Northampton 2026

[Mr Bee]

8 minutes ago, ouch said:

Spot on. It’s something Belle Vue have engaged with recently and has seen a massive uplift in our social media output but it’s new and it’s baby steps. 

Below is one of the many tie ins with the various student groups around the area.
 

https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1339901534-–-PG-on-campus-Prospectus-2024-25-Digital-Pages.pdf

 

This was from the tie ins with the Hide Out youth zone.

 

https://www.hideoutyouthzone.org/hideout-attends-belle-vue-speedway-race-event/

Great stuff. 👍

[Mr Bee]

8 minutes ago, ouch said:

Spot on. It’s something Belle Vue have engaged with recently and has seen a massive uplift in our social media output but it’s new and it’s baby steps. 

Below is one of the many tie ins with the various student groups around the area.
 

https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1339901534-–-PG-on-campus-Prospectus-2024-25-Digital-Pages.pdf

 

This was from the tie ins with the Hide Out youth zone.

 

https://www.hideoutyouthzone.org/hideout-attends-belle-vue-speedway-race-event/

Great stuff. 👍

[Mr Bee]

This forum only represents a very small percentage of the overall fanbase, but I’m certain we have people on here and in the stadiums with some terrific ideas.

Imagine if the clubs actually reached out and asked their entire supporter base to put suggestions forward via a dedicated email address. There might just be some real nuggets in the postbag that could help the sport move forward. Whether it’s a fresh marketing angle, a community link, or a better way to handle the meeting experience, the fans are the ones seeing it from the outside.

Beyond just ideas, many fans have professional contacts and networks that could be a huge asset to a club. You simply don't know what’s available to you unless you actually try things and open the door. It costs nothing to ask, and it might just uncover the exact help or innovation a club has been looking for.

[paulnolan]

There's a brilliant local YouTuber getting all sorts of publicity lately by just highlighting things in and around the town: Jamie Benkert - YouTube

[noaksey]

Todays Star says "we understand that there is a wish that all relevant club information will be announced at the same time"

 

 

[Kieran22222]

2 hours ago, Mr Bee said:

This forum only represents a very small percentage of the overall fanbase, but I’m certain we have people on here and in the stadiums with some terrific ideas.

Imagine if the clubs actually reached out and asked their entire supporter base to put suggestions forward via a dedicated email address. There might just be some real nuggets in the postbag that could help the sport move forward. Whether it’s a fresh marketing angle, a community link, or a better way to handle the meeting experience, the fans are the ones seeing it from the outside.

Beyond just ideas, many fans have professional contacts and networks that could be a huge asset to a club. You simply don't know what’s available to you unless you actually try things and open the door. It costs nothing to ask, and it might just uncover the exact help or innovation a club has been looking for.

The ultimate for me would be to make it 1 team per rider across the continent and introduce continental competition. Would allow UK to return to preferred race nights and introduce more TV deal opportunities, increase the number of meetings against different teams (more variety) and chances to see the best riders across the world when they compete in continental competitions. 

[Mr Bee]

37 minutes ago, noaksey said:

Todays Star says "we understand that there is a wish that all relevant club information will be announced at the same time"

 

 

That approach would be kind of understandable if the first meeting were six months away, but it isn’t and it wasn’t when the news was first announced. If they truly know what they’re doing, then fair enough; time will tell. They may well have a five-year plan in place to go from strength to strength, but in the meantime, the silence isn't doing much to build momentum.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

The prospective promoters are having a meeting with the stadium owners tomorrow, not sure what’s to discuss at this late stage but anyhow they have decided on a team name, wonder how or even if they can bothered to tell us plebs their wonderful news ?

[mikebv]

17 minutes ago, Kieran22222 said:

The ultimate for me would be to make it 1 team per rider across the continent and introduce continental competition. Would allow UK to return to preferred race nights and introduce more TV deal opportunities, increase the number of meetings against different teams (more variety) and chances to see the best riders across the world when they compete in continental competitions. 

It would be great, however, Poland would destroy every other league due to the money they pay out...

Every "decent" rider would choose to ride over there...

And any rider not riding over there, would happily leave their non Polish team and replace those who did...

I think a UK/Scandinavian League could work though, particularly if/when Poland force in the one extra league rule...

A more similar renumeration package across the three leagues and this would bring variety...

Use the Danish model, (five rider teams), and you could get 22 teams, meaning 21 home meetings...

It would also give a true "Elite" UK league for the UK teams to race in...

And would mean "Polish wages" wouldn't need to be paid to attract Polish top riders,(like happens already in Sweden and Denmark)...

As an example. Northampton opening in such a league would capture the imagination of the locals far more than a six team UK league would, I would suggest...

[mikebv]

9 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

The prospective promoters are having a meeting with the stadium owners tomorrow, not sure what’s to discuss at this late stage but anyhow they have decided on a team name, wonder how or even if they can bothered to tell us plebs their wonderful news ?

Is it  Northampton?

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

13 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Is it  Northampton?

Going on previous promotions from the past and their ideas of wisdom they may go as ackney awks running out of Brafield to tap into the former east London fan base 

Edited 6 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[crescent girl]

1 hour ago, noaksey said:

Todays Star says "we understand that there is a wish that all relevant club information will be announced at the same time"

 

 

The Star article made perfect sense to me.     Without naming names, it answers enough questions to satisfy all but the most-demanding of forum panic-merchants.

[YeOldPitGate]

25 minutes ago, mikebv said:

It would be great, however, Poland would destroy every other league due to the money they pay out...

Every "decent" rider would choose to ride over there...

And any rider not riding over there, would happily leave their non Polish team and replace those who did...

I think a UK/Scandinavian League could work though, particularly if/when Poland force in the one extra league rule...

A more similar renumeration package across the three leagues and this would bring variety...

Use the Danish model, (five rider teams), and you could get 22 teams, meaning 21 home meetings...

It would also give a true "Elite" UK league for the UK teams to race in...

And would mean "Polish wages" wouldn't need to be paid to attract Polish top riders,(like happens already in Sweden and Denmark)...

As an example. Northampton opening in such a league would capture the imagination of the locals far more than a six team UK league would, I would suggest...

Not a bad idea Mike personally I think if the top 4 UK clubs joined it would be a better proposition to sell to the public, the other 1 or 2 remaining prem clubs could drop down to the championship and it would still allow the 3rd heat leaders/second strings to double up in the championship to help with the lower leagues expenses and allow said riders to top up their coffers also.

[Mr Bee]

6 minutes ago, crescent girl said:

The Star article made perfect sense to me.     Without naming names, it answers enough questions to satisfy all but the most-demanding of forum panic-merchants.

I think "panic-merchant" is a bit of a stretch. As far as I can tell, nobody on here is actually from Northampton, so technically it isn’t "our" club and I suppose, in that retrospect, none of us should care.

But we do care, and that is the point.

It isn't about panicking; it’s about genuine concern from people who have a lifelong investment in this sport. The Star article might have made perfect sense to some, but for others, it still leaves a lot of silence where there should be activity.

If pointing out a total lack of engagement or questioning a "wait and see" approach is considered demanding, then so be it. But most of us aren't looking for excuses to moan, we’re looking for signs of life in a sport we want to see succeed. There is a massive difference between being a "forum merchant" and being a concerned fan who understands how a modern business should actually communicate with its customers.

[Fromafar]

9 minutes ago, Mr Bee said:

I think "panic-merchant" is a bit of a stretch. As far as I can tell, nobody on here is actually from Northampton, so technically it isn’t "our" club and I suppose, in that retrospect, none of us should care.

But we do care, and that is the point.

It isn't about panicking; it’s about genuine concern from people who have a lifelong investment in this sport. The Star article might have made perfect sense to some, but for others, it still leaves a lot of silence where there should be activity.

If pointing out a total lack of engagement or questioning a "wait and see" approach is considered demanding, then so be it. But most of us aren't looking for excuses to moan, we’re looking for signs of life in a sport we want to see succeed. There is a massive difference between being a "forum merchant" and being a concerned fan who understands how a modern business should actually communicate with its customers.

I agree don’t think there is many “ panic merchants “ .Its seems a strange way to start a new venture.Maybe they know there are thousands of fans just waiting for the nod to turn up on the night.🤔🤞

[YeOldPitGate]

29 minutes ago, Mr Bee said:

I think "panic-merchant" is a bit of a stretch. As far as I can tell, nobody on here is actually from Northampton, so technically it isn’t "our" club and I suppose, in that retrospect, none of us should care.

But we do care, and that is the point.

It isn't about panicking; it’s about genuine concern from people who have a lifelong investment in this sport. The Star article might have made perfect sense to some, but for others, it still leaves a lot of silence where there should be activity.

If pointing out a total lack of engagement or questioning a "wait and see" approach is considered demanding, then so be it. But most of us aren't looking for excuses to moan, we’re looking for signs of life in a sport we want to see succeed. There is a massive difference between being a "forum merchant" and being a concerned fan who understands how a modern business should actually communicate with its customers.

Agreed 99.9% on here want this to be a resounding success that means the club can carry on for many years, the worry as the same 99.9% have said is it seems to be the standard speedway operating model of lets just open the gates on opening night and they will turn up.

This semi works at existing tracks as the wealthier owners can underwrite the losses but its been a very slow death by a thousand cuts for the last 40 years, people on here desperately want it to succeed the concerns are it seems the owners are following the current operating model that we all know doesn't work unless you can cover losses elsewhere Poole and Ipswich excepted.

[paulnolan]

1 hour ago, Mr Bee said:

As far as I can tell, nobody on here is actually from Northampton, so technically it isn’t "our" club and I suppose, in that retrospect, none of us should care.

I'm from Northampton but my expectations are low. As long as they get the bikes in front of a crowd at both Franklin's Gardens and Sixfields, and have something in the Market Square a couple of Saturdays before, they should be alright. There's something to be said for THIS IS HAPPENING VERY SOON! rather than THIS IS HAPPENING WEEKS AWAY, PLEASE MAINTAIN YOUR EXCITEMENT! However, people often make choices about where to spend their money in advance. I'm just happy to have a local track again.

[noaksey]

I guess what it means is that some of the serious stuff hasn't yet been sorted 

They are certainly taking their time i can understand the team not being announced until it's complete though 

Edited 4 hours ago by noaksey

[SuperStarsFan91]

There is a BIG team announcement coming from Northampton next week 👍🏻

[crescent girl]

50 minutes ago, SuperStarsFan91 said:

There is a BIG team announcement coming from Northampton next week 👍🏻

Co-inciding with Speedway Star's unmissable Season Preview issue, which will offer details of ALL the tracks and teams......

Worry-ye-not, folks.  It's happening!