Grand Central

I would assume that the £500K, debt that the new promoters have 'accepted' is not the sum total of the debt of the 2016 promotion. Or have hardy any direct relation to it. The unpaid rent of £350,000 plus other MCC expenses incurred in 2016 may form part of the 500K. And the BSPA will have got in there to get their expenses covered; including the unpaid 'speedway debts'. I cannot imagine that many other creditors of the 2016 promotion will have had much say in this at all. One would expect that the astute business men that the new owners are, would not be so foolish as to then just accept a straight summation of these figures. They would have negotiatied it 'down' to 500K. Until someone leaks more documents the rather 'back of the envelope calculations' we are offering could be massively wide of the true mark

But your's is definitely the best. You're quite a wordsmith on the quiet.

Some of those mentioned here certainlty did smoke enough of some stuff to have seriouslly stunted their growth.

So absolutely NO upsetting the applecart. All sorted.

Absolutely right. I was making no distinction between one set of promoters, or another. Nor between one set of Belle Vue Promoters and another set of Belle Vue Promoters. I have no allegiance to any of them My distinction was between those promoters who are decent enough to believe that the riders should be paid and then do so promptly. And any of those scumbags who do not, or believe that they are the lowliest of priority in their business. Plus their behind-the-scenes facilitators and online apologists who are no better.

Absolutely right. An assurance that they 'will get paid' being the best that can be offered at this late stage is pretty disgusting. Is this who 'we' are in Speedway? That we would support those who treat people this way? Utter disgrace.

Yes, The Sunday People led their three week 'Speedway Bribes Sensation' story in September 1984 with a double page spread that heavily featured Simon Wigg. It is moot whether they would have gone to print with the rest of their 'twit-bits' had it not been their good fortune to have an opening splash featuring England's only world finalist of that year. On another thread the question is asked 'When did Speedway's decline start?' For many it was around this time.

So, Fred, there is some reason for optimism. That rental of the entire stadium giving the potential for 'selling' much more this time to meet the bills could be a game changer. But only if they can realise that market fully, which must be a big 'if'. And there may still be huge pitfalls if the Stadium build is still not completed to full specification. I suppose we may find out next week if the new guys have struck the right sort of deal on all that.

Just trying to move the discussion along a little ... What does the future hold, realistically, for Speedway at the NSS? It would seem 'clear' that those in the 'in the know' here regard MCC as being untrustworthy blackguards. Just as Mr Gordon does. He certainly puts forward a strong argument about being very harshly treated by them. To the point that they made a viable speedway promotion just about impossible. And this is despite him being able to produce paperwork, reports and agreements that SHOULD have prevented them being able to act in that reprehensible fashion. For 2017 there are new people with strong business records that show that they may be better equipped to deal with such 'despots' in City Hall. But it is the same MCC that are entering into further agreements with these new parties. Are those agreements and arrangements to be so much more watertight in 2017 than DG's in 2016? Do those 'in the know' here have confidence that there is to be a better outcome this time?

I expected slightly more than just David Gordon's sole voice. Yet again. This article is just a prettied up version of the ugly creature released online several days ago. Nothing more. It covers just a very narrow band of ground and discusses none of the myriad of issues surrounding the 2016 debacle that have excercised so many here. No quotes, opinion or information from any other named voice actually invlved, other that DG's, is included. Be it corroborative or contradictory. Total silence from Morton, Carswell, Meredith, Lemon, Bridgett, Reeve, Chapman, BSI or any rider or other creditor. Nor is a single probing question asked of the man. Just his 'statement' is transcribed. We have moved three-eigths of an inch further in our understanding. There is obviously much more to come.

I've just read the Speedway Star's coverage of David Gordon's version of events. MCC's spokeman says that they do not accept Mr Gordon's versions of events. That is the sum total of where we still are.

Daft old cliche. Totally inapplicable in this case.

I imagine that that that is a question best asked of DG and CM as they made that choice. No single person at the council was ever going to be personally out of pocket like them. If they have really suffered huge financial losses as individuals I would be surprised if they felt that it was a wise one, now, at least.

Only because those were the idiotic terms they signed up to. Just as, according to them, they later signed up to clauses etc that were equally daft.

Because you can never trust builders (or many other contractors) not to cut corners as soon as you take your eyes off them. In addtition that last section was being done just towards the end of the build when all manner of other 'finishing' was being done and the date of the GOM was fast approoaching. If my house was riding on it I would be togged up with hard-hat and hiviz EVERY single day in those last couple of months making sure that it was not going to go t!ts up. They would have had to manhandle me off site when I had so much riding on the work of so many others. And I bet CM and DG wake up in the middle of the night time and time again, wishing that they HAD done that.

.But ISG were not making a mass produced product that flows off the production line in the thousands. More like buying a Rolls Royce to your very individual requirements where Customer involvement is encouraged at all stages. This was a 'bespoke' product for a very specific purpose where the suitability of its performance was only ever going to be judged by the end user. The only people with any 'Speedway knowledge' at all. Common sense would tell you that SOME involvement of those knowledgeable people earlier could be a LITTLE helpful. Wouldn't you say.

As always your contributions are hoplessly unhelpful to the discussion and just cause more confusion. I assume it is intentional.

Not happy? I'd be mortified if I thought the execrable scribblings produced here were in any way representative of the authoritative Speedway Star report on proceedings that we have been anticipating for so long.

I am sure I speak for many in thanking you for your worthwhile contribution.

Not even that; it looks like part of badly wrtten article that is no where near a state ready for publication It is very oddly written. The first few paragraphs of 'scene setting' are not of A-level standard 'creative writing' and Gordon's quotes are not marshalled into the coherent narrative one would expect after all this time. It seems to be a first attempt of a rather poor journalist who is marrying together the transcript of a phone call with a rambling, and quite distrought Gordon, with his own early attempt at prose. This cannot be anything like the Star article that has been often mentioned here.

. Of course it is about the costs! Who in their right mind would spend 70k on renting bogs! But they did! Are they all mad enough to do it again? Or, are they really being built for this season, that is what I was asking.

.Bearing all of that in mind. The new promotion would be back up sh!t creek if that is still the state of the place for 2017. Surely there will need to be an awful lot of building work done before the doors open this year. Has that been agreed and work started? In this excellent 'serialised' version of the Star article under embargo we are learning much that portays the council as blackguards. And evidently rightly so as they sound nasty, incompetent and untrustworthy folk. So what has so changed now that gives us real hope for the future of speedway in contuning relation with the same people at MCC? Any more than CM and DG had this time last year? When everything was reported as so, so rosy. And very eloquently by yourself.

This latest, 2017 version, of the events of last March is certainly advantageous to DG and CM. I am just not sure that it 'chimes' with contemporaneous reports and recollections that were recorded last year. Closer to the night in question. The idea that the track was 'okay' during the day of the GOM but then massively deteriorated just in the coldoif the evening is one that I have only read in recent weeks. And even then from only one person. Could anyone provide a link to a quote online, or in the Star, where this specific claim was made around the time of the meeting itself? Or at any time during 2016.

The inference here is that it was the drop in temperature on the day of the meeting resulted in a visible material change to the track on the day. ie. It became softer from (say) 3pm to 8pm as it got colder and it was that change that made it too unsafe. That was the statement I had not seen made before by anyone.

Once more I am mystified. That is such a simple, straightforward statement of fact that explains so much, so easily. And MUST be demonstratable by eyewitness, documentary, photographic and scientific evidence that would make it incontravertible. So why has no one made it before. I have looked back to everyone's comments in the contemporary reports of the night; and the Morton/Gordon statements subsequently and listened to their Fans Forum ahead of the British Final. Plus the CofC report here. And there is no mention of this version of events that is now being put forth. " The track appeared safe and in good shape at lunchtime; and was still looked in decent enough shape to let the fans in to the Stadium. BUT by 7.30 it was totally different and the track had changed so much due to the drop in temeprature that it was now completely unsafe. " Well done, for the Scoop, PR !