Ray Stadia

Hi TWK. There is a lot of nostalgia speedway stuff on Facebook. There are many forums you can join. From a personal point of view, I find them a bit depressing, as it lets you know what we have lost over the years. 😔

I remember when Newport reopened after being closed for several years, the initial attendance was very good, but it did tail off, I believe, for which Tim was blamed. It was said he managed to pee off the fans somehow and he was running out of funds. Let's hope the promoter(s) do a great local/national marketing job and keep it up! 🤞

As they say, 'between a rock and a hard place'. 🙁

Just a thought, I wonder if he thinks Studley has more of a chance, than keeping the Abbey stadium, so, he maybe hoping if he sides with Studley, Swindon speedway has a better chance of returning? (devil's advocate).

You could say that.....both are a load of balls! 🙄

Regarding Northampton's possible fan base, you may get some banger/stocks fans attending? Much of it will be down to the efforts by the promotion.

Speedway has been a car crash forever, but for the last 10 years, it's been a multiple car crash!

I've been confused and lost with the in's and out's of the Russells, but at the end of the day, RIP Mr T Russell.

But for some, £250K is peanuts! In fact, a possible tax offset!

In terms of catchment for Northampton, here are some possibles: Coventry 49 mins Birmingham 1 hr 7 mins Wembley 1 hr 15 mins (a friend of mine lives there and said he would travel to the stadium) Milton Keynes 28 mins (almost a revival of Milton Keynes speedway) Peterborough 59 mins Leicester 54 mins Based on the above and bearing in mind it is a nice stadium, which could mean it could be used for some Blue Ribbon events, sounds a good possible to me!

Mind you, lets face it, once you announce there will be no more speedway, attendance will understandably tail off. I remember the last season at Rayleigh, the gate was awful!

I presume Iwade will remain as a training track?

Do you mean reduce the cost riders have to pay to ride or the cost promoters have to pay for riders? Reducing the cost riders have to pay for their 'kit', which must be restrictions on the number of bikes they have (difficult to police) or ensuring engines are basic trim and not heavily tuned. ??

Really. I had a holiday in September, on Lanzarote and it was cheaper than having a holiday in the UK! Cheap booze!

Maybe they were all on 'silent'? 😟

I remember the days when the meeting/conference, was held in places like Tenerife! 😍

All a million miles from the days of John Berry! 😪

One of the reasons why speedway is so costly for the promoter. Yesteryear, the riders provided their own leathers, no cost to the promoter (unless the promoter bills the rider for the suit(s), which I doubt?). Or are the suits usually sponsored by the companies that have their decals on the suits? It is a good point that you make, probably very little time to organise the various necessities, unless it's been going on in the background? 🙂

You really must take more water with it Dean! 🙃

True, or a merger of some kind? Whatever, just a mess and over several several years!

That is true, as long as I can remember, during the closed season, there were/are teams with a 'will they, won't they', hanging over their heads. But there were so many more teams then. It is all very dire, for sure, aside of Ipswich and their shenanigans.

There is an 'Ipswich' in Australia, maybe he is looking to open a track there? 😦

Who knows! In 2036, speedway could be thriving, up and down the country, with 50 tracks! 🙂

I suppose if Ipswich closes, it could be to Mildenhall's advantage. Different speedway for sure, but still 4 bikes riding an oval track. Somehow, speedway needs to reinvent itself. When you consider the number of tracks speedway has lost over the years and still losing, it really is on life support! 😪

RIP Mr Havelock