Guest Posted August 27, 2019 Report Share Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) Chris116: In the 1980s when I was working at the 'South London Press' we became involved in coverage of the car racing at Wimbledon Stadium and sponsored several superstox world championships when staged there. I cannot ever recall the SLP sponsoring a Wimbledon speedway event. Edited November 29, 2020 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Snackette Posted August 29, 2019 Report Share Posted August 29, 2019 Anyone "brave" enough to invest money in returning speedway to Odsal, should be compelled to have a psychiatric analysis first! I remember one weekend in 1997. On the Friday night the Bradford Bulls played Paris St Germain in front of 20,000 fans to win the Super League title. The following evening Bradford Dukes raced Swindon Robins on their way to winning the Elite League that season. This was a Dukes team with Mark Loram, Joe Screen, Gary Havelock, about to win the league............and a crowd of less than 500 bothered to show up! It suggests to me that the Bradford public has a limited appetite for speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted August 29, 2019 Report Share Posted August 29, 2019 20 minutes ago, Mr Snackette said: Anyone "brave" enough to invest money in returning speedway to Odsal, should be compelled to have a psychiatric analysis first! I remember one weekend in 1997. On the Friday night the Bradford Bulls played Paris St Germain in front of 20,000 fans to win the Super League title. The following evening Bradford Dukes raced Swindon Robins on their way to winning the Elite League that season. This was a Dukes team with Mark Loram, Joe Screen, Gary Havelock, about to win the league............and a crowd of less than 500 bothered to show up! It suggests to me that the Bradford public has a limited appetite for speedway. Whilst I wouldn't disagree entirely with your comment, I've often wondered whether the reason for the speedway's struggle to attract numbers was down to the tremendous success of the "Bulls" around that period.The rugby was such a huge success at that time & it attracted very large attendances week in & week out ,to the detriment of all the other sports in the area perhaps? Affording rugby and speedway might have been too much for many people. The rugby club are in the doldrums presently and they don't get the support that they previously enjoyed so perhaps there's a place for something else now . I do believe the stadium is to be sold now , I can't think of anything else that it could be used for as it is a rather "unique" place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave67 Posted November 29, 2020 Report Share Posted November 29, 2020 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/55057985 Looks like Bradford Bulls want to go back to odsal. Deal agreed with stock cars & they also want speedway... Good luck with the latter.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin man 76 Posted November 29, 2020 Report Share Posted November 29, 2020 46 minutes ago, Dave67 said: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/55057985 Looks like Bradford Bulls want to go back to odsal. Deal agreed with stock cars & they also want speedway... Good luck with the latter.... The Bulls may well wish to go back to Odsal, but whether they do or not, will not determine if speedway is staged. The article is somewhat disingenuous, as any speedway staged will generate revenue for the RFL, rather than the Bulls, given that the former holds the lease on Odsal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 29, 2020 Report Share Posted November 29, 2020 On 8/29/2019 at 8:20 AM, Mr Snackette said: Anyone "brave" enough to invest money in returning speedway to Odsal, should be compelled to have a psychiatric analysis first! I remember one weekend in 1997. On the Friday night the Bradford Bulls played Paris St Germain in front of 20,000 fans to win the Super League title. The following evening Bradford Dukes raced Swindon Robins on their way to winning the Elite League that season. This was a Dukes team with Mark Loram, Joe Screen, Gary Havelock, about to win the league............and a crowd of less than 500 bothered to show up! It suggests to me that the Bradford public has a limited appetite for speedway. Have attitudes changed from those days to justify a speedway return at Odsal Stadium, Bradford? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neila Posted November 29, 2020 Report Share Posted November 29, 2020 2 hours ago, JohnHyam said: Have attitudes changed from those days to justify a speedway return at Odsal Stadium, Bradford? After 20 odd years of no speedway I think the people of Bradford/Halifax and surrounding areas will support it in the short term, 2-3 years, when Workington re opened in 1999 after 18 years, the crowds in 1981 were around 300 hard core fans, opening night 4000 ish fans and the first few years crowds were 2000 plus well above break figures crowds dropped off in the end, but we went out in style with the treble and made H18TORY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piotr Pyszny Posted November 29, 2020 Report Share Posted November 29, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, Neila said: After 20 odd years of no speedway I think the people of Bradford/Halifax and surrounding areas will support it in the short term, 2-3 years, when Workington re opened in 1999 after 18 years, the crowds in 1981 were around 300 hard core fans, opening night 4000 ish fans and the first few years crowds were 2000 plus well above break figures crowds dropped off in the end, but we went out in style with the treble and made H18TORY During Halifax’s last season (1985) at The Shay, the average attendance was circa 3,500. Bradford never got anything like that. After 20-odd years without speedway, there is a danger what interest there was has evaporated. Edited November 30, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldhawk Posted November 29, 2020 Report Share Posted November 29, 2020 Would be great to see them back but such a large stadium and likely few fans will be hard to generate much atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Clemens Posted December 1, 2020 Report Share Posted December 1, 2020 On 11/29/2020 at 9:44 PM, Piotr Pyszny said: During Halifax’s last season (1985) at The Shay, the average attendance was circa 3,500. Bradford never got anything like that. After 20-odd years without speedway, there is a danger what interest there was has evaporated. I know what you mean. We went to Bradford for a couple of seasons after Halifax closed. It was never the same and with the meetings being on a Friday night, eventually, we just stopped going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piotr Pyszny Posted December 1, 2020 Report Share Posted December 1, 2020 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Mr. Clemens said: I know what you mean. We went to Bradford for a couple of seasons after Halifax closed. It was never the same and with the meetings being on a Friday night, eventually, we just stopped going. I think a combination of switching to Bradford, and Kenny Carter's death soon after the move, cost Dukes upwards of a thousand supporters. Edited December 1, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted December 2, 2020 Report Share Posted December 2, 2020 As a neutral, i enjoyed both the Shay and Odsal. It will need a brave man with deep pockets to bring professional speedway back to Bradford. It's an iconic venue for sure, but i can't see it being financially viable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derwent Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 It’s been confirmed that stock cars are returning to Odsal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piotr Pyszny Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Derwent said: It’s been confirmed that stock cars are returning to Odsal Thanks for posting! For those who CBA to listen to the whole thing: an opening meeting is planned for April 3 (Easter Saturday), with 2,000 tickets - stadium capacity to be decided - on sale from January 1. Promoter Steve Rees is asked about speedway. He believes 2022 is a more realistic prospect than 2021. Edited December 9, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattB Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 On 12/2/2020 at 5:06 AM, cityrebel said: As a neutral, i enjoyed both the Shay and Odsal. It will need a brave man with deep pockets to bring professional speedway back to Bradford. It's an iconic venue for sure, but i can't see it being financially viable. Bradford always had excellent crowds for big meetings, but I'd question the viability of league fixtures there. The crowds were probably decent for smaller venues, but would get lost in the vast spaces of Odsal. Bear in mind that they had strong teams for a lot of the time between 86 and 97. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPanther Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 Looking good... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillwhitewasmad Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 22 minutes ago, Blupanther said: Looking good... Won't be any speedway though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sidney Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) Impressive work and commitment by Startrax so far. It will be interesting to see if there is anyone interested in promoting speedway at Odsal, and what level of support they would achieve. A couple of questions : Are the straights narrower than they were before ? What impact will the hospitality stand on the 3rd / 4th bend have on a speedway track? How far away is it from the fence and would that require the fence to be brought in a bit for speedway? There are some very big posts that support that stand Edited January 23, 2021 by Sir Sidney 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambo Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Blupanther said: Looking good... Rugby pitch looks nice, but how will it look after a wet Stox meeting? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Central Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, Gambo said: Rugby pitch looks nice, but how will it look after a wet Stox meeting? Probably the same as it did in the previous decades when both sports ran side by side. Edited January 23, 2021 by Grand Central Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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