Killer Cat from Mars Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I mentioned Belle Vue earlier in the thread - other Greater Manchester tracks include Droylsden (now a housing estate), Salford (now a casino), White City (now a retail park) and Audenshaw (now a housing estate which I live in - yeah - I actually live on the track!) The sad thing about many of the above closures though, is that when Belle Vue lost Hyde Road in 1987, White City and Droylsden were still in existence - it's such a shame the Aces couldn't have moved to one of these - but I guess town and city planners prefer to turn their cities into an endless sprawl of housing estates and retail parks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
25yearfan Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Even bigger shame that the car auction site that replaced Hyde Rd is now derelict! Any chance of a new stadium with a replica to the old track built there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Cat from Mars Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 There's always hope that the Aces will return to Hyde Road, but the derelict land is on a major arterial route into Manchester, and is only a mile or so from a motorway connection - in other words, worth a lot of money for business or housing! There are rumours of a consortium who are looking at buying the site to return it to it's original splendour, but nothing concrete. Perhaps if the credit crunch really bites, the consortium could get the land for cheap! As long as they are also unaffected of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbabylon Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 CANTERBURY Canterbury Crusaders disbanded in 1987 after Wally Mawdsley (Speedway) Promotions Ltd failed to get permission from Canterbury City Council for speedway to continue at the site. Wally Mawdsley turned instead to greyhound racing which continued at the stadium until 1999. It was also adopted, unofficially at first, as the site of Canterbury's Sunday boot fair. Canterbury City Football Club continued to use the stadium for home games until the start of the 2001/2 season, when they too disbanded. The Council, always having an eye for the quick buck, transferred the boot fair to somewhere 'more suitable' and the stadium, never really in the best state of repair even in its heyday, rapidly fell into disrepair and was eventually bulldozed into oblivion. There was much discussion and public debate about what should happen to the derelict site but, much to the non-surprise of residents (and especially former speedway-goers), planning permission was eventually granted for the erection of 184 houses and apartments. The developer, Berkeley Homes, named the new development 'Kingsbrook Park'. At the time of writing the building work is virtually complete. Many fans, including myself, wrongly harbored suspicions that Wally Mawdsley had sold us out for a shot at promoting greyhound racing, which we somehow assumed must be more lucrative. It's doubtful that this was actually the case and all the documentation points to Mr Mawdsley having campaigned to keep speedway (a) in Canterbury, and ( at Kingsmead. You know how it is, when you lose something important in your life you have to find someone to blame. It won't mean much to him now of course because he died in February, but I'm sorry for all the negative thoughts we all had towards him for all those years. We got it wrong and nobody ever took much trouble to put us right. Here's a few links, some interesting and some heartbreaking: http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/kingsmead http://www.kingsbrookpark.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1 http://www.british-speedway.co.uk/news.php?extend.2444.1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 The developer, Berkeley Homes, named the new development 'Kingsbrook Park'. At the time of writing the building work is virtually complete. "Kingsbrook"..?? Why the idiot not Kingsmead..???!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falkirkbandit Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 "Kingsbrook"..?? Why the idiot not Kingsmead..???!!!! Thats what my asst manager said when i showed him this earlier today at work, he's from Canterbury originally and knows the area well, he remembers hearing the speedway but he never went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Following on form my Hull post, whilst in West Hull on work-related business being a confirmed Track Anorak I made a bit of a detour and checked out the Boulevard, there was no-one about so I went inside walked and round. The old main, home straight stand has been completely demolished and there is nothing left of it. It seemed strange standing on the wall that the home straight fence was attached to and looking down on the sand dog track, where we cheered and waved to the riders as they came off the parade. More has been demolished around the 1st turn area but the entry to the pits, 'Tucker's Tunnel' was still there though the pits area behind the terrracing has also gone. The old stadium looks much the same; the car park, Ian Thomas' floodlights on the bends, the terraces are overgrown with weeds and the re-built Threepenny Stand is still ok. In fact the place would still be great for speedway if they got rid of the dogs, rugby pitch or ideally both, LOL! But the entire stadium is due to come down in 2010 or so to enable the nearby school to be expanded. In 2 years time, incredibly it will be 30 years since speedway was last staged there - where does the time go?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Following on form my Hull post, whilst in West Hull on work-related business being a confirmed Track Anorak I made a bit of a detour and checked out the Boulevard, there was no-one about so I went inside walked and round. The old main, home straight stand has been completely demolished and there is nothing left of it. It seemed strange standing on the wall that the home straight fence was attached to and looking down on the sand dog track, where we cheered and waved to the riders as they came off the parade. More has been demolished around the 1st turn area but the entry to the pits, 'Tucker's Tunnel' was still there though the pits area behind the terrracing has also gone. The old stadium looks much the same; the car park, Ian Thomas' floodlights on the bends, the terraces are overgrown with weeds and the re-built Threepenny Stand is still ok. In fact the place would still be great for speedway if they got rid of the dogs, rugby pitch or ideally both, LOL! But the entire stadium is due to come down in 2010 or so to enable the nearby school to be expanded. In 2 years time, incredibly it will be 30 years since speedway was last staged there - where does the time go?... i last went there on royal wedding day 1981 to see the dons get a 39-39 draw against the vikings thanks to a 5-1 in heat 13. one memory for me was all the street partys going on all around the stadium celebrating the big day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedyguy Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 i last went there on royal wedding day 1981 to see the dons get a 39-39 draw against the vikings thanks to a 5-1 in heat 13. one memory for me was all the street partys going on all around the stadium celebrating the big day. The only Hull track I ever visited was the old Hedon Stadium about 1959 or 1960. I went there with the rider Pete Rogers (Wimbledon and Oxford junior) who was keen on trying to promote there. We went, we saw but never conquered...too much work needed, too little financial backing. My old pal Alf Webster was an original Hull rider in the 1940s. Before riding speedway, Alf was West Ham star Eric Chitty's mechanic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shazzybird Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Many fans, including myself, wrongly harbored suspicions that Wally Mawdsley had sold us out for a shot at promoting greyhound racing, which we somehow assumed must be more lucrative. It's doubtful that this was actually the case and all the documentation points to Mr Mawdsley having campaigned to keep speedway (a) in Canterbury, and ( at Kingsmead. You know how it is, when you lose something important in your life you have to find someone to blame. It won't mean much to him now of course because he died in February, but I'm sorry for all the negative thoughts we all had towards him for all those years. We got it wrong and nobody ever took much trouble to put us right. You believe what you want to believe, Wally Mawdsley sold us down the river! If he had told Chris Galvin that he had to apply to the City Council for permission when he took over the promotion, we might still have a track locally (and don't go giving me the directions to Iwade at this point!!) All the documentation in the world can point to Wally campaigning to keep speedway in Canterbury and at Kingsmead but being there back then I know thats Bulls**t. I am one Canterbury fan that will NEVER forgive Wally Mawdsley for what he did to speedway in Kent. My Grandad always said "Never speak ill of the dead" so at this point I will stop ranting before I do say something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 (and don't go giving me the directions to Iwade at this point!!) Would indeed be pointless now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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