment in either before selling off for development. The message is clear, When Osbourne comes calling, so does the Grim Reaper. Thankfully Osborne's time at Oxford during the mid seventies came to an end when he "sold" the stadium to the local council but was saved by some pretty resourceful characters who formed a committee as regards its future. Personally I would turn my back on him if he ever entered a room I happened to be in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris 441 Posted April 6 Surprised no one's filled him in over the years with his behaviour 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,363 Posted April 12 On 4/6/2024 at 9:50 PM, Chris said: Surprised no one's filled him in over the years with his behaviour Let’s face it ,Swindon have been totally stitched up with Osbourne and Russell. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
