Absolutely but in all the time i attended Cardiff I do not recall the attendance being more than 45k A ready made stadium is always desirable but we don't really have one big enough to get a decent buzz about it, I do like the NSS but even with temporary seating for a world event its not big enough - that said it never sold out for the Speedway of nations the other year so what do I know! Coventry was always great for these events - a shame its no longer viable!

Staging a Speedway Grand Prix at a temporary venue like Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium is a massive financial gamble, heavily driven by infrastructure logistics. Because Alexander Stadium is primarily a premier athletics venue (with a fixed 18,000 capacity around its running track), hosting a GP requires building a bespoke, temporary dirt track from scratch and renting additional seating if you want to scale up. While exact, line-by-line budgets are kept strictly confidential by promoters, looking at what it takes to build a temporary track and secure an FIM license gives a realistic cost breakdown. You are looking at a total layout of **between £1.5 million and £2.5 million** for a single Grand Prix weekend. The major costs break down into three distinct pillars: ### 1. The Track Build & Logistics (£400,000 – £600,000) Creating a raceable speedway track inside an athletics stadium requires meticulous engineering to protect the existing international-standard running track.  * **Protection & Base Layer:** Thousands of wooden boards or heavy-duty plastic geotextile membranes must be laid down first to fully protect the underlying running surface from heavy machinery.  * **The Dirt:** Promoters have to source, transport, and lay roughly 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes of specialised shale or granite mix.  * **Safety Equipment:** You need to hire and install FIM-regulated air fences, starter gates, referee communication systems, and track-grading machinery (tractors and bowsers) for the weekend.  * **The Tear-Down:** After the meeting, every single grain of shale has to be meticulously removed and the stadium pressure-washed back to pristine condition. ### 2. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Rights & Sanction Fees (£500,000 – £800,000) To host a round of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix, a local promoter or council must pay a substantial staging fee to the global rights holders, WBD Sports.  * This fee secures the calendar slot, television production rights, and covers the base prize money fund for the 16 competing riders. ### 3. Stadium Hire, Staffing, and Temporary Infrastructure (£400,000 – £600,000) Alexander Stadium’s permanent capacity sits at 18,000. While that is solid, a flagship British GP usually aims for higher numbers.  * **Temporary Seating:** If a promoter wants to temporarily scale up capacity (Alexander Stadium can technically be expanded up to 40,000 using temporary grandstands), the hire cost sits around £100 per temporary seat. Adding even 5,000 temporary seats can quickly add £500,000 to the bill.  * **Staffing & Overheads:** Hundreds of turnstile operators, stewards, medical personnel, and specialized track staff are needed, alongside the cost of hiring the stadium itself from Birmingham City Council. > **The Financial Catch:** Unlike a permanent venue (like Cardiff's Principality Stadium, which can absorb immense costs due to its 70,000-seat potential), Alexander Stadium has a lower financial ceiling. A promoter would need to guarantee packed-out stands and high-tier ticket pricing just to cover the upfront costs of transforming an athletics track into a world-class shale circuit. 👆 ai  

I assume based on what has gone before the sport is bollocks and will never get back to its heyday and the hard core supporter iit had and is simply left with the remnants of what was a spectacle to be enjoyed by a diminishing number followers. All very sad

I've been to Athletics there - it's a nice stadium good views no matter where you are sat, and yes if a track could be laid it would be ok for speedway I would think. Another potential one could be the Crystal Palace Athletics Arena - been there for Athletics too similar to Alexander Stadium.

Somewhere like the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham might be the right size and even Nigel Tolley was talking of moving the Brummies there... but then he is completely mad 🎩

I'm hearing due to lack of interest the triggers fans bus is cancelled 😲 always used to bring a bus full of fans to most tracks in the north, sign of the times 🤔 maybe having streaming parties rather than going to the track these days