Ipswich Witches 2026

[TB1]

6 hours ago, Aries said:

You’d think we’ll hear something this coming week at some point, one way or the other! The “within two weeks” timeline from Louis expires this coming Tuesday..

Think we’re fortunate in a way that the BSPL are desperate for us to run! If Oxford and Birmingham we still coming to the Premiership tapes, I’m convinced we’d have been given a deadline to confirm our participation, and that would have now expired!

Got to feel for all the others who are sitting and waiting for Louis, so they can get their fixtures and season tickets on sale. 

Agreed, I still think there's a fly or two still in the ointment.

[Aries]

51 minutes ago, TB1 said:

Agreed, I still think there's a fly or two still in the ointment.

I’ll be concerned if we get to the end of next week with no announcement, that’s for sure. Fingers crossed we get positive news early next week.

[noaksey]

Fall back position if no deal can be agreed

A BSPL "lease" off Louis for a season to ensure 5 teams?

[Aries]

[Steve Irving]

On 1/13/2026 at 1:58 PM, Badge said:

 

Times up. Another deadline missed. This is getting ridiculous, seriously how much longer do you give them?

Starting to think that the others at BSPL towers pi$$ed Louis off that much that he’s doing this on purpose to be as disruptive as possible!

[mikebv]

Maybe Linda Lusardi has made a last minute "gazumped" offer when she realised the huge potential of the sport after doing the draw?...

[Aries]

4 minutes ago, Steve Irving said:

Times up. Another deadline missed. This is getting ridiculous, seriously how much longer do you give them?

Starting to think that the others at BSPL towers pi$$ed Louis off that much that he’s doing this on purpose to be as disruptive as possible!

A little over six weeks until the season curtain raiser. No fixture list, no season tickets sold. 
 

A further update of some sort simply has to come by the end of this week whether that be good news or bad. 

[mikebv]

2 minutes ago, Aries said:

A little over six weeks until the season curtain raiser. No fixture list, no season tickets sold. 
 

A further update of some sort simply has to come by the end of this week whether that be good news or bad. 

I presume four teams means no teams?

The optics of even five/six random clubs scattered across the country for the "Flagship League" is bad enough but four would be ludicrous...

[Aries]

2 minutes ago, mikebv said:

I presume four teams means no teams?

The optics of even five/six random clubs scattered across the country for the "Flagship League" is bad enough but four would be ludicrous...

Not feasible is it? If things have gone t!ts up with the sale then that’s surely curtains for the League this year unless Louis has a change of heart and runs it for another year. 
 

a hastily cobbled together team of misfits at Northampton, to get the fifth team involved for everyone else to pump every week would appeal to nobody. 
 

As hard as it is, just have to be patient that little bit longer, and I’m talking days not weeks. Let’s see if we get positive news sometime this week. The two week deadline for confirmation has only just arrived tbf but the longer this now goes without a further update, the more ominous it’s going to look. 

[Aries]

To add, when selling a business and it’s gets to the due diligence process and legal teams get involved in drawing up the contracts, that’s then something Chris Louis can’t control. He may have been a little naive in putting a timescale out there for a completion, but to be fair to him we were all crying out for an update (me included) and to be kept informed, so he was kind of in between a rock and a hard place. 
 

Now that timescale has elapsed though, as I said he’s going to have to issue a further update sometime this week really with the latest developments or non developments. Well he doesn’t HAVE to, but it would be the right thing to do IMO. 

The supporters are sitting and waiting for news now on a daily basis. 
 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

44 minutes ago, Steve Irving said:

Times up. Another deadline missed. This is getting ridiculous, seriously how much longer do you give them?

Starting to think that the others at BSPL towers pi$$ed Louis off that much that he’s doing this on purpose to be as disruptive as possible!

Clearly as we all know something went badly wrong & Louis decided he could no longer run a profitable business within whatever the BSPL were wanting to do. 
 

We know that because both he & Richie had been talking about putting together a team to retain the title.

Then came the bombshell that he was selling Doyle came out on twitter & said that the had their backs.

No one can really blame Louis for getting out if the future direction meant it wasn’t viable for him. No one on here would have done anything differently.

Louis ran a very professional outfit not something that happens very often in speedway. Just look at the shambles of the championship cup draw.

Yes if the sale doesn’t happen & Louis doesn't have a change of heart I’ll lose my local track. However I still back his decision looking at the bigger picture the direction of the sport I am happy to take the memories. I’ve followed Ipswich since the 80s, however if it’s the end I have the memories of the great sides & the last 3 years have been a blast.

I wonder how many of the people who are saying Louis should carry on regardless would be willing to risk their own financial security to keep a business going in an environment that is only heading one way.

[Youhave2minutes]

[mikebv]

12 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Clearly as we all know something went badly wrong & Louis decided he could no longer run a profitable business within whatever the BSPL were wanting to do. 
 

We know that because both he & Richie had been talking about putting together a team to retain the title.

Then came the bombshell that he was selling Doyle came out on twitter & said that the had their backs.

No one can really blame Louis for getting out if the future direction meant it wasn’t viable for him. No one on here would have done anything differently.

Louis ran a very professional outfit not something that happens very often in speedway. Just look at the shambles of the championship cup draw.

Yes if the sale doesn’t happen & Louis doesn't have a change of heart I’ll lose my local track. However I still back his decision looking at the bigger picture the direction of the sport I am happy to take the memories. I’ve followed Ipswich since the 80s, however if it’s the end I have the memories of the great sides & the last 3 years have been a blast.

I wonder how many of the people who are saying Louis should carry on regardless would be willing to risk their own financial security to keep a business going in an environment that is only heading one way.

Similar to the BV fans "unofficial" FB page...

Plenty are "disgusted" and "disappointed" at the non running of the Colts, but no one seems prepared to put up the fair few grand needed for them to continue...

I am sure if fifty fans gave Mark Lemon a couple of grand each he may look at the situation again..

As you say, the sport is only heading one way...

[Steve Irving]

33 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Clearly as we all know something went badly wrong & Louis decided he could no longer run a profitable business within whatever the BSPL were wanting to do. 
 

We know that because both he & Richie had been talking about putting together a team to retain the title.

Then came the bombshell that he was selling Doyle came out on twitter & said that the had their backs.

No one can really blame Louis for getting out if the future direction meant it wasn’t viable for him. No one on here would have done anything differently.

Louis ran a very professional outfit not something that happens very often in speedway. Just look at the shambles of the championship cup draw.

Yes if the sale doesn’t happen & Louis doesn't have a change of heart I’ll lose my local track. However I still back his decision looking at the bigger picture the direction of the sport I am happy to take the memories. I’ve followed Ipswich since the 80s, however if it’s the end I have the memories of the great sides & the last 3 years have been a blast.

I wonder how many of the people who are saying Louis should carry on regardless would be willing to risk their own financial security to keep a business going in an environment that is only heading one way.

That doesn’t make any sense. So what is he selling then? He doesn’t want to “risk his own financial security”, but he’s asking a sh!t load of money for someone else to do just that?

If he thinks it’s no longer profitable, and he thinks it’s only going to get worse and he’ll end up LOSING money, then why not give it away?

[mikebv]

13 minutes ago, Steve Irving said:

That doesn’t make any sense. So what is he selling then? He doesn’t want to “risk his own financial security”, but he’s asking a sh!t load of money for someone else to do just that?

If he thinks it’s no longer profitable, and he thinks it’s only going to get worse and he’ll end up LOSING money, then why not give it away?

It isn't the best sales pitch is it?

"I am selling up as what is being planned won't work for me"....

[norbold]

1 hour ago, Aries said:

Not feasible is it? If things have gone t!ts up with the sale then that’s surely curtains for the League this year unless Louis has a change of heart and runs it for another year. 
 

a hastily cobbled together team of misfits at Northampton, to get the fifth team involved for everyone else to pump every week would appeal to nobody. 
 

 

If Ipswich don't run, won't Nortthampton have the chance to pick up the riders Ipswich would have had?

[PhilTheAce]

I wouldn't worry. Because even if a buyer can't be sorted the BSPL will run Ipswich. 

 

So they will be running 100%  just who will be running them 

[Fromafar]

While Louis is entitled to do what he had done.You have too  question the way he has went about it  and timing given his knowledge of the sport.IMO.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

33 minutes ago, Steve Irving said:

That doesn’t make any sense. So what is he selling then? He doesn’t want to “risk his own financial security”, but he’s asking a sh!t load of money for someone else to do just that?

If he thinks it’s no longer profitable, and he thinks it’s only going to get worse and he’ll end up LOSING money, then why not give it away?

Trying to get something for his business while is might have a little bit of resale value.

If he doesn’t run in 2026 he won’t be exposing himself to the risk of losing huge sums of money running the club.

 

[Aries]

10 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

I wouldn't worry. Because even if a buyer can't be sorted the BSPL will run Ipswich. 

 

So they will be running 100%  just who will be running them 

I’m not sure that’s correct Phil. The BSPL can’t just take over and run it without Chris Louis’ agreement can they? And I’m not convinced the rest of the BSPL are in Louis’ good books at the moment! Think he’d rather close it down than help them run their league..