Coventry_Bee

I have to agree, as much as this is a great thought and we need to do all we can but the timing couldn't be worse. We are not short of a photographer in all this, a Saturday lunchtime would be much better as other people have stated it could look horrendous if 30 people turn up. Maximum exposure with all age groups to show the family connection to the sport. Kids with bikes, even get the Thompson lads there kitted out... Plus the stox community you get them involved and double the number. A few local drivers, get them to bring a car along... Ex riders support is also worth looking at.

In a strange way I feel for them all. None I am sure went into this wanting this outcome. All I am sure if we could go back to September they would do things differently. All have a twist on what they think is the truth. Horton- has lost money Sandhu- no stox income, may hold the fixtures but not attracting crowds like Brandon. Brandon Estates- purchased the land legally. On the radio Yesterday Buster mentioned we were in a mess coming into the season just gone so it's a ticking time bomb, Wayne Roberts said it was the banks that forced the sale of Brandon. If Sandhu is a multi millionaire and wants to buy land and build a stadium and was willing to pay the whole rent for this year then why was Brandon on its arse? A time comes when a line is drawn under the past, even if it was in black and white who actually did what it would still be challenged and it's a waste of time and energy. Trying to find a buyer and us showing we have a good fan base to make it viable is what we need.What is the club value worth now as we have many riders on the books who at the time we at their peak and now towards the end of their career. Pointing blame, looking to see where Sandhu sits in Brandon estates .. why? It won't change anything. It's gone, done with. I am going to enjoy an impartial year following Rye House, a few visits to Leicester, Wolverhampton and Belle Vue. Still so much to fight for so stop looking back and let's hope with Jeff Davies and co it could open a new look Coventry in the very near future.

https://twitter.com/covobservernews/status/836297689167978496 A snippet from it.... Bomber as he known by many in the speedway community voiced his full support to former Bees owner Avtar Sandhu and former promoter Colin Pratt. He said: I believe they can sort it out in the future, no matter what other people are saying. I dont blame Mr Sandhu when it comes to pointing the finger at who got the Bees in this situation. Mr Sandhu has never lied to me and when he says something he does it he and Colin Pratt both want speedway at Coventry to continue and I believe them. In my opinion Mr Sandhu needs to come back. I love the Coventry fans to bits, when I won those races and league titles it was for the fans. I remember when Colin first brought me to Coventry he stuck by me and Mr Sandhu made him believe in me, I trust them both more than anyone. Id hope we can get the old times back at Coventry, but you never know Id like to return.

CWR at 6pm Harris and Rory on a speedway special. Good luck trying to get a word in once Rory's on a rant.

With the club "on ice" how do the contracts of the riders stand? I doubt they go to the BSPA. I am sure Chapman was right and if we had of gone to Leicester there was a huge chance we would have folded completely so maybe short term pain and long term gain in all this. I see Jeff and David Rowe have put out support and not letting the club die which is really good to have such backing, however its still Mick's club so we need to really hear from him and see what is his plan now. Reality will really set in come a few weeks time and when a few of our riders are named elsewhere, wouldn't be the first time team changes have been made before a wheel is turned. I have had a few break ups in my time but this is 10 times worse .. Woke up this morning and had to double check I hadn't been in some nightmare.

Both riding at PK's farewell at Wolverhampton. I am sure it was the same day as the original Peterborough meeting. Another date set aside would be good.

From councillor Stokes Facebook page.... I am so sorry to hear of the tragic news that The Bees have been prevented from racing in the coming season. So much work has been put in over the past year to secure another three years for The Bees and Stock Car racing at Brandon and I genuinely thought after the relevant parties had discussed all options, that a solution was in place until the events of late last year. I'd like to pay tribute to Mr Mick Horton who has worked tirelessly to secure the future of The Bees and even during the negotiations over a lease at Brandon Stadium, always ensured the discussions included the stock cars. It's easy to blame the person in the public eye, but without Mr Horton, there would have been no discussions to be had. He has never been more than a tenant at Brandon and due to circumstances beyond his control has been placed in this very difficult position and I know he is devastated by this decision. Anyone knowing all of the details would have understood if Mr Horton had of walked away at the end of the last season and many of those who knew the details, advised him to do so. But he continued to fight to ensure the survival of The Bees. There is a lot of detail I am unable to discuss because of ongoing legal matters between the new owners and other parties, but I am confident that the fans will clearly understand the events that lead to this decision in the near future. My sympathies are with the many thousands of fans who will potentially lose not only a stadium they loved, but now a team who most fans grew up supporting along with their parents, grandparents and now their children and grand children. I've been lucky enough to meet and speak to many of you over the past year and I've never met a group of more passionate people with regards to a sport they genuinely loved. There are no formal powers that I can use to change this decision, but as always I will be keeping all channels of communication open and will facilitate any discussions if it can help this situation.

A difficult day, not only for fans but I feel for the riders. Reading it on Twitter, most have kevlars(Kevlar gate opens its ugly head again ) riders would have mechanics in place. What do they turn round and say to sponsors? Maybe King/Garrity can sneak in at Bellevue at the last hour. For them not to have been told is just outrageous and speak volumes. The statement read about the financial support that was withdrawn? Was that Sandhu? On Thursday Mick stated Sandhu had no financial input into the bees but wished he did.... The BSPA can take no fault at this outcome, they tried to help, Councillor Stokes had previously interviened to help. No matter who has tried it has just not worked, the agreement was in place and between people who supposedly "love" the bees and wanted to continue really have a funny way of showing it. IF this was the case Mr Sandhu would have backed us, purchased the club back off Mick. It's not like he is short of a few quid at the moment and we have today seen the darkest day in the clubs history at the hands of two men who have let us down so badly. Nothing adds up as the lease should have carried on in Sandhu's name... Job done. Nobody will admit fault and no story will ever match. A really sad day, you couldn't make it up....... On that note, lets await Mick's statment...........

http://speedwayresearcher.org.uk/ Above is a link to a great site my dad found via a Facebook link, for the older fan on here it goes back many a year. Me personally I was really keen to look at when my favourite era of 85-88 when I was young. It lists every meeting, every heat and brings back great memories and this thread has just been a nightmare come true. This post I hope can take not just bees fans but all fans back and recall happier times. The bees 87 season shows that the league cup took up half the season, the British league was only 22 meetings. Tommy Knudsen that year rode 58 meetings for Coventry. Take a look and forget about the present day speedway predicament we are in..... Enjoy

But with Councillor Michael Stokes very much on our side it maybe easier and I don't think it was the roads that caused the issue. The road couldn't cope with the amount of cars the planned development could potentially be.

It depends on what take you want to put on it, on one hand with Brandon estates not talking it's a huge blow to the Bees. Leicester is our main hope and we can get through 2017 in one piece. If we give up then what support is that, we just watch and let the Bees fail? The future is not about the next month or year we want the Bees around for many years to come. Brandon Estates indication that they are willing to listen to other parties does indicate that they have had enough and could end up being the best news to come out of all this. Brandon as a site with good council backing could be an attractive offer to somebody or some consortium out there. To make it more than a one day a week operation for half a year with plenty of scope to do so might be an option, a better option than sitting on land for 15 years with little chance of planning or even partial planning on such a site. It is a long shot but it's still an option that many a club that have folded would snap your hand off for as once the club goes it's a huge problem to get back.We have an excellent fan base, great council support in Mr Stokes and with Stox a huge cash income then maybe somebody can use the site to its full potential. The site is the home of Coventry Bees, why we are looking for a site to build a track on while the site we have won't get planning permission is beyond common sense. Council support or even going in 50/50 and Bees/stox repay the difference over x amount of years. a learner driver training course area, car boots, markets, circus ... just income, income and more income. Anything and everything is worth looking into.

Fair play for Mick Horton for at least coming to face the fans and explain the current situation. At times it did get out of hand and with David Rowe in attendance it maybe could have done with his experience as nobody was in control and questions were fired from all sides of the room where others couldn't hear. Here is my view and points that have not been mentioned so far. The past- Sandhu sold the stadium to somebody he knows, this was for 2.2 or 2.7 million. Negotiations broke down between Sandhu & Horton and different to Jeremy Heavers side of the story as mick stated the terms were not acceptable for either side. Mick mentioned it got personal with family involved and that makes it even more puzzling and childish. No option was given to Mick to purchase the stadium for the value it was sold at, had he been given the option he would have snapped his hand off. The fixtures and fittings saga continues. Mick and councillor stokes received an email from Brandon estates around 6th Nov asking them to meet at Brandon after his return from holiday, mick states he was shocked at what he witnessed and was shown round with Mr stokes and Brandon and with what he saw Mick refused to sign the lease and Brandon estates gave mick an option to pull out, however Jeff Davies claimed he has photos from 31st Dec that show Brandon is not in a bad state so that didn't really add up. Current- Brandon estates are not talking with Sandhu, so since January we are no closer at all to moving back to Brandon. For people he knew something has drastically gone wrong and be it planned or not is questionable. Brandon estates are willing to listen to talk to people, they are not saying they will sell it but are willing to listen, 2 parties have already been in contact but mick thinks nothing has come of either of these adding to the fact Brandon estates will want options on the site it makes it very difficult. When Brandon Estates purchased the land with agreement with rugby council was a stay of execution for the bees and stox for 3 years and rugby council would enter them on a local plan but that's as far as they would go as there are no guarantees after that but it was on the condition that they support the bees. Where that leaves Brandon estates and that deal remains to be seen. The stadium owners are willing to listen to offers but at a site with planning permission where the value of £1 million per acre would put a possiable price of £25 million on the site, however with no planning permission it unclear what the current value would be but a healthy profit on the 2.? They paid for it Brandon Estates were currently looking a 10-15 year plan for planning permission etc. Mick was advised from Rugby council, Brandon estates and Sandhu not to say anything so that's why nothing was said over the winter. Leicester- It looks like we with luck it may be for the season although the original deal is for 8 meetings as it was expected we would return to Brandon. part of the deal is that we must match there prices. Coach travel was mentioned and looking into a meet point of Brandon is going to be looked at by Mick so people don't have to pay parking in town and come back into town late on a Friday. A car share scheme will also be looked at to help fans get to Leicester, the season ticket is fantastic value and makes it cheaper than most championship clubs. Sandhu has no input into Bees financially. The question was asked if the BSPA had been in touch with Brandon estates as in like the Belle Vue situation, this has not happened but something that maybe looked into. Quite strange that this avenue had not been looked at when the BSPA got involved during the time when we had a deadline date a few weeks back. Fans need to support the move, to give the club further life. The travelling of the fans was most important, a move to Birmingham would have also meant a mid week race night. Mick is very grateful to Leicester. Future- Rugby council are very supportive of a new stadium, they can't give us land but if we find a suitable location they will do all they can to support, advice and grants. IF Brandon estates were to get planning permission they would have to enter into a section 106 where they set aside upto £1.5 million pounds to go towards a new sporting stadium. However we have had 3 years already and nothing's happened in finding a suitable site. Mick for the good of the club would sell it to Sandhu or anybody who had the best interests and a plan for the club. Mick has taken on board the feedback to keep the fans more updated. Councillor Stokes has been very supportive and continues to facilitate meetings and doing what he can. The is also leaves the stox community in a mess. Are Brandon estates that committed to the site if they are willing to listen to other parties, no other property investor would I doubt touch it and so would take a sports/events consortium look at it with the view to invest as the stadium on its own is not a big enough asset for the price. Even at £2.7 million you won't see a return so the asking price say £5million is great business for Brandon estates if the option for housing in future is part of the deal but awful for anybody buying it as the stadium needs work and more income 5/7 days a week. Like the above post, you will get different stories from all parties and none will match.

It's still the stox that will push and can afford to push for racing at Brandon. There is a few weeks till the start of the season and in reality if work starts before then or a defenite decision is made but words mean nothing on past goings on then that will maybe make more supporters go to Leicester in the short term. The problem being the fans have been very poorly treated and are just sick of the whole thing that even if Brandon was an option from March some fans would not return so you have lost fans there, you lose fans as its at Leicester and you are not going to gain any fans. What's the selling point, where is a feel good factor ? Brandon estates were quick enough to get the telegraph in when it suited, a shame the speedway star can't get any answers. It's not a difficult question? just let us in or let us know Brandon is not an option. Or the long game over the fight over fixtures and fittings is still going on. Be quite apt if a new sponsor is an electrical or lighting store. Never have I looked forward to a season less than I do right now, Spring is round the corner and the countdown is on but thanks to circumstances beyond the fans control and the ongoing saga it's just doesn't have that feel.

As this is a speedway forum it has to be the King Kelvin for me, In his best years 87 & 88 for the Bees he was brilliant. He could gate as well as anybody and wasn't bad at passing either. The injury sustained by Tommy Knudsen seemed to halt the progress of Tatum as they both wanted to be top dog at Coventry but it was a healthy rivalry. The move to Berwick was a disaster then injuries played there part. https://youtu.be/CbbIdw-K5iA 1987 British Final.. The crowd along with the sunny weather and the racing was something I am super happy I got to watch. As a 9 year old I didn't appreciate what I was watching and as much as I have enjoyed some of the British finals in recent years with the Nicholls/Harris battles but compared to this it makes you realise how a sport that is 4 riders and 4 laps can change so much over the past 30 years.

It is unfortunately another PR disaster and the reaction or more sarcastic laughter when it was announced last night says it all. Sandhu has the money, Sandhu it looks is helping fund the bees this season so I just don't get where Mick thinks he needs funds for a stadium? The riders, especially the younger riders and the storm I imagine found the money a real help, now it's being asked to fund what? New stadium or really towards the running costs of the current season?? Why not run an 80/20 to help things a little more? After the winter we have had, to add more bad feeling is unreal and annoy the fans he wants to get behind the team, give us a few lines of how we are in it together !! Utter crap. Don't bite the hand that feeds you comes to mind.

Because of our great leader, he wants the money towards a new stadium fund !! It's not a surprise and shows the man for what he is. Sad that a good cause that has helped riders in the past has had to end but right that it won't go into his pocket.

Looking at the statement the Bees put out they thank the council and Mr Stokes. Us being homeless hopefully puts more possibility of us getting a new home quicker. Well fingers crossed.

So what role does have Sandhu have at Coventry now? Is he back involved or just a financial backer?? Only the BSPA deserve any credit out of this. However in the statement I have no idea why they are thanking Sandhu or Horton. It's because of them we are in this mess.

If it was that easy, if we started at Brandon say for the start of April or when the first stox meeting is due. That would give 2 months, it won't take that long to fix Brandon so nothing looks like it will happen anytime soon. Happy the club are running don't get me wrong, it's just not home though. Just my personal view

They had a deal with mick agreed, then he withdrew it. Had it been signed, job done. Forgot Mick has no history of falling out with anybody, his years at Coventry have been littered with PR disasters. Has it really taken this long to think we can't start at Brandon... Where else can we go? It's not been rocket science and had all acted in an adult way some months back my winter may well have been a little more enjoyable. Brandon estates are not mentioned in the statement so where do they stand? Either let Sandhu fix it or we don't go back. They can drag this on for months, more talks and Coventry are not Coventry until we get back into Brandon. Where do the stox go? More questions than answers still.

So Mr Sandhu is thanked for supporting this venture. very interesting. He footing the bill then by the sounds of it. Bees statement is basic to say the least and its took this long to arrange going to Leicester with no firm evidence of ever going back to Brandon. Weeks, turn in to months as the Andy williams song goes. No word of Brandon estates either.. Glad we're are confirmed but the bees won't be back till its at Brandon.

Nobody officially said anything was going to be announced so we just sit back and wait patiently.

True, although temporary hopefully it could be a financial disaster. Gone is financial help from both Brandon estates and stox offer so can you pay the riders and rent etc on attendance that will be reduced from Brandon... no. Belle vue started late, instead of all the seats and lights why didn't they just dig a hole in turn 3.

It's odd how a sport can go from a passion to just something you enjoy. Maybe as mentioned before the stox will look for an alternative area of the country. Does make you think had Horton agreed to the deal with the stox, would something else have happened to stop us being at Brandon. wake me when the nightmare is over

The plot thickens with this email regarding car storage... Does seem a little strange. Brandon was always on borrowed time, we thought this was the last season, then it wasn't and now it looks like it is. My problem with it is that we as fans should have been able to in a way celebrate the stadiums glorious past, if any stadium deserves a fitting farewell it's Brandon. Not for it to end like this, it's just so wrong and those who caused it have no ounce of sense to see it. Just me me me and £££ My head says I've had it, sick of being treated like a mug. Brandon estates have your land, good luck trying to get planning permission on it. Sandhu take your stock cars and tour it but as we know Brandon is the Wembley of stox so can't repeat what they had, and most difficult I don't want to see the Bees run like this, this isn't one bit enjoyable and I'd rather remember the many happy memories. The problem is my heart just wants this stupid nightmare to go away, it can't be real. How can something so simple be made so difficult. I guess we will hear whenever it's sorted. Expecting not great news but you never know, I just feel for the families of both speedway and stox have it taken away for what... not over till the fat lady sings.... Just clearing her throat though now.