Little Thumper

I would imagine that BSPA will have to underwrite the agreement between the new promoters and City of Manchester. I still can't see how this is going to become financially viable.

Crawley? Didn't know they were having a speedway track there. Is it the 2017 National Speedway Stadium because it looks like we will be having a different one every year.

Good thinking, marky! Just remind me.........what are the plus points.

Not sure that our Elf and Safety and Noise Abatement chums would be too enthusiastic about this idea, Somehow, the City of Manchester Football Academy seems to have a certain credibility.

I'm sure Poole Borough Council would be keen to invest some of the council tax payers money into such a scheme, particularly when they see how well it has all panned out in Mancunia.

I find it hard to believe that Belle Vue will have a presence in the National League next year. But I don't suppose it will be called the National League any more now that re-branding is the flavour of the month.

Has the title of this thread changed or am I going a bit (more) bonkers?

Thanks for that, Phil The Ace. I think that this is going to get a little messy and all this shenanigans will surely lower the reputation of speedway even further than it's current lowly position! I have a feeling that any day now, it will be announced that some great saviour on a white charger is about to ride in and save the day and we will all be expected to be tremendously grateful for this selfless act. Something fishy here, methinks.

No, it isn't true. The money belongs to the inhabitants of the City of Manchester and the elected councillors and their officers must use all means at their disposal to recover the money. This saga has some way to run.

The interesting bit for me in all this is the role of the BSPA. How long have they been in talks with Manchester City Council about ousting the current promoters and would it be right to assume that they have been doing this negotiating behind the backs of Messrs Morton, Gordon and Carswell? As the BSPA has confidently stated that Belle Vue will be racing again next year in the top league, would it be fair to assume that they have their chosen promoter(s) primed and waiting in the wings and that some arrangement has been made with Manchester City Council to sweeten the arrangement for the chosen ones? Yes, the busines model was flawed but there is a funny smell about this affair and I am not sure that speedway fans will be too pleased if they find out some kind of skulduggery has taken place. Perhaps it is just my suspicious nature looking for a dead body that isn't there. I notice that I seem to live round the corner from Chris Morton. Do you think I should pop round and sound him out?

No, it's his brother - Prince Konobo Jr. I'm don't know how to tell you this, but he is a bit of a scamster. He gets innocent punters to send him money to purchase engraved breeze blocks that are used in the construction of his latest grandiose palace. When the suckers investors turn up to view these magnificent pieces of masonry, some goon in a hi-viz jacket tells them to do one because Prince Konobo Jr has been evicted and the new tenants don't want riff raff cluttering the place up. Hope this helps.

He is still listed as a director of BV Arena Limited. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07608471/officers and is still a director of BVA Holdings Limited:- https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09839065/officers

......and what impending litigation would that be? You can tell me. I won't tell another soul.......promise.

I blame Stuart Bamforth.

What, some kind of a cover-up? I think I'll give Panorama a ring.

I bet they will be dead pleased if they get relegated in their first season. But hey, I suppose they can always promote themselves again, so no need to worry.

I think the Manchester Evening News sums it up pretty well:- http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/belle-vue-aces-lose-stadium-12123221 Hey, Ouch. Let's hope something can be sorted out for all concerned.

Yes indeed, there were ambitious plans to use the venue for purposes other than speedway. But as Phil The Ace has kindly informed us, these plans came to nothing:- http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=82877&page=19 So the question remains - what can be changed to make Belle Vue Arena a viable enterprise and one that can afford to pay it's rent?

The prime responsibility of Manchester Council in this affair is to safeguard the money which they have invested in Belle Vue Arena and to ensure that they are repaid whatever they are contractually entitled to. Going forward, they will surely make best effort to ensure that their next tenant has a more viable business plan and that there are third party guarantees made to ensure that any further local authority funds are not put in jeopardy. It is not down to the City Council to say how speedway meetings should be run but I am a little amazed that due diligence carried out by the Council appears to be either lacking or ineffective.

Well I am glad you asked about Manchester Velodrome! The track is in use 7 days a week from 8 in the morning until 10 at night sometimes. I have finished a session there and been leaving the car park at 1030 at night. There are training sessions for all abilities and ages, schools use the track, Olympic and talent teams use the track. The facility is used for other events - concerts, basketball, boxing etc etc. Big international meetings are held there such as the Revolution meetings and World Championships where many thousand attend. And the big advantage for the velodrome is that it can be used by anyone at all and there all the perceived health benefits that are associated with cycling. So the velodrome is on a far firmer financial footing than Belle Vue Arena and will be viewed as a benefit to the citizens of Manchester rather than a potential detriment.

I salute you, foamfence! Your support of speedway over a considerable period of time is admirable. Let's hope that people will continue to enjoy the sport in the years and decades ahead.

I don't like to appear negative but you would have thought that the City Council would have done this last time? We are talking about millions of pounds here not just a few quid. I am struggling to see how a business running speedway in Rainy City could hope to make a profit when it has to find rent 0f £200,000+ in addition to all the other expenses associated with the venture. I am sure that there must be an answer to this but it would take a brain far more powerful than mine to visualize what it might be.

I used to travel to watch Halifax at the Shay and marvel at the battles between Carter, Collins, Morton and all the others. The Shay and so many other great speedway venues are long gone. Where do you watch speedway these days, foamfence? Perhaps if there had been a few more "moaners" in those days then speedway wouldn't have been allowed to deteriorate so badly and people would have put more pressure on the sport's organizers to get their act together, get people coming through the gates, provide modern decent facilities and promote the sport in a professional manner. Instead of tracks being closed down, the environment should have been created to allow new tracks to open up. So, foamfence, I am of the opinion that we need more moaners not less. At least if the patient is moaning, he is still alive!

For this to happen, the sport's governing body will have to step up to the plate and underwrite/organize further speedway activity at Belle Vue Arena. Manchester City Council cannot be seen to enter into any other agreement which risks losing any more of the money which belongs to the people of Manchester. This would be viewed as incompetence of the highest order. You can't just say, let's wipe the slate clean and start again. The money that is being risked is the same money that pays to keep libraries open, provides schools and care for the elderly and infirm. Any council that "fritters" money away on "vanity projects" may find themselves with some very uncomfortable questions to answer. Hopefully, clever people will be beavering away on a solution that keeps Belle Vue Speedway in operation and ensures that outstanding debts are honoured.

Wow! That is hugely, hugely disappointing and all those involved with this venture must have known from a very early stage that the business model was fundamentally flawed and that it would be about as successful as the maiden voyage of the Titanic. As for some other sport hiring out the grass in the middle of the arena, I struggle to think of any organization that would be prepared to pay much for this privilege. The council will surely have a viable plan to recoup the millions of pounds that it has spent and it must surely realize that, in the long term, an alternative use must be found for the venue. A short term speedway tenant would keep the venue alive until a more suitable occupier could be found. This is all rather sad.