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Coventry Stadium Sold


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i think that people are missing the point hear, is that "Coventry speedway" is a brand,

moving it far away hits that brand and will affect crowds/revenue streams, yes i know Brandon is in rugby and yes i know technical us oldies remember it used to be "Brandon bees" not coventry!

 

you just need to look at history to determine the plan.

 

how many pressure groups have tried to keep the stadium and won?

non but in the process there team has gone.

 

how many teams have tried to relocate away from the area and survived?

no one.

 

its all very well being on the forum we are all die hard fans, but lets not forget part of speedways "charm" is its the only motor sport that is tribal like football..

you may forget this fact on the forum, but its still true.

moving away from that base will spell disaster, so for instance mallory park is in LEICESTERSHIRE, that site is closer to me than brandon, but i do not want the team to move there, and i suspect alot of the tribal fans like myself are the same!

 

apologies to Gemini who i know is an exception!

 

so then i hear you say

"well would you rather have a team even if in Leicester than none at all"

 

and the truth is i wouldn't think it was the same team with the same heritage so wouldn't be that committed!

 

im just being honest, why else do teams go out of business if the team moves away, the majority of the fans think like me.

 

stonleigh showground i think would "just" be acceptable, but then lord stonleigh would never agree to all those townies coming to his village!

Edited by philfromcov
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I think everyones efforts should be put into trying to find a new site. We have had this hanging over our heads season after season and one day we are just going to be left without a track and club. It will be sad to leave Brandon but the club will be so much more stronger and secure at a new site.

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As someone who travels 35 miles each way for my speedway at Coventry I would be happy to see any stadium in the area, that allows the bees to continue.

 

There is so much at stake here that I don't think we should be concerning ourselves with regard to location, survival is the keyword. :unsure:

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I hope a new stadium will have adequate car parking. Brandon is easy to get to from the by-pass and has a large car-park. Compare that with somewhere like the Ricoh.

 

I will miss Brandon though. I first went there over 40 years ago in the days of Nigel Boocock etc. I don't think the stadium has changed much since then!

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The new ACL chairman is open to discussions with the Bees about using the Ricoh Arena.

 

He said "I guess there is a practical issue with it but nothing is ruled out, we would need to talk in detail about the possibilities of that happening".

Edited by woz01
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This is currently on the Startrax website in regard to the latest happenings at Brandon Stadium, Coventry::

:::::::::

 

COVENTRY UPDATE
There has been considerable speculation over the last 24 hours as to the future of Coventry Stadium following a decision by the Greyhound operators to cease activity from 22nd February citing a possible stadium sale as a reason.
We have been assured Oval Racing is secure for the next 3 season and below is a Press statement from Mr Sandhu:

The news that Greyhounds has decided to close after tonight’s meeting came as a shock and it saddened me that they felt they could not continue to operate until the remaining three years on the lease lapsed. Harry and his team have worked extremely hard during the last few years to make Coventry Dogs a credible force within the greyhound racing world and deserved to have enjoyed the fruits of those labours.
They asked me for an extension to the lease to guarantee a further five years which I was unable to offer due to the current negotiations for the sale of the Stadium as all I could contractually offer was the three year guarantee already in place which clearly was not enough.
In terms of the other activities the Coventry Bees and Brisca F1 stock cars these are guaranteed to continue for the next three years regardless as to the ownership of the stadium and during those three years I will be trying to secure an alternative site for a new stadium in the Coventry area.
All three sports have become something that I enjoy on a personal level and the respective fans have shown me a great deal of respect over the past twelve years as such I want to ensure we do everything we can to see these sports continue. I am giving my word that I will do everything I can to ensure we succeed and if anybody can help us to secure a suitable site in the Coventry area please get in touch with jeremyheaver@btinternet.com or by phone on 07872836640.
In terms of the stadium site itself it will be sold and redeveloped it’s just a question as to when that redevelopment will take place. It will not take place for at least three seasons and that gives us time to find alternative sites for development into our new home.
Once again I would like to praise Harry and his team for the efforts they made at Coventry Dogs and I hope both speedway and stock car fans are reassured that we are working towards a more solid future.
A Sandhu

Edited by Guest
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I think everyones efforts should be put into trying to find a new site. We have had this hanging over our heads season after season and one day we are just going to be left without a track and club. It will be sad to leave Brandon but the club will be so much more stronger and secure at a new site.

 

Which, sadly, has still to be found? Ot am I falling behind again on this matter?

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Which, sadly, has still to be found? Ot am I falling behind again on this matter?

Still needs to be found but there are various sites around the city that could hold a speedway stadium. Being a city does gives us that advantage of more available sites.

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i think that people are missing the point hear, is that "Coventry speedway" is a brand,

moving it far away hits that brand and will affect crowds/revenue streams, yes i know Brandon is in rugby and yes i know technical us oldies remember it used to be "Brandon bees" not coventry!

 

you just need to look at history to determine the plan.

 

how many pressure groups have tried to keep the stadium and won?

non but in the process there team has gone.

 

how many teams have tried to relocate away from the area and survived?

no one.

 

its all very well being on the forum we are all die hard fans, but lets not forget part of speedways "charm" is its the only motor sport that is tribal like football..

you may forget this fact on the forum, but its still true.

moving away from that base will spell disaster, so for instance mallory park is in LEICESTERSHIRE, that site is closer to me than brandon, but i do not want the team to move there, and i suspect alot of the tribal fans like myself are the same!

 

apologies to Gemini who i know is an exception!

 

so then i hear you say

"well would you rather have a team even if in Leicester than none at all"

 

and the truth is i wouldn't think it was the same team with the same heritage so wouldn't be that committed!

 

im just being honest, why else do teams go out of business if the team moves away, the majority of the fans think like me.

 

stonleigh showground i think would "just" be acceptable, but then lord stonleigh would never agree to all those townies coming to his village!

I have to say it will never be the same where ever the new stadium is built if it happens .it will be the start of a new era for Coventry .Ive been lucky to have Had 55 years at Brandon which I am grateful for now hopefully it will carry on and create more history
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I have to say it will never be the same where ever the new stadium is built if it happens .it will be the start of a new era for Coventry .Ive been lucky to have Had 55 years at Brandon which I am grateful for now hopefully it will carry on and create more history

I agree completely, there is so much history around the stadium which will just vanish with the demolition . However clubs have moved to new stadiums in other sports without difficulty, let's hope the bees can do the same.

 

I have accepted the fact that brandon will go, and i have put my trust in Mr Sandhu .Here's hoping.

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There is so much history and memories at Brandon but in reality a move is for the best. Speedway and life goes on, future generations of coventry speedway fans will have there very own history and memories WHEN we find a new home. Brandon stadium is a shadow of the past, the cracks are starting to show and as much as I love the place I believe she's had her day.

 

Dig our heels and we miss the opportunity to start a whole new adventure with a man leading the charge who has given his word to do all he can, he has never let bees fans down and I'd be very surprised if he starts now.

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I can't see any mileage in opposing the sale of the stadium or future use of the site. Best bet is to put our trust in Sandhu. Surprised no one is mentioning Ryton / Tollbar on the opposite side to the car factory site. Think motocross operates there and there is also a scrap merchants. Still within Rugby borough and has the advantage of not being too near many Rugby borough electors. Any new location would need to be within the city limits or around the Eastern Bypass (which covers the likes of Rolls Royce and Ryton) or near to J3 in the borough of Nuneaton & Bedworth. Having said that there is an ideal arena for speedway ten miles south of the city centre - the Royal Showground at Stoneleigh. (For people who don,t know it,s a carbon copy of the E.of Es at P,boro) but it's covered by a Tory council in a very middle class area. You might think the Royal Agricultural society would welcome the extra revenue it would generate though.

Edited by tiberon
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The new ACL chairman is open to discussions with the Bees about using the Ricoh Arena.

 

He said "I guess there is a practical issue with it but nothing is ruled out, we would need to talk in detail about the possibilities of that happening".

Doesn't the Ricoh hold in excess of 25,000. Not sure a thousand people rattling around in a 25,000 stadium would work.
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Doesn't the Ricoh hold in excess of 25,000. Not sure a thousand people rattling around in a 25,000 stadium would work.

32,500 actually but it would be a great opportunity to entice new fans to the sport. We get around 2,000 at Brandon so with better facilities and it actually being in Coventry it would surely attract more fans. A good few ccfc fans would also attend id imagine. Id present the idea to the council and include the chance of SGP, SEC and SWC, the council would like the idea of visitors coming to Coventry, its all they bang on about recently.

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But there is a cost associated with opening up the stadium and 2,000-odd fans are unlikely to come close to meeting that.

A Leicester u21 game was played recently I think it was reported the costs of opening the arena was only £1,000 and a fee to hire.

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