Wimbledon Dons...back from the dead?!!

[old bob at herne bay]

Add this to the list of clubs allegedly reopening around London. 

Rye House, Lakeside/Arena Essex now Wimbledon. 

 

 

 

[Ray Stadia]

12 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Add this to the list of clubs allegedly reopening around London. 

Rye House, Lakeside/Arena Essex now Wimbledon. 

 

 

 

I think, probably, all 3 would happen if there was enough money behind the ventures. All 3 are viable, but trying to do it on a 'shoe string', means it might or may not happen. If there was money in the sport, they never would have closed, even Plough Lane. 

[Sir Sidney]

12 hours ago, Ray Stadia said:

I think, probably, all 3 would happen if there was enough money behind the ventures. All 3 are viable, but trying to do it on a 'shoe string', means it might or may not happen. If there was money in the sport, they never would have closed, even Plough Lane. 

Plough Lane closing had nothing to do with viability. 

The owners wanted to develop the site, and 600 flats in London was worth much more than rent from speedway and stock cars.

It was lucrative enough for the owners to give AFC Wimbledon the land and £12m ( or £17m - I can't remember now ) towards the stadium build costs so that they could say to Merton Council that sports use was being maintained on the site 

Edited Saturday at 10:35 PM by Sir Sidney

[old bob at herne bay]

On 6/28/2025 at 11:01 AM, Ray Stadia said:

I think, probably, all 3 would happen if there was enough money behind the ventures. All 3 are viable, but trying to do it on a 'shoe string', means it might or may not happen. If there was money in the sport, they never would have closed, even Plough Lane. 

Yup Money helps….. but potential crowds of 50000 supporters would also help. Football has little difficulty in rebuilding or building new stadia .

UK speedway playing to crowds of several hundred every other week for 6 months a year makes a very difficult business case, especially around London. 
 

 

 

[Bear_Bottom]

😉

[SpeedwayJoe]

I hadn’t realised this, but at Plough Lane, there is a museum (free to enter) by Wimbledon in Sporting History (https://wimbledoninsportinghistory.org/your-visit/) with some speedway memorabilia there.  Clearly AFC Wimbledon, along with the statue unveiling are keen to keep its history alive.

I hope that the possible return does happen and (if so), build upon its links with the football club to bring speedway to a new audience.

[R87]

On 6/26/2025 at 6:26 PM, Sir Sidney said:

That's the spirit

Its realistic.  There is no chance of any new track opening now.  It will cost millions of pounds and this lot simply cannot afford it and will never get the money back.

Sorry but you are absolutely deluded.  Speedway will never return to Wimbledon - accept it and move on.

[Sir Sidney]

26 minutes ago, R87 said:

Its realistic.  There is no chance of any new track opening now.  It will cost millions of pounds and this lot simply cannot afford it and will never get the money back.

Sorry but you are absolutely deluded.  Speedway will never return to Wimbledon - accept it and move on.

Who are 'this lot'?

I'm not expecting a Plough Lane standard stadium. If anything comes of it then I'd expect a much more basic set up. 

The site exists and currently has motorsport on it and permission. 

I'd fully accept that the chances are less than 50%, but much better than zero 

 

[WookieboyDon]

1 hour ago, R87 said:

Its realistic.  There is no chance of any new track opening now.  It will cost millions of pounds and this lot simply cannot afford it and will never get the money back.

Sorry but you are absolutely deluded.  Speedway will never return to Wimbledon - accept it and move on.

If only Oxford had listened to your negativity…they’d have saved those supposed ‘millions’ and left the site to ruin…🤦🏻‍♂️ 

[stevehone]

4 hours ago, SpeedwayJoe said:

I hadn’t realised this, but at Plough Lane, there is a museum (free to enter) by Wimbledon in Sporting History (https://wimbledoninsportinghistory.org/your-visit/) with some speedway memorabilia there.  Clearly AFC Wimbledon, along with the statue unveiling are keen to keep its history alive.

along with the Speedway Bar

[R87]

19 hours ago, WookieboyDon said:

If only Oxford had listened to your negativity…they’d have saved those supposed ‘millions’ and left the site to ruin…🤦🏻‍♂️ 

And that's why there's rumours Oxford won't be running next year.  Forget this fairy tale of clubs like Wimbledon, Swindon and Coventry reopening - it's a fantasy.  There's no money to do it and not enough interest in the areas. Speedway needs to keep the ones it has open.

[MattB]

12 minutes ago, R87 said:

And that's why there's rumours Oxford won't be running next year.  Forget this fairy tale of clubs like Wimbledon, Swindon and Coventry reopening - it's a fantasy.  There's no money to do it and not enough interest in the areas. Speedway needs to keep the ones it has open.

You are Clarke Osborne.  Where do i claim my £5 please......

[WookieboyDon]

28 minutes ago, R87 said:

And that's why there's rumours Oxford won't be running next year.  Forget this fairy tale of clubs like Wimbledon, Swindon and Coventry reopening - it's a fantasy.  There's no money to do it and not enough interest in the areas. Speedway needs to keep the ones it has open.

So much wrong with this…I don’t know where to start…😉

What I will say is…cheer up. It might never happen. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Bojangles]

14 hours ago, R87 said:

And that's why there's rumours Oxford won't be running next year.  Forget this fairy tale of clubs like Wimbledon, Swindon and Coventry reopening - it's a fantasy.  There's no money to do it and not enough interest in the areas. Speedway needs to keep the ones it has open.

Hahahaha, where did you get that utter nonsense from? You're just making up stuff to suit your own agenda. Boothby has a 10-year lease, running to 2032, and there are already talks about extending that. Speedway is a big part of Boothby's plans, mainly because the speedway is still making a healthy profit. The ONLY doubt is whether Oxford run in all three leagues again. Attendances are still extremely good at Championship (1,200 ish) and National League (800+) level, and have only waned slightly at Premiership level (but still at around 1,200) - mainly due to results I would imagine. There is zero doubt about whether Oxford will be running next year - what a totally uninformed thing to say, simply said to scare people without any evidence whatsoever. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Bojangles

[Ray Stadia]

I wonder if 'speedyguy' and 'Parsloes 1928 nearly' are aware the Dons might make a return! 🤨

[Sir Sidney]

1 hour ago, Ray Stadia said:

I wonder if 'speedyguy' and 'Parsloes 1928 nearly' are aware the Dons might make a return! 🤨

Parsloes certainly is. 

Less likely Speedyguy is   

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Sir Sidney

[Hackett]

On 6/26/2025 at 12:39 PM, WookieboyDon said:

As I said, they already have go-karts and motocross there so noise shouldn't be an issue if it is the Beddington Lane site. And it's mainly industrial round there.

Very little housing in the immediate area and mostly industrial. As stated, a massive Viridor site on the doorstep so the Council won't care what goes there as long as there palm is greased. Certainly unlike other locations if the Go-Kart company owns the freehold there is next to zero chance anybody would want to put housing there with a waste refuse site next door. Would only be a company looking to put more industrial or logistics sites. 

It could be a simple set up like Workington and have a chance - tram line 5 min walk away. So has transport access 

[Ray Stadia]

1 hour ago, Sir Sidney said:

Parsloes certainly is. 

Less likely Speedyguy is   

 

Thank you for letting me know. I missed the posting. A good age though! RIP John

[stevehone]

Oxford will only be 2 teams next year, another gone from the PL

[BackInTheDHSS]

3 hours ago, stevehone said:

Oxford will only be 2 teams next year, another gone from the PL

I can assure you that’s far from been decided.