star ghost Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I thought Leicester was in the Parker Drive / Blackbird Road area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I thought Leicester was in the Parker Drive / Blackbird Road area Er.., it was.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I thought Leicester was in the Parker Drive / Blackbird Road area Well, there you are. Parker Drive. Is that Jack or Norman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midland Red Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Well, there you are. Parker Drive. Is that Jack or Norman? Yes, and Carl Blackbird, no doubt The old stadium site is bounded by Wiltshire Road (Todd?) and Somerset Avenue (always popular visitors!) Off Abbey Lane close to the site , by the way, is Byford Road ! And just along Parker Drive is Norwich Road etc etc etc!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knowle Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Fleetwood still exists as a football stadium so I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Right! This is bugging me now and I think it's time I went for a drive around the estate tomorrow. I have always meant to go back and take a few photos of where the stadium once stood to add to my Leicester Speedway album on Webshots. After nearly 26 years I might just manage it without crying. Issue 15 of Backtrack showed a modern day picture of Ray Wilson posing next to a streetsign for "Stadium Rise" (which had another sign called "Parker Drive" underneath it). Caption for the photo read - "the only sign that speedway was ever staged in Leicester" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 There are some photographs of how the area looks now on John Skinner's Defunct Tracks website (I should know, I took them!): http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/High%20Beech.htm Interesting stuff Norman.So there are still some terracing remains.I didn't even realise at it's best the place had proper terracing.I thought it was always a grass bank sort of place.So at one time there was a proper stadium there?And the photos from the 60s are also great.Was the stadium there at the time.Looks like the old pits in the background?What was still there when you was practising your leg-trailing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Cat from Mars Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Fleetwood still exists as a football stadium so I believe. Yeah - I know someone who went to the ground recently watching football - but they said there was no sign that there had ever been a track on the site! Fleetwood Town are resident there I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Cat from Mars Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 The greatest stadium in the history of sppedway, Belle Vue's Hyde Road, sadly is now covered by derelict car auction sheds! Norbold was asking about road names being named after speedway personalities - there is indeed a Hoskins Close/Road (can't remember which!) in the Belle Vue area of Manchester - surely too much of a coincidence. Too add to above, rumour abounds that a consortium are looking into buying the old Hyde Road site and returning it to its former glory as the playground of Manchester, and this includes room for the speedway. Happy days indeed if true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
25yearfan Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 The greatest stadium in the history of sppedway, Belle Vue's Hyde Road, sadly is now covered by derelict car auction sheds! Norbold was asking about road names being named after speedway personalities - there is indeed a Hoskins Close/Road (can't remember which!) in the Belle Vue area of Manchester - surely too much of a coincidence. Too add to above, rumour abounds that a consortium are looking into buying the old Hyde Road site and returning it to its former glory as the playground of Manchester, and this includes room for the speedway. Happy days indeed if true. Sad day when the old Hyde rd track was demolished and I find it sad that the car acution site that replaced it is now not being used! Be great if speedway could return and Belle Vue could return to Saturday night racing which I think even in this day and age would nearly double the crowds BV get at Kirky Lane on a Monday night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Sad day when the old Hyde rd track was demolished and I find it sad that the car acution site that replaced it is now not being used! Be great if speedway could return and Belle Vue could return to Saturday night racing which I think even in this day and age would nearly double the crowds BV get at Kirky Lane on a Monday night! The only way that would be achieved and that is as long as the facilities are equally as good as the current venue. It's all well and good having a carbon copy race track, but if people have to stand in the wind when at the moment they don't have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 (edited) Yes, and Carl Blackbird, no doubt The old stadium site is bounded by Wiltshire Road (Todd?) and Somerset Avenue (always popular visitors!) Off Abbey Lane close to the site , by the way, is Byford Road ! And just along Parker Drive is Norwich Road etc etc etc!!! Very good. Anyway, I've taken a few photos of the Stadium estate this afternoon and had a walk around the area. Some lovely houses but it's sad that they've been built on such a good racetrack and the Lions are no more. As Salty has already said the only street name relating to our sport is Stadium Rise and the houses stand on the corner where the front entrance used to be. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2978827400047007148utYXyh http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1246140229047007148qETgFE Edited January 4, 2009 by Gemini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOBBATH Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Great picture of Leicester 1957-exactly as I recall it-ta gemini. In an earlier post on this thread 25yearfan noted that BV current gates could double if ran on Sat instead of Mon.About how many people attend Kirky Lane each week-I have lost track(no pun) of attendances now-who would be the best supported tracks do you think and how many would they get-does anyone average say 5,000? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Interesting stuff Norman.So there are still some terracing remains.I didn't even realise at it's best the place had proper terracing.I thought it was always a grass bank sort of place.So at one time there was a proper stadium there?And the photos from the 60s are also great.Was the stadium there at the time.Looks like the old pits in the background?What was still there when you was practising your leg-trailing? A proper stadium might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there was terracing and there were covered stands there. Apart from the pits shown in the photograph I can't really remember what it looked like in 1960....I was too busy trying not to fall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
25yearfan Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Great picture of Leicester 1957-exactly as I recall it-ta gemini. In an earlier post on this thread 25yearfan noted that BV current gates could double if ran on Sat instead of Mon.About how many people attend Kirky Lane each week-I have lost track(no pun) of attendances now-who would be the best supported tracks do you think and how many would they get-does anyone average say 5,000? Belle Vue normally get just over 1000 to watch them on a Monday night. I'm sure they'd get a lot more on a Saturday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddfossengen Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 no baninster court (southampton ) does have an oakley court but nothing to do with tom and bob however just round the corner is charles knott avenue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 I went to see if Castleford was still there the other week and, as far as I can make out, it is now just waste ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 I went to see if Castleford was still there the other week and, as far as I can make out, it is now just waste ground. Which just about sums it all up doesn't it!! Why have a Speedway track or stadium when one could have instead...: a piece of waste ground...!!!! Has the old New Cross track site ever been built on..?? I recall my Dad pointing out the site (on which the contours of the former track were clearly visible) in the late '70s and I seem to recall seeing it largely unchanged even after the New Den was built..?? Surely that can't still be the case, can it..??!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Which just about sums it all up doesn't it!! Why have a Speedway track or stadium when one could have instead...: a piece of waste ground...!!!! Has the old New Cross track site ever been built on..?? I recall my Dad pointing out the site (on which the contours of the former track were clearly visible) in the late '70s and I seem to recall seeing it largely unchanged even after the New Den was built..?? Surely that can't still be the case, can it..??!! New Cross hasn't been built on because it's a designated open green space. However, I just decided to look it up on the Web to see what it said about it and this is from the official Lewisham Council website: "Bridgehouse Meadows was formerly the Deptford Greyhound Stadium. " AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parklife Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 New Cross hasn't been built on because it's a designated open green space. However, I just decided to look it up on the Web to see what it said about it and this is from the official Lewisham Council website: "Bridgehouse Meadows was formerly the Deptford Greyhound Stadium. " AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! :mad: The old stadium steps were still there when we last went to Millwall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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