Ray Stadia Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 With the announcement that the Severn Bridge toll is being abolished, would this have saved Newport Speedway had it been in place before they folded? I personally think it would have helped Newport as it would have been more attractive for fans living in Bristol and starved for many years of their own team. The toll must have been a barrier (no pun intended), I am sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 How much was the toll, it can't have helped speedway attendances if it was considered to be too dear. Went to Newport in 2005 or so forget the actual toll cost. Following on; the Humber Bridge toll, which one needs to cross in order to get from Hull to Scunny and back, is £1.50 (I think) each way, down from £5 or so a few years ago.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted December 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 4 hours ago, martinmauger said: How much was the toll, it can't have helped speedway attendances if it was considered to be too dear. Went to Newport in 2005 or so forget the actual toll cost. Following on; the Humber Bridge toll, which one needs to cross in order to get from Hull to Scunny and back, is £1.50 (I think) each way, down from £5 or so a few years ago.... On the news, they said it was £5.60, which I think was a one way payment only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 7 minutes ago, Ray Stadia said: On the news, they said it was £5.60, which I think was a one way payment only. Remember one-time 'Wasp' Reidar Eide trying his upmost in avoiding paying the toll constantly negotiating with his promoter to come up with the money in one way or another. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattK Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 Swindon, Somerset and Newport are pretty much equidistant from Bristol, depending on what part of the city you live in. I'd be amazed if the number of people who travel from Bristol to Swindon on a regular basis exceeds double figures, so I think it is a stretch to suggest Newport could have been saved if the Seven bridge toll wasn't in effect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted December 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 23 minutes ago, MattK said: Swindon, Somerset and Newport are pretty much equidistant from Bristol, depending on what part of the city you live in. I'd be amazed if the number of people who travel from Bristol to Swindon on a regular basis exceeds double figures, so I think it is a stretch to suggest Newport could have been saved if the Seven bridge toll wasn't in effect. I take your point, but I have just put in several variations on AA Auto-route and there is quite a bit of difference in some cases, i.e. Newport being nearer. Add to that, fans are used to going to Wales once a year for the Grand Prix. It certainly would have helped their cause, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adonis Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 There was more involved in newports closing than the cost of the toll . something very very dodgy to do with the promotion and their transport business , i can't remember what it was ,but the pervert SCB knew what it was , and blamed I a member of these forums for colluding in the closure 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffster Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 1 hour ago, MattK said: Swindon, Somerset and Newport are pretty much equidistant from Bristol, depending on what part of the city you live in. I'd be amazed if the number of people who travel from Bristol to Swindon on a regular basis exceeds double figures, so I think it is a stretch to suggest Newport could have been saved if the Seven bridge toll wasn't in effect. Well into double figures re the number of people travelling from Bristol to Swindon ! Re Newport, what would have much more beneficial of course is the stadium not burning down due to arson ! And yes, a lot of people travelled from Bristol to Newport. Its not just Bristol, either, I know people that travel to Swindon from Bath, Weston Super Mare, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bradford on Avon, South Wales.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*JJ Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 Weston? That's next to Somerset speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffster Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 11:09 AM, *JJ said: Weston? That's next to Somerset speedway. Yes, correct, and your point is ? Speedway existed in Bristol and Swindon long before Somerset started up, and people from the Weston area still attend at Swindon... Being retired, they also go to Somerset, as they enjoy watching as much speedway as they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 (edited) Possible more information re: Newport Queensway Meadows; think the late Tim Stone (real achievement building the new stadium BTW, I was well impressed) bought the orange seats & also the floodlights from Somerton Park when it closed and stored them for possible future use. Well, we know he did find a use for them (!), but potentially a bit more of Newport Speedway's history was lost along with the recent stadium, one heck of a shame that.... Edited December 19, 2018 by martinmauger spelling due to lack of care, sigh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted December 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 4 hours ago, martinmauger said: Possible more information re: Newport Queensway Meadows; think the late Tim Stone (real achievement building the new stadium BTW, I was well impressed) bought the orange seats & also the floodlights from Somerton Park when it closed and stored them for possible future use. Well, we know he did find a use for them (!), but potentially a bit more of Newport Speedway's history was lost along with the recent stadium, one heck of a shame that.... I agree, one heck of a shame and one hell of an amazing achievement by Tim. You could probably make a short play/drama about one man's dream and what he achieved, when you consider the challenges and adversity. Remember the film 'Field of Dreams'? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 I went to Somerton park a couple of times for speedway and football, but made over 20 visits to Queensway Meadows. I remember the big crowds at the start, declining to a few hundred at the end. A real shame for a purpose built speedway stadium to have such a short life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*JJ Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 18 hours ago, jeffster said: Yes, correct, and your point is ? Speedway existed in Bristol and Swindon long before Somerset started up, and people from the Weston area still attend at Swindon... Being retired, they also go to Somerset, as they enjoy watching as much speedway as they can. My point, which I thought was obvious, is why anyone would go over 70 miles, an hour and a half each way, to Swindon when there is a track just down the road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 (edited) is there a point to this thread? If so, I've missed it Edited December 19, 2018 by ch958 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted December 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 12 minutes ago, ch958 said: is there a point to this thread? If so, I've missed it The point was a topical point Sh, I mean Ch. The Severn Bridge is now toll free, so, my question was, as it is a forum, if there had been no toll during the days of Newport Speedway, could the track have survived, attracting more people from the other side of the river, without the additional cost to the fan of the toll charge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghosty Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 9:18 AM, adonis said: There was more involved in newports closing than the cost of the toll . something very very dodgy to do with the promotion and their transport business , i can't remember what it was ,but the pervert SCB knew what it was , and blamed I a member of these forums for colluding in the closure If Tim Stone had not tragically died, Then I think Newport Speedway would still be operating. At the time if his death Tim had in place several projects to generate extra income for the stadium other than through speedway alone. What then happened with the Mallets, well that would be a good Speedway Star winter tale! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 46 minutes ago, Ray Stadia said: The point was a topical point Sh, I mean Ch. The Severn Bridge is now toll free, so, my question was, as it is a forum, if there had been no toll during the days of Newport Speedway, could the track have survived, attracting more people from the other side of the river, without the additional cost to the fan of the toll charge. mmm...food for thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adonis Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 newprt had a great shaped track for racing .but the surface was always poor ,slick and potholed ,nice stand which sadly was never properly comlpleted , decent changing rooms and rerasonable pits , one of the problems with it was Tim Stone himself . heart 100% in speedway ,but an utter meglomaniac , we used to go to southern track events there that dragged on for hours and hours ,because he wouldn't let anyone help him , instead of letting somebody drive the water truck while he graded he had to do both . and every 4 heats , in a meeting that has 60 heats that's a very long time , I have heard only second hand mind ,that he pissed off sponsors because he was a little arrogant , having said that . a bloke who is prepared to collect supermarket trollies and put the money into his speedway team , maybe he had felt he had a right to say his piece , 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 20 minutes ago, adonis said: newprt had a great shaped track for racing .but the surface was always poor ,slick and potholed ,nice stand which sadly was never properly comlpleted , decent changing rooms and rerasonable pits , one of the problems with it was Tim Stone himself . heart 100% in speedway ,but an utter meglomaniac , we used to go to southern track events there that dragged on for hours and hours ,because he wouldn't let anyone help him , instead of letting somebody drive the water truck while he graded he had to do both . and every 4 heats , in a meeting that has 60 heats that's a very long time , I have heard only second hand mind ,that he pissed off sponsors because he was a little arrogant , having said that . a bloke who is prepared to collect supermarket trollies and put the money into his speedway team , maybe he had felt he had a right to say his piece , Yes, Tim could upset everyone at any time. He needed exclusive control and virtually ran a one man show. In saying that, you have to admire the total commitment and his forward planning like buying up the Somerton Park seats and storing them for years, knowing he was planning to build a stadium/track one day. I believe he had been Phil Crumps mechanic, which presumably would explain the unique relationship he had with Neil Street, who always made a point to speak to me on my visit with the Diamonds even though I usually only saw him once a year. Lovely man. As adonis has said, the track could be very problematic even for big meetings like the Premier Pairs/Welsh Open. It always had a double hollow going into the third bend, one was bad enough but a second hollow was always there as riders jumping out of the first hollow landed and created the second hole. The track material was very unique, sometime being like oatmeal in colour and packed hard, but soft only inches below the surface. I remember James Birkenshaw once tyre warming on the home straight and he dropped into a hole having gone through the top crust. Of course Tim was furious at it, and he made sure it never happened again. I personally had a lot of respect for him, talking with him for hours at the stadium, and him sharing his thoughts on setting up our original Gems team in 2002. On his advice we combined the Diamonds and Gems meetings and added a £1 on the entrance with good results. His team and the our Gems were about the only teams to stay with the original concept of why we had the Conference League, and that showed in the league positions we were in by giving new youngsters their first rides and persevering with them. We never tried to take on the moneybags teams like Mildenhall by hoovering up the top junior riders for the promoters personal glory. Tim will be remember by many for both good and bad reasons. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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