workington ..

[mikebv]

2 hours ago, *JJ said:

"The best"? Workington were in the second division.  Anyway, I can assure you that when Birmingham went into the NL in 2015, the racing was excellent, and served as a springboard to return to professional racing. Anyone who refuses to watch NL racing is merely cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Some of the very best racing I have seen at the NSS has been delivered by the NL lads..

The days of 'wobblers' and 'all fall downers' are long gone...

And a very reasonable admission price point too..

[ch958]

one or maybe 2 double downers, everyone else would have to go semi pro. Even in the days of 3/4000 at Cleveland Park in the 2nd Div the riders had jobs. 

[25yearfan]

If Workington had regular viable crowds in its last years of operation they wouldn't of closed and would still be operating out of Derwent Park! - The old adage of use it or lose it certainly applies in this instance.

 

I remember in the 80's right through to 2002 King's Lynn speedway struggled along year after year in the top flight with supporters saying it was top flight or nothing. I think the King's Lynn owners wanted to drop down into the old National League as early as 1986 but supporters always had the attitude of not wanting it so managed to convince the promotion to not do it. - Fast forward to 2003, after another poor struggling top flight campaign in 2002 King's Lynn finally bit the bullet and dropped down which was a blessing in disguise as the move revitalised the club and eventually led to the club returning to the top flight! - Nearby Ipswich have also had a new lease of life after dropping down a couple of times and then eventually returning to the top flight!

 

Top flight racing isn't the be all and end all. Us in East Anglia know that very well cause more often than not NL fare at West Row on a Sunday afternoon is better value than top flight racing at nearby Ipswich and King's Lynn!

Anyway my original team in speedway Norwich Stars have been absent now since 1964, a whopping 56 years and counting. I think 3rd Division speedway in Norwich would be welcomed with open arms!

[Mr Ore]

7 hours ago, geoff100 said:

 The council have plans to put a caravan park down northside for our friends who don't like paying taxes or clearing up after themselves 

The current Cabinet? 

[geoff100]

1 hour ago, 25yearfan said:

If Workington had regular viable crowds in its last years of operation they wouldn't of closed and would still be operating out of Derwent Park! - The old adage of use it or lose it certainly 

After laura pulled out no one else got a chance to use derwent park the rugby pulled up the track so the reds could play sunday league football , a track that had been in place since 1970, i was allways sure someone would have taken it on 

[RobMcCaffery]

Sadly too typical. There's a chance, against all odds for Workington to come back and all most of the BSF can do is try to prove it won't happen. Then as icing on the foul cake start speculating negatively about the 2021 season over six months before that season starts.

I've lost my team twice, at Rayleigh at Rye House. Idf someone came up with a plan for a new home my only thought would be "How can I help", not "How can I put everybody off".

Shameful. 

 

[orion]

21 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Sadly too typical. There's a chance, against all odds for Workington to come back and all most of the BSF can do is try to prove it won't happen. Then as icing on the foul cake start speculating negatively about the 2021 season over six months before that season starts.

I've lost my team twice, at Rayleigh at Rye House. Idf someone came up with a plan for a new home my only thought would be "How can I help", not "How can I put everybody off".

Shameful. 

 

Its called being realistic ...nothing shameful about that at all

[geoff100]

43 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Sadly too typical. There's a chance, against all odds for Workington to come back and all most of the BSF can do is try to prove it won't happen. Then as icing on the foul cake start speculating negatively about the 2021 season over six months before that season starts.

I've lost my team twice, at Rayleigh at Rye House. Idf someone came up with a plan for a new home my only thought would be "How can I help", not "How can I put everybody off".

Shameful. 

 

"Shameful" your way off the mark this time as others are saying being realistic and i cant see any posts on this comets forum against 2021.their is alot to do at northside to create a track and spectator facilities , i and am sure lots will be more than willing to " get stuck in".

[Ben91]

9 hours ago, HGould said:

I'll make a prediction now.

Half the current Championship will be looking very closely at NDL for next season if there is no guarantee 2021 starts on time.

I would think likes of Berwick, Birmingham, Eastbourne; Kent; Newcastle and Redcar might consider NDL as better than nothing at all in those circumstances.

Sit out a year in 2021 in NDL to keep their ships afloat.

NDL could save many Clubs

 

 

Alternatively the sport as a whole could accept it can only sustain being amateur/semi-professional anyway and then the top two leagues can carry on with their current teams. 

[25yearfan]

6 hours ago, geoff100 said:

After laura pulled out no one else got a chance to use derwent park the rugby pulled up the track so the reds could play sunday league football , a track that had been in place since 1970, i was allways sure someone would have taken it on 

On the contrary, Laura Morgan made it public that running Workington speedway was a loss making exercise during the last title winning season and after winning the League was very non committal about running which was proved when speedway didn't run at Derwent Park in 2019.

 

If anyone wanted to take on Workington speedway at Derwent Park and were serious about it, things would of happened during the last 2018 season or even in the 2018/19 winter to ensure the clubs survival. I'm sure any would be saviour was put of by the debts Laura Morgan accrued.

 

The current plans to build a new Workington speedway track on the Northside training track sound promising and look to offer the only realistic way that League speedway will return to the area. The fact that the would be speedway promotion would also own the site (after building it themselves) and subsequently have the rights to the all income streams attached would make the chances of the venue being financially viable much more likely.

A Somerset/Redcar/Scunthorpe like set up at Northside that could develop over time while in operation could work I reckon. Heres hoping we see the Workington Comets back in League speedway soon!

Edited August 2, 2020 by 25yearfan

[Gunner85]

good luck in getting a new track.

most Workington fans would e delighted even if it is NDL

[tyretrax]

25yearfan don't think the new track would be built on the training track site, not enough room.

[ch958]

i believe the report said turn left as you go into the site and that the training track would be retained

 

[brianbuck]

20 hours ago, 25yearfan said:

Anyway my original team in speedway Norwich Stars have been absent now since 1964, a whopping 56 years and counting. I think 3rd Division speedway in Norwich would be welcomed with open arms!

I've always wondered why the people trying to set up a "new" Norwich Speedway at Hevingham in (I think 1967), didn't persevere? I know they fell foul of authority by running a trial meeting without a licence, but although the place was pretty basic, the crowd was quite decent (the meeting WAS staged in December) and the half-built venue did look to have promise. I'm not local to the area, but I do believe that the site is still there and the outline of the track is still visible.

Perhaps our Norwich friend can enlighten me?

Very best wishes by the way, to the people trying to get Workington up and running again. I hope Workington people will back them regardless of which league the club joins.

Edited August 3, 2020 by brianbuck

[gazzac]

On 8/2/2020 at 9:55 AM, *JJ said:

"The best"? Workington were in the second division.  Anyway, I can assure you that when Birmingham went into the NL in 2015, the racing was excellent, and served as a springboard to return to professional racing. Anyone who refuses to watch NL racing is merely cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Exactly the same at Eastbourne as Richard touched on, plus such good meetings between the 2 clubs at that level.

Edited August 3, 2020 by gazzac

[cityrebel]

6 hours ago, brianbuck said:

I've always wondered why the people trying to set up a "new" Norwich Speedway at Hevingham in (I think 1967), didn't persevere? I know they fell foul of authority by running a trial meeting without a licence, but although the place was pretty basic, the crowd was quite decent (the meeting WAS staged in December) and the half-built venue did look to have promise. I'm not local to the area, but I do believe that the site is still there and the outline of the track is still visible.

Perhaps our Norwich friend can enlighten me?

Very best wishes by the way, to the people trying to get Workington up and running again. I hope Workington people will back them regardless of which league the club joins.

1976 Brian.

[25yearfan]

9 hours ago, brianbuck said:

I've always wondered why the people trying to set up a "new" Norwich Speedway at Hevingham in (I think 1967), didn't persevere? I know they fell foul of authority by running a trial meeting without a licence, but although the place was pretty basic, the crowd was quite decent (the meeting WAS staged in December) and the half-built venue did look to have promise. I'm not local to the area, but I do believe that the site is still there and the outline of the track is still visible.

Perhaps our Norwich friend can enlighten me?

Very best wishes by the way, to the people trying to get Workington up and running again. I hope Workington people will back them regardless of which league the club joins.

The great Brian Buck,  Mr Birmingham speedway! I've always read your almost exclusively spot on views with much interest and followed your long campaign to get back speedway back to Birmingham from the 1986 Bordesley Green closure time. Thankfully the Brummies are well entrenched back at their spiritual home, Perry Bar! - Has the Wheels site shut for good now?

 

Cyril Crane and Martin Rogers with a lot of help from the then very strong Norwich speedway supporters club got land behind the Marsham Arms in Hevingham and ran a Black licence meeting using junior riders + David Crane without the consent of the speedway control board in early December 1976 on a very cold day as I recall. The crowd was quoted as over 2000 which wasn't bad considering the time of the year, next to no facilities and the riders were mostly under 16.

 

Cyril eventually got fined by the speedway control board for staging an unlicensed meeting, I recall legendary Ipswich promotor John Berry being a loud critic of the meeting. Although the local Council had allowed a small number of practices and meetings to take place on a trial basis before a hoped for future full planning application, they later became very anti speedway at the site no doubt finding Cyrils rebellious stance against the control board unappealing. I think eventually the Council used the dodgy blind entrance (if coming from North of the venue, most fans from the City would of entered the venue from the South!) as the main reason for not allowing it to become a permanent venue for speedway.

 

Shame cause I think the venue had potential, the issues with the entrance could have been overcome if the Council had really wanted to with signage, a 30 MPH zone and maybe traffic lights on racenights. Cyril intended to run in the old National League in 1977 and at the time I'd imagine it would have been well supported. Its possible that eventually facilities would have been built up over time like a grandstand and concrete terracing, the Norwich team running out of there would of moved up into the British League and it would still be running up to present times.  - I still maintain that a Norwich speedway track could run even in modern times without adversely affecting the attendances at nearby Ipswich, Mildenhall and King's Lynn cause many Norwich locals who didn't go to speedway would be enticed to become regulars. Not sure with King's Lynn already called the Stars, what the new Norwich team would have been called? - I suspect John Berrys opposition to the unlicensed meeting had much to do with him being worried about losing some of his crowd to the new track.

The land is still unused to this day and is not near to any housing apart from the adjacent Marsham Arms pub. Today I still think this would make a good venue for a Norwich speedway stadium.

 

Back to Workington. As Brian Buck would testify, 3rd Division speedway was the saviour of Birmingham speedway and has led to the club returning to the 2nd tier. So 3rd tier racing at Northside would be better than no speedway and is a good starting point. 

 

Hopefully the plans on the Northside venue bear fruit and Workington Comets return to League racing. Ironically while I've never been to Northside I'd imagine it wouldn't be to much different to what Hevingham was all them years ago!   

Edited August 3, 2020 by 25yearfan

[Tsunami]

On 8/3/2020 at 12:24 PM, tyretrax said:

25yearfan don't think the new track would be built on the training track site, not enough room.

The existing track would still be the training track. The new track would be build on the flat area of the lefthand side of that track. I have been told the council Is well up for this new development as this new area is a dumping ground for torched cars, and the council think the new development ticks a lot boxes regarding social problems. The hardcore and shale is currently on the site from Derwent Park, and a very local rider has had a drone up to design the new track, which I am told it will be based on the shape and characteristics of the new NSS.   Everything is in place, with some very good people involved, including the owner of the training track and the other area, which is a great contribution. Only thing to resolve is to attract a promoter to help the project on when it gets the go ahead. Here's hoping. 

[Fromafar]

1 hour ago, Tsunami said:

The existing track would still be the training track. The new track would be build on the flat area of the lefthand side of that track. I have been told the council Is well up for this new development as this new area is a dumping ground for torched cars, and the council think the new development ticks a lot boxes regarding social problems. The hardcore and shale is currently on the site from Derwent Park, and a very local rider has had a drone up to design the new track, which I am told it will be based on the shape and characteristics of the new NSS.   Everything is in place, with some very good people involved, including the owner of the training track and the other area, which is a great contribution. Only thing to resolve is to attract a promoter to help the project on when it gets the go ahead. Here's hoping. 

Sounds good ,hope it goes well for them.

[Neila]

On 8/2/2020 at 9:27 AM, geoff100 said:

 The council have plans to put a carvan park down northside for our friends who dont like paying taxes or clearing up after themselves " cant say gypsies these days i have a sore knee" so could be a prob, would love to see something like "redcar" only thing bothers me is national league racing after being used to the best.

Geoff100 did you hear about the Harrington caravaners ? The ones that are left have gone abroad somewhere and left some east European caravaners looking after things till they get back !! Then will claim they have to stay put as in quarantine for 14 days