Guest Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 There were two speedway stadiums in Bristol. Here are Links for both of them: (1) http://www.defunctsp...owle Street.htm (2) http://www.defunctsp....uk/Bristol.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 Bristol eastville. Nice stadium, huge crowds, awful track. Enough said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) From the NATIONAL SPEEDWAY MUSEUM website: http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/bristol.html Edited July 18, 2017 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastville Bulldog Posted July 21, 2017 Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 Very true, the track surface at Eastville was appealing. I remember the comeback meeting there. All the top names were there. Unfortunately the meeting was almost a cancelled that night when a handful of the riders refused to ride on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gresham Posted July 24, 2017 Report Share Posted July 24, 2017 Although the track was appalling by known standards, it still made for entertaing and exciting racing. If not, you wouldn't have got the crowds we did. More than Bristol Rovers. Some great riders graced that track and I was lucky enough as a young boy to meet most of them, as I was allowed in the pits. Such a shame Eastville closed...now an Ikea. And the locals complained about noise...now look what they've got 24/7 lol Some great pictures can be seen in this collection...scroll through the whole lot, as there are some football and boxing in amongst them. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kwmc/4853476828/in/photostream/ What I can't understand is that there is hardly any video footage readily available of either Knowle or Eastville. A couple on youtube and a video released with a few races on it. The local TV station covered it most Fridays. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted July 24, 2017 Report Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) Although the track was appalling by known standards, it still made for entertaing and exciting racing. If not, you wouldn't have got the crowds we did. More than Bristol Rovers. Some great riders graced that track and I was lucky enough as a young boy to meet most of them, as I was allowed in the pits. Such a shame Eastville closed...now an Ikea. And the locals complained about noise...now look what they've got 24/7 lol Some great pictures can be seen in this collection...scroll through the whole lot, as there are some football and boxing in amongst them. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kwmc/4853476828/in/photostream/ What I can't understand is that there is hardly any video footage readily available of either Knowle or Eastville. A couple on youtube and a video released with a few races on it. The local TV station covered it most Fridays. Some great pictures there of Crumpy,Danny Kennedy ,Mike Lee i went to the Daily Mirror first meeting what a crowd the place was buzzing. Edited July 24, 2017 by Sidney the robin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted July 25, 2017 Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 (edited) The meeting I went to at eastville against Wimbledon was Definetely filmed. Bob Coles ended up in the crowd on the first bend after a horrendous pile up. I have seen footage of this on YouTube. I'd love to see the whole match. Edited July 25, 2017 by cityrebel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 The meeting I went to at eastville against Wimbledon was Definetely filmed. Bob Coles ended up in the crowd on the first bend after a horrendous pile up. I have seen footage of this on YouTube. I'd love to see the whole match. I recall that it was featured on 'World of Sport' and, I think, Bob was interviewed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knowle Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 I recall that it was featured on 'World of Sport' and, I think, Bob was interviewed? Didn't he say that he knew he was in trouble when he saw the crowd below him? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 Didn't he say that he knew he was in trouble when he saw the crowd below him? I think he's also featured on the Bristol Speedway DVD which I have but it's a while since I've viewed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 If Bristol came back at a new site in Bristol ( i loved the potential that the old Bristol track had) what sort of crowds would they expect to get..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastville Bulldog Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 I would presume a fair few. I would think Somerset would loose half its fan Base as many Bulldog fans adopted the Rebels as temporary replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gresham Posted July 27, 2017 Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 I'm in the video of the Bob Coles crash...(it's on youtube) it happened just in front of where me and my father were stood. You can see my father wearing a white bobble hat ducking his head and me as a young en wearing a parker as you did back then lol As for expected crowds if Bristol came back...who knows. When the Bulldogs packed up, many ended up going to watch at Swindon and then Newport. A few also go to Somerset now. I would guess, you would get a few come back out of interest. Depends where it is, how it's promoted and whether it's entertaining and has good racing. I think that's why Somerset work so well tbh...hardly a big catchment area, with no Speedway history...but they have the best track for consistent close and entertaining racing, which draws the crowds in. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted July 27, 2017 Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 I'm in the video of the Bob Coles crash...(it's on youtube) it happened just in front of where me and my father were stood. You can see my father wearing a white bobble hat ducking his head and me as a young en wearing a parker as you did back then lol As for expected crowds if Bristol came back...who knows. When the Bulldogs packed up, many ended up going to watch at Swindon and then Newport. A few also go to Somerset now. I would guess, you would get a few come back out of interest. Depends where it is, how it's promoted and whether it's entertaining and has good racing. I think that's why Somerset work so well tbh...hardly a big catchment area, with no Speedway history...but they have the best track for consistent close and entertaining racing, which draws the crowds in. I believe Bristol would be an attractive venture Reading,Swindon, Somerset, Oxford fans would go also if promoted right try to encourage a new younger viewer the crowds i believe will never be a problem there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keef robin Posted July 27, 2017 Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 I believe Bristol would be an attractive venture Reading,Swindon, Somerset, Oxford fans would go also if promoted right try to encourage a new younger viewer the crowds i believe will never be a problem there. Good luck to Brizzle but we don't want too many folk from Wiltshire deserting The Blunsdon Shabbey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gresham Posted July 27, 2017 Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 Good luck to Brizzle but we don't want too many folk from Wiltshire deserting The Blunsdon Shabbey! Tbh, I think if we had Somerset, Bristol and Swindon all going, it would be good for Speedway. Could see fans attending all 3. The M4/M5 route would be so much nicer if it still had Oxford, Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Somerset, Exeter and Plymouth going all together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastville Bulldog Posted August 3, 2017 Report Share Posted August 3, 2017 We need this project kicking off ASAP, while the poker is still hot. The Bristol faithful are getting older and 40yrs is too long a gap. Fingers AND toes crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 3, 2017 Report Share Posted August 3, 2017 If Bristol came back at a new site in Bristol ( i loved the potential that the old Bristol track had) what sort of crowds would they expect to get..? These days, dependent on what league. Top tier speedway about 800-1,000. At National League level around 400 probably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted August 3, 2017 Report Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) These days, dependent on what league. Top tier speedway about 800-1,000. At National League level around 400 probably.Bristol is a massive city "gustix i think they have loads of potential there also with some Oxford,,Swindon,Reading fans going there the potential there is more than you think we shall see.😀 Edited August 3, 2017 by Sidney the robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2017 Report Share Posted August 4, 2017 (edited) Bristol is a massive city "gustix i think they have loads of potential there also with some Oxford,,Swindon,Reading fans going there the potential there is more than you think we shall see. London is also a massive city. Its nearest tracks are now at Rye House and Lakeside. I think the attendance figures at Rye House just exceed the 1,000 mark. At Lakeside about 400. What do you see as the difference whereby Bristol - with Swindon, Somerset and Plymouth 'in the vicinity' - are going to attract 'vast' attendances. I estimate, for example, the distance between one potential area to mention Reading and Bristol is about 70 miles, with a one-way travel time of at least 90 minutes. Then there's a return journey. And will Swindon-based fans go regularly to support a rival team? When Wimbledon came back 2002-05 with the massive potential of London to attract large attendances, they at best had 500 crowds as I recall. This is speedway in the 2000-plus era not the 1940s. Sorry Sidney the robin I don't share your enthusiasm. Edited August 4, 2017 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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