Wee Eck

The push for speedway at Odsal was coming from the stock car promoter, Steve Rees, who was actively looking for someone to take it on. But Steve has now sold up to Yorstox. They also run stock cars at Sheffield so maybe they’d look at speedway at Odsal? I know a few had a look last year, including as a possible GP venue, but no one took it up probably due to the high cost of reshaping the track so it was suitable for speedway.

Was the last big deal not when Oxford, Belle Vue and a third track I can’t remember (Wimbledon?) were bought from the GRA by a Guy Hands company with the sole intention of closing them down and selling the land for development. A bit like Sandhu at Coventry. If it was Wimbledon, then it has been redeveloped and Belle Vue is well on the way to being a housing estate. The only one that escaped the permanent closure of greyhound racing was Oxford

But there’s not been greyhound racing at Armadale since 2016. There are only two greyhound tracks left in Scotland - Shawfield and a “flapper” track in Fife

Does “putting on an exhibition” mean of racing or of bikes etc? If the latter, speedway has been promoted at many different non motorsport events over the years. If the former, won’t the noise scare the horses (and all the other livestock)?

Anything’s possible but, my figure was only an estimate, which is what Skidder1 asked for!

Estimated attendance is 10,000. But it’s only an estimate

They’re Aussies. Moaning comes naturally to them. They invented the expression “whinging Poms” to cover up the fact they’re the world’s best at whinging (I’d add a smiley face there but, for some reason, can’t)

Maybe his house somewhere near Coventry? Is that not where he lives? Less than an hour from the track

There have been worse decisions, though. Didn’t Belle Vue take Charlie Gjedde on loan and then swap Simon Stead for him on the strength of one meeting?

That’s an interesting way of doing things. Then no one is to blame if it goes wrong and no one gets praised when it goes right?

My comment was tongue in cheek - CVS being blamed for something that he isn’t responsible for!

I’m not aware of any “successful businesses outside speedway” that Matt and Dan Ford have at Poole to “bail out the speedway side of things”. I doubt Matt’s chateau has covered its costs as it has had to be closed for much of the last two years, let alone been able to bail out Poole. Poole speedway has been a profitable business for many years now, bar a blip in their last year in the top league which was why they decided to drop down.

Was Peter Adams not there then if CVS was making decisions usually made by the team manager?

That’s just naughty, Arnie!

Thanks - I hadn’t seen it anywhere

Sorry if I’ve missed it, but where’s James Sargeant?

You don’t half find some weird and wonderful things!

He learnt everything he knows from Steve Shovlar

The refund policy was designed to give consistency. But it’s only a policy, not a rule. Clubs are independent businesses and must have the right to exceed the minimum. It’s not without precedent as, in the past, other tracks have offered much reduced readmission. Perhaps the correct approach would have been to allow free re-admission but suggest that supporters might wish to make a voluntary contribution to help cover some of the costs incurred due to the abandonment.

Assuming it’s a chest, not a chef infection, then he should be suspended for 7 days starting with today (SCB Rule 010.5 h )

The guess, and I did say that was all it was, was based on just having a second ambulance. The £800 you quote is for the entire medical team of a minimum of 7 to include a doctor or paramedic.

Many clubs have, under these circumstances, ignored the published terms and conditions and given free admission to ticket holders. The policy wasn’t designed for an event that only runs two heats as that is clearly unfair on supporters - £10 for two heats is outrageous. Stop hiding behind the rules, Birmingham, and do the decent thing. On the ambulance question, I think the SCB rule is that a second ambulance can’t just be any old vehicle with the word “ambulance” painted on it. It has to ge registered with DVLA as an ambulance and have both a driver and an attendant. My guess is a second ambulance would cost somewhere between £250 and £400 per meeting. Other than for tv meetings, I doubt there are many tracks that have two ambulances, but, given the current strain on the NHS, maybe more should consider it? A final point is to express my disappointment - that’s me using a gentle word - at how very limited the sympathy and support for Josh Auty has been. In the press release, Laurence Rogers referred to the abandonment of the meeting as being a “huge blow” for the promotion and that he felt sorry for the supporters. Not a word about feeling sorry for Josh or any update on his injuries which appear to have been serious enough to require him getting morphine. Birmingham supporters and Birmingham riders deserve better.

I thought that might be the case

What website are you looking at? All the fixtures are there: https://britishspeedway.co.uk/calendar/2022-fixtures-results/

There were, allegedly, reasons other that naivety that caused the demise of Rye House. When clubs run out of money to pay wages half way through a season, it’s because of lack of income. When clubs haven’t even been paying the wages, you have to wonder where the money has gone.