Birmingham Speedway

[Petecc]

14 hours ago, Son of Shaleman said:

Lame ending on track for Brummies with the Bulls at Iwade this afternoon. Thank goodness for guest Ryan Ingram. Doubtful if some of their team should have taken part in a match where people paid to watch. 

I'm guessing you weren't there.

[heathen52]

22 hours ago, bluejam said:

I used to play rugby at that very club on the map before the M42 was constructed😉The ground is called Portway.

So what would your thoughts be ? for sure it has not changed much except for the M42, the Rugby Clubhouse straight in front of you is probably still the same one as back then.

Anyone out there, especially old fartz looking for something to do this Saturday evening why not take a look

https://www.boringoldfartz.co.uk/

The Bikers Club house is on the right at The Portway and for £2 what's not to like ?.

 

Edited Monday at 11:15 AM by heathen52

[Son of Shaleman]

6 hours ago, Petecc said:

I'm guessing you weren't there.

I was and paid to see too many wobblers in Brum ‘team’

[Petecc]

33 minutes ago, Son of Shaleman said:

I was and paid to see too many wobblers in Brum ‘team’

It is a development league. Riders need time to develop.  The riders you saw are developing and can only get better by being given and taking their chances when they come. Yesterday you didn't see 4 birmingham riders because of various reasons (injury grasstrack working etc). I believe the riders you refer to , were due to guest for Kent last week at Plymouth until it rained. I'm afraid if you want to see the finished article,  you were at the wrong meeting. 

[Son of Shaleman]

16 minutes ago, Petecc said:

It is a development league. Riders need time to develop.  The riders you saw are developing and can only get better by being given and taking their chances when they come. Yesterday you didn't see 4 birmingham riders because of various reasons (injury grasstrack working etc). I believe the riders you refer to , were due to guest for Kent last week at Plymouth until it rained. I'm afraid if you want to see the finished article,  you were at the wrong meeting. 

Will stay home in the future. I accept your advice.

[Petecc]

1 hour ago, Son of Shaleman said:

Will stay home in the future. I accept your advice.

It's not advice. I'm just not sure what you were expecting. 

[Son of Shaleman]

9 minutes ago, Petecc said:

It's not advice. I'm just not sure what you were expecting. 

Obviously, too much. I won’t be disappointed again. 

[bluejam]

9 hours ago, heathen52 said:

So what would your thoughts be ? for sure it has not changed much except for the M42, the Rugby Clubhouse straight in front of you is probably still the same one as back then.

Anyone out there, especially old fartz looking for something to do this Saturday evening why not take a look

https://www.boringoldfartz.co.uk/

The Bikers Club house is on the right at The Portway and for £2 what's not to like ?.

 

There are/were 4 rugby pitches so space wouldn't be a problem,but whether it'd be a motorsport venue(Mike Hailwood,a motorsport legend was tragically killed very nearby back in 1981),i'm really not sure.🤔I don't know whether it's being looked at or considered for any development(Birmingham RFC merged with Solihull RFC many years ago,and Portway became an alternative rugby venue for the Bees).🤔Have fond memories at 16 years old of cycling through the leafy lanes to go training and then missing the last train home from Earlswood and end up cycling the rest of the way home.😄

[IainB]

15 hours ago, Petecc said:

It's not advice. I'm just not sure what you were expecting. 

 

15 hours ago, Son of Shaleman said:

Obviously, too much. I won’t be disappointed again. 

With 3 guests and R/R it was hardly a Birmingham team, so I'm not sure it's really worth bickering about 🤷‍♂️

[Lefty]

5 minutes ago, IainB said:

 

With 3 guests and R/R it was hardly a Birmingham team, so I'm not sure it's really worth bickering about 🤷‍♂️

Hang on, I thought 3 guests & R/R was the definition  of seven man teams in British League Speedway 

[Son of Shaleman]

29 minutes ago, IainB said:

 

With 3 guests and R/R it was hardly a Birmingham team, so I'm not sure it's really worth bickering about 🤷‍♂️

It is only a five minute argument (acknowledging Monty Python for the comment)

[heathen52]

14 hours ago, bluejam said:

There are/were 4 rugby pitches so space wouldn't be a problem,but whether it'd be a motorsport venue(Mike Hailwood,a motorsport legend was tragically killed very nearby back in 1981),i'm really not sure.🤔I don't know whether it's being looked at or considered for any development(Birmingham RFC merged with Solihull RFC many years ago,and Portway became an alternative rugby venue for the Bees).🤔Have fond memories at 16 years old of cycling through the leafy lanes to go training and then missing the last train home from Earlswood and end up cycling the rest of the way home.😄

I don't think the Rugby Club are flush with cash, they seem to think Speedway is noisy though I suspect many of those who make the decisions have no idea what Speedway is (Noisy motorbikes seems to be a generalisation) and the bikers Club having their HQ on site seems to be a little bit of a contradiction, I do believe there are possibilities of staging Speedway at Portway however influential Committee members probably need to be convinced about noise issues, but with the site being next to the M42 planning may be less of an issue than at other sites, parking on site is not an issue and neither is site access, most of the other facilities are already there just needs the track, and someone to sweet talk the Rugby people that the noise is barely more than what can be heard from the motorway traffic.

 Yes I remember Mike Hailwood being killed down the nearby lanes, I was a delivery driver covering that area at the time, did Mike say it was safer doing Moto GP than riding on roads (riders all go the same way).

Edited Tuesday at 12:32 PM by heathen52

[BryanUgest]

On 9/7/2025 at 5:35 PM, Son of Shaleman said:

Lame ending on track for Brummies with the Bulls at Iwade this afternoon. Thank goodness for guest Ryan Ingram. Doubtful if some of their team should have taken part in a match where people paid to watch. 

2 of the team not even at 2nd half Midland Development League standard, let alone asking people to pay to watch them at NDL level! 

Poor from those who run at junior racing at Birmingham. 

[GiveusaB]

Just wondering what's happening with St.Andrews stadium when BCFC move to the old Wheels site?

I think the discussion/suggestion for a new home/track, is most likely deemed to be futile as there aren't enough paying customers to merit the sport in the City?

If Bham were to return it would be on the back of someone having money to burn that holds a passion/attachment to the Club/sport? (not a business plan etc etc etc....)

Unless there was a unified collaboration of B'ham/Cradley/Wolverhampton/Coventry....(I know this has been suggested many times over, but the feedback is negative....)

[Col]

I'm afraid you are not going to get a new speedway stadium in the West Midlands conurbation area, there is simply not space for it unless an old disused factory site is used.  Cradley are looking at somewhere in green space in Worcestershire, Wolves I'd imagine would have to do the same in South Staffs, by the i54 seems the most likely.
Coventry have a chance as Brandon Stadium comes under Rugby Council who are supporting them.

[DJC]

17 minutes ago, Col said:

I'm afraid you are not going to get a new speedway stadium in the West Midlands conurbation area, there is simply not space for it unless an old disused factory site is used.  Cradley are looking at somewhere in green space in Worcestershire, Wolves I'd imagine would have to do the same in South Staffs, by the i54 seems the most likely.
Coventry have a chance as Brandon Stadium comes under Rugby Council who are supporting them.

Old factory site is interesting - what's the track in the US that appears to be in a factory? I'm sure it was used in the background of the True Detective series? 

Could that be an option (proper air extraction included of course) for the UK? Sound proofed walls and a filtrations systems wonder if anyone has ever explored that idea

[arnieg]

34 minutes ago, DJC said:

Old factory site is interesting - what's the track in the US that appears to be in a factory? I'm sure it was used in the background of the True Detective series? 

Could that be an option (proper air extraction included of course) for the UK? Sound proofed walls and a filtrations systems wonder if anyone has ever explored that idea

Industry Hills. It is basically a large cattle shed

https://www.speedwaybikes.com/tracks/industryhills.htm

 

[Col]

[Col]

1 hour ago, DJC said:

Old factory site is interesting

Well... I don't know if anyone has travelled south of Wolverhampton on a train but there are acres of no longer used delict ex-industry sites (they're a stones throw from Monmore).  But it probably doubles the cost of developing the land for other use if demolishing & disposing of waste in such areas than developing on green space.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

3 hours ago, Col said:

Well... I don't know if anyone has travelled south of Wolverhampton on a train but there are acres of no longer used delict ex-industry sites (they're a stones throw from Monmore).  But it probably doubles the cost of developing the land for other use if demolishing & disposing of waste in such areas than developing on green space.

There is lots of available land around Wolverhampton but it costs money and lots of it and that’s what we don’t have