singy13

All very confusing for this old lad....the talk at match yesterday was re the speedway track being lost to a new/enlarged grass pitch, to comply with FA rules (for the 'Reds) with the work on this starting in May......."it needs time to settle before soccer kicks off in August". And with the RL World cup fixtures destined for the brand new stadium in Oct 2021 it is work of some urgency?( i.e. Borough Park, the Reds current home, is to be the site of this new venue.) It seems a 'chicken and egg ' scenario to my puzzled mind.....i.e. surely if speedway did run they would thereby have been ousted mid-season to allow this pitch work being on schedule? Whatever, it still leaves me hoping there is new venue on the horizon to stage speedway for Workington........and regarding that - I still can't fathom out why Derwent Park is scheduled for demolition.....now where's my tablets.

It's obvious the pitch re-alignment caused the suspension of 2019 speedway...but why not say that in the first place? Just back from Town match....stuffed Newcastle 21-20 lol. The orange van I talked about earlier on here is a 57 reg..worth nowt I guess....and some clearing up has been done...but plenty of mess to dispense with as yet.

Yeah....then most eventually found other ways of entertainment....???

It was in March 1999..but also can't recall which day.. was versus Newcastle for IT Trophy 1st leg.....recall Stoney having engine failure in 1st Heat...then he won all his other races... attendance 4,000 plus....

Don't do the latter geoff pls lol...... .....so it's Saturday and almost 6 o' clock ....time to get shoes/ coat on and head for speedway thrills at DP...I wish.

Besides the tractor, water bowser, and several containers - there's an orange coloured transit van...it seems hemmed in by all the aforementioned, tried to have a look see what reg it was but grass didn't help ( or specsavers could have). The home side of the pits are full of rubbish too.

Remember going there to watch Comets, Jack Millen was your 'Star'................did think poor crowd given it was a top quality visiting team lol.

Hello geoff100.....an angry emotion can make nonsense of inputs and I'm as guilty as anyone. But the now infamous new stadium is an 8,000 capacity (with just 2000 seats) at £25 million. It's a much needed facility for our area!!! You will have noticed I've severely edited the original post...because for some reason it was deleted off the Town forum? But having memorised some detail I do think Comets were never gonna be able to complete a full season this year(2019)...and given that DP is destined for demolition they will need another venue for speedway. Though I still can't understand why DP should be knocked down......can anyone enlighten me on that one please???? ..........................Cue for Joni Mitchell's 'Big Yellow Taxi'....................'.you don't know what you've got til it's gone'...

My thoughts too marra.......just hoping a new venue can be found asap.......Derwent Park is to be demolished. Now speedway teams are 'revving up' I miss the Comets even more......especially last years magnificent 7.

Thankyou.UTT By the way I didn't write the above....just copied it as I think it provides some useful info as to the Comets future, and perhaps reasons why 2019 suddenly/regretfully became a no-goer?

So a fan at vicinty of stadium but not at match.......???......you met a scouser then.

Team suits nope at Comets......do recall Chris Blythe always wore a Rugby shirt, usually flowing in the slipstream....easily recognisable.

Best of luck to all teams, and fans, in 2019......ENJOY...

not worth the effort

Spokesperson for all then are you?

Never forget................................................

Brilliant wordsmith.......can we have one of these each week please?..might even stop getting SS in lieu.

Ha ha.......I know where they belong...but!!!??

Hey fellow marra.......pub holding that comp is at Santon Bridge...not Wasdale..don't want them in wrong place.

meant to quote last line only sorry...............................when is he available?

To be honest thought they already had......was certainly not easy to spot them at DP......best 'away support' now lost to the sport I'm afraid.

Yes both figures were true enough, I was at both.....Speedway boasted bigger crowds than the Rugby League and soccer teams in their early/best years of each Ian Thomas inspired regime...... Crowded, well maybe ? tho DP can still host 10,000 speccies. By the way the attendances (for most of Comets meetings) were not all that bad given that Workington, and nearby Whitehaven, each have a population less than 30,000...pro rata the crowds were better than big town outfits.....although you could say the 'counter-attractions' were inferior

For the original 'opening night' in April 1970 the crowd was approx 6,000..........settling to around 3,000 for the next 2/3 years...alas Speedway is a novelty sport that many fans choose to eventually ignore and the fight becomes harder in tandem.

And daft as it sounds I used to think the crowds at Comets meetings were generally higher than 500......................I('ve) faithfully follow(ed) both teams at Derwent Park..a 'Townie since the 1960's..and used to be able to, quite accurately, name the attendance figures prior to them being announced. Maybe I need to go to 'Specsavers' because I've most certainly lost that inbuilt talent in recent times.....or have I ?

And that's a fact......