Wembley

[Chris116 756]

The FA had been wanting to get rid of the speedway for a few years after a BriSCA F1 Stock Car did an end over end roll across the centre leaving the football pitch looking like a ploughed field! I don't think the FA understood that speedway bikes don't do that sort of thing.

[old bob at herne bay 828]

Ill educated pitch at hosting speedway in “November or December” .

 I would not be there freezing to death. Roof or no roof. 
 

Think someone who knows about the sport needs to be involved. Anyone been there to measure up for a speedway circuit ? 
 

Think we are stuck with the Welsh rugby stadium for a few more years yet.

 

 

 

[fatface 2,554]

Two things about this story...

1. Peter Oakes has a nose for a story and is still highly effective at shoe horning speedway into the tabloids. Top work

2. It's absolute balderdash. 

Speedway will not be returning to Wembley. We (speedway fans) are a dying breed. It would do well to get 40,000 into Wembley. The crowds are shrinking and the average age of the crowd is rising. The numbers don't add up. Wembley gets repurposed to put on days and days of Harry Styles/Ed Sheeran/Adele type gigs and gets 80k turning up night after night. It's low risk, high return. Does anyone seriously believe they would repurpose Wembley, including laying of a track for one night of speedway? There might have been a chance when the new Wembey opened around 2007 and they were desperate to recoup money. Not anymore. The Principality is as good as it will get for speedway in the UK. 

[Goldhawk 76]

Wembley would draw big crowd without doubt, lets hope it happens. Done with boring Cardiff and the rip off hotel prices which are jacked up for GP weekend ! 

[iainb 5,022]

11 minutes ago, Goldhawk said:

Wembley would draw big crowd without doubt, 

... and what leads you to believe that?

[speed29 19]

6 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Ill educated pitch at hosting speedway in “November or December” .

 I would not be there freezing to death. Roof or no roof. 
 

Think someone who knows about the sport needs to be involved. Anyone been there to measure up for a speedway circuit ? 
 

Think we are stuck with the Welsh rugby stadium for a few more years yet.

 

 

 

ok wembley for November or December.  

[Ray Stadia 1,071]

4 hours ago, iainb said:

... and what leads you to believe that?

I think there is potential for a big crowd to attend a Wembley GP, on the following basis:

1. London is easier to get to for most people than Cardiff

2. International fans can easily fly into London. Cardiff airport, surely, has limited destinations 

3. London has more tourist appeal (in my opinion) than Cardiff

4. I have only attended Cardiff once, the first, and when I left the stadium, walking through Cardiff, some Welsh men seemed quite hostile. I was with my wife

     and felt a bit threatened, although nothing happened. Yes, that could happen in Wembley, but in my opinion, unlikely

5. Wembley stadium must carry more prestige than Cardiff's

6. I'm sure the riders would love to be able to say, they have ridden in Wembley stadium

7. With good marketing, I reckon it could at least equal 1981's gate. I won't be going to Cardiff again, but I would definitely go to Wembley!  

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ray Stadia

[steve roberts 9,246]

On 5/6/2023 at 8:47 PM, midlandred said:

It was Ted Croker of the FA which got the speedway kicked out of the Empire Stadium

In the "Good Old Days" speedway was the main sport at Wembley when I think I'm right in saying that other than the FA Cup Final and a couple of internationals Football was very much in the minority? Didn't the England national football team often play their games at other grounds?

Edited May 7, 2023 by steve roberts

[Ray Stadia 1,071]

9 hours ago, steve roberts said:

In the "Good Old Days" speedway was the main sport at Wembley when I think I'm right in saying that other than the FA Cup Final and a couple of internationals Football was very much in the minority? Didn't the England national football team often play their games at other grounds?

And Greyhound Racing! 

[geoff100 1,426]

Sir arthur elvin said many times speedway and greyhounds kept wembley open,the track was always their the pitch was laid on top with turf from good old cumbria ,everytime  the england team got beat they blamed the track saying they couldnt run down the wings!

[steve roberts 9,246]

39 minutes ago, geoff100 said:

Sir arthur elvin said many times speedway and greyhounds kept wembley open,the track was always their the pitch was laid on top with turf from good old cumbria ,everytime  the england team got beat they blamed the track saying they couldnt run down the wings!

I'm sure I'm right in saying that Sir Authur was quoted to say that as long as he was alive there would always be a place for Speedway at Wembley? If I recall he died whilst on a cruise?

[25yearfan 476]

Your right, Sir Arthur Elvin (originally from the great City of Norwich!) died in early 1957 while on a cruise at the reasonably young age of 57. He alone for some years had been the main reason League speedway continued at Wembley (speedway was apparently his first sporting love) so his death was soon followed by the Lions team being pulled out of the League by the remaining Wembley Directors.

 

Its reasonable to suggest that had Elvin lived until his 80's then League speedway at Wembley could very well have continued uninterrupted into the 1980's, especially since speedway had a renaissance  in the late 60's up until the early 80's and the 1970/71 Wembley Lions two year spell in the British League was a well supported success.

 

- I'm sure also that a follow on from League speedway at Wembley lasting until the 80's would have been major meetings surviving for even longer (into the 1990's?) at the grand stadium when one considers that the last speedway meeting at Wembley, the 1981 World final took place 11 years after the last season of League racing there back in 1971 with quite a few other big speedway meetings taking place between 1972 and 1981.  

 

All ifs and buts like everything else in life,  its always interesting to wonder how different things could have turned out just by one event not happening as it did!

Edited May 8, 2023 by 25yearfan

[Humphrey Appleby 13,960]

12 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Didn't the England national football team often play their games at other grounds?

Depends when you mean.

Up until the 1950s, I think England rarely played at Wembley, but after that until the old stadium closed, they very rarely didn’t. Obviously whilst Wembley was being redeveloped after 2001 then England played all over the place, but since the new stadium has opened they’ve played all but two home matches at the new Wembley.

[steve roberts 9,246]

29 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

Depends when you mean.

Up until the 1950s, I think England rarely played at Wembley, but after that until the old stadium closed, they very rarely didn’t. Obviously whilst Wembley was being redeveloped after 2001 then England played all over the place, but since the new stadium has opened they’ve played all but two home matches at the new Wembley.

Yes it was the fifties and into the early sixties(?) if I recall? Of course there weren't the number of internationals played back then as there are nowadays.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,960]

4 hours ago, Ray Stadia said:

And Greyhound Racing! 

Would have thought that largely sustained it as can't imagine that a couple of cup finals, rugby league and maybe 4-5 internationals per year would have paid all the bills. Of course concerts became a thing in later years, which I'd have thought would have done far more damage to the pitch than speedway!

Even then, Wembley was probably only viable as it was purchased for a bargain basement price (equivalent of 10-20 million today). So it really only needed to recoup its operating and maintenance costs. By contrast, the new Wembley cost 800 million so no wonder they're trying to maximise use of it.