skydog

And before they kicked us all out of the development leagues, the 2 main things they said were unacceptable were not having full teams, and not completing our matches. Just proves what a load of bo****ks they were talking.

Yes but that still doesn't explain what GI gained from the closure

I would have said you were right, except... they never owned the land that Reading stood on. I have never worked out what they gained when it closed, apart from cutting their losses on a business/lease they maybe shouldnt have ever bought! Considering the council wanted it gone, why all the GI BS about a new stadium? All they actually had to say was "oh dear the council wont extend the lease any more, we'll be off then" And dont they actually run the greyhound racing, rather than someone else pay them rent to do it? That was how I always understood it.

The bit that I really dont understand is that TR says dogs are stopping... CO says they arent... but they are both named as directors of the new company so the remedy should be simple... "Hey Tel, it's not true that the dogs are stopping, I dunno what people are talking about." "Oh ok Clark in that case there is no reason to stop running Speedway at The Abbey, I'll carry on". "Yeah you do that Tel, cos we love Speedway, you silly billy". " Ok cheers Clark. Just one thing, why have we set up a new company to find somewhere to run Speedway when there is apparently no reason to stop at The Abbey?" "Come on Tel, that's just to keep the fans guessing, you dont think we're going to be honest with them after all this time do you?"

Reading was the same as Poole. But same end result as Swindon. Nobody is safe when they're involved.

Anyone involved in Speedway knows that Osbourne and his company have no interest whatsoever in building a stadium for Speedway or for anything else. So in my eyes the fact that TR is claiming to be be doing just that with them proves it is purely lip service. An insult to any fan of any club that has ever suffered at Osbourne's hands. A few years ago I was contacted by a Torquay United fan who was worried about GI's promises of a new out of town stadium, as he had seen their track record. I told him the most important thing their fan club could do was to convince the council not to be fooled by Osbourne's lies. The fact that these councils continue to do so absolutely astounds me. Do they never research who they are dealing with? I guess the truth is they no more honourable than he is.

Although I havent been I know of plenty of Reading fans who been regulars this season

It's ok, stop with the panic... Clark Osborne says they arent closing. And we all know he would never lie...

Martin Peters (his son Sam rides dev league) and James Tresadern have been running the Weymouth set up since 2016. Not sure what happened to that land, maybe they jumped the gun announcing it. I do know they have tried to get it back to the last venue but theres no chance. As far as I know they are still looking but I suspect that the early fervent determination has turned into a realisation that they could be looking for a very long time

According to Reading council, Reading's derelict site is now owned by a development company. GI only ever leased the land from the council.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Is anyone able to tell me the length of the Somerset track? And the width in the straights and the bends? Thanks in advance

That was the case, and many more new requirements were laid down due to the Atomic Weapons Establishment opposite. I doubt you would permission for any racing there now it has lapsed (at least 5 years since it was used). The land was up for sale, not sure if it has now sold, but I know that the only interest in using it for racing was from those of us trying to get Reading back on track.

We are still trying!

I thought it was just me that was confused by this... there was a time when we used to moan that they didnt grade the track and therefore the racing suffered!

We are still trying to find possible sites in Reading... Smallmead is a definite no even though nothing has been built on it. Unfortunately there isnt anything to report to get excited about, any return to Reading still looks to be some time away.

Same for me.

An American football team used the centre green at Reading's Smallmead Stadium for a couple of years, I'm sure they were called Thames Valley Chargers, maybe they were a manifestation of the team you played for?

In a straight race its James every time and in all fairness he has been due chances above others for the past few seasons. Surely the decisions should be whos better end of not whos younger? If its a straight fight in ability then fair enough but far too many riders get signed being young rather than good. Personally never seen anything in Meadows to think he is anywhere close to NDL standard and more MDL mid order rider. And Eli is from Worcester area.

Just remembered Plymouth are doing NL so he'll obviously be in their team if he does want to race at that level.

Would love to see Dan at Oxford next year.

If its 350m it certainly doesn't look it! I dont know what being inside it would make the length of a Speedway track, but as someone who believes small tracks arent great, and having been to Aldershot, I'll stand by my original comment!

Aldershot would be ridiculously small if it were inside the tarmac track

I'm sure I've driven past Hove dog track and it's in the middle of a housing estate. We have spoken to the council and there is no way back unfortunately.

It is