Swindon Robins 2020

[racers and royals]

On 2/7/2021 at 6:53 PM, GWC said:

Major league racing exists in 3 other countries, Poland Sweden and Denmark. In all these countries their stadiums are used purely for speedway which in the U.K. is a luxury the majority of owners can’t afford.

The number of dog tracks used for speedway has rapidly declined as they have been redeveloped most were built in City centres and are prime-redevelopment sites. The remaining are in such poor condition with outdated facilities people are starting to vote with their feet.

There will be a time when dogs will be gone but speedway, as we currently know it will also be gone sadly.

You cannot say that every greyhound stadium  is in  " poor condition " to name 5 Romford,  Brighton, Nottingham, Sittingbourne and Perry Barr are well maintained facilities and i`m sure there are others as well.

Edited April 5, 2021 by racers and royals

[Racin Jason 72]

9 minutes ago, GAH said:

and none of the accomodate speedway 

Perry Barr is the home of Birmingham speedway and sittingbourne is Kent kings

Edited April 5, 2021 by Racin Jason 72

[mikebv]

10 hours ago, racers and royals said:

You cannot say that every greyhound stadium  is in  " poor condition " to name 5 Romford,  Brighton, Nottingham, Sittingbourne and Perry Barr are well maintained facilities and i`m sure there are others as well.

I dont think the threat is the standard of the stadiums...

It's that they have an ever dwindling customer base and are now in many instances only running due to the money the internet betting can bring..

Add in the ever growing animal welfare pressure and the fact so many could return "millions" if sold due to their locations, and you can't see too much of a bright future for dog tracks..

Which, unless Speedway clubs who rent off them do something different, their future too will be similarly impacted..

You won't get too many NSS's being built maybe but I am sure a 'Somerset', 'Scunthorpe', or even a 'Buxton' could be built in many areas and then get upgraded over the years..

The sport has an ultra loyal fan base who are pretty much the only ones who now still attend with any level of regularity, therefore a move to somewhere in the same vicinity wouldnt prevent most of them attending I would think, and 700 or so punters whereby you keep all the income must be a thousand times better than getting the same amount and not getting car park money, bar take and having to pay rent...

Edited April 6, 2021 by mikebv

[noaksey]

2 hours ago, mikebv said:

I dont think the threat is the standard of the stadiums...

It's that they have an ever dwindling customer base and are now in many instances only running due to the money the internet betting can bring..

Add in the ever growing animal welfare pressure and the fact so many could return "millions" if sold due to their locations, and you can't see too much of a bright future for dog tracks..

Which, unless Speedway clubs who rent off them do something different, their future too will be similarly impacted..

You won't get too many NSS's being built maybe but I am sure a 'Somerset', 'Scunthorpe', or even a 'Buxton' could be built in many areas and then get upgraded over the years..

The sport has an ultra loyal fan base who are pretty much the only ones who now still attend with any level of regularity, therefore a move to somewhere in the same vicinity wouldnt prevent most of them attending I would think, and 700 or so punters whereby you keep all the income must be a thousand times better than getting the same amount and not getting car park money, bar take and having to pay rent...

How much for a bog standard set up to get things off the ground, permiter fence, track/air fence, track surface, electrics, toilets. 

£300k? More?

Plus potentially the cost of the land unless you could rent it.

Not insignificant costs, are there people in or interested enough in speedway to shell out this type of capital? 

 

[John Scrutton]

The N.N.N.S.  was built because the council and the M.P. was all for it (i think I'm right)  this is not the case in most other Towns/cities. 

[mikebv]

45 minutes ago, noaksey said:

How much for a bog standard set up to get things off the ground, permiter fence, track/air fence, track surface, electrics, toilets. 

£300k? More?

Plus potentially the cost of the land unless you could rent it.

Not insignificant costs, are there people in or interested enough in speedway to shell out this type of capital? 

 

I suppose it's the trade off of paying out say £3000 a night in rental 20 times a year, at least, for the rest of your life...

And getting zero money from car parks, bars and restaurants for the whole of that time too...

If £300k start up then that's around just five years rent for some..

We have got several examples of "rustic" Speedway tracks that have been developed over the years, particularly ones that "get the track shape right" from the outset which delivers great racing..

The NSS was hugely fortunate to exist and Messrs Gordon and Morton deserve every plaudit they got for it, as without it, there probably wouldnt be an Aces now, as their old track will soon be a housing estate..

A "Buxton" however cannot be beyond the realms of possibility in most places...

 

[noaksey]

3 hours ago, mikebv said:

I suppose it's the trade off of paying out say £3000 a night in rental 20 times a year, at least, for the rest of your life...

And getting zero money from car parks, bars and restaurants for the whole of that time too...

If £300k start up then that's around just five years rent for some..

We have got several examples of "rustic" Speedway tracks that have been developed over the years, particularly ones that "get the track shape right" from the outset which delivers great racing..

The NSS was hugely fortunate to exist and Messrs Gordon and Morton deserve every plaudit they got for it, as without it, there probably wouldnt be an Aces now, as their old track will soon be a housing estate..

A "Buxton" however cannot be beyond the realms of possibility in most places...

 

Yes very much so. Keeping a keen eye on Northside for a possible Workington come back.

 

[GWC]

It needs the foresight and passion plus cash and then a sympathetic council. We now have some terrific Speedway venues that have shown the way forward in the U.K. 

 

[ch958]

I was at Somerset's second ever meeting. It was basic but the track was fab and I believe its now a bit better kitted out.

[JessicaJones]

On 4/4/2021 at 4:17 PM, racers and royals said:

I wouldn`t worry too much about Jessica Jones and her ilk- they want to ban Horse racing, ferret racing etc etc.

That's correct - anything involving animal cruelty has no place in our society.  And it's a shame that some people want to continue to rely on it to fund their sport/hobby rather than finding more ethical ways of keeping their sport going.

[JessicaJones]

On 4/4/2021 at 4:03 PM, George Dodds said:

I'm intrigued. Under your scheme who owned the stadium and what were the financially viable alternatives?  

There are several options that the council could consider.  I also spoke to the philanthropist who wanted to develop Swindon town centre and he had some ideas too which he was going to put forward to the council.  However, the council didn't seem to want to consider any of them.  

There are standalone speedway tracks here and there are many other uses of a speedway track that could be used to subsidise speedway.  Gaming International have reported a loss in their last set of accounts for 2018 and 2019 so I can't see that greyhound racing as a spectator sport has a future at Swindon.  And to rely on that to subsidise speedway is very short sighted.  Far better to propose alternative uses for the stadium that are more financially viable.

The stadium itself is in a terrible state and it's hard to believe that GI Ltd are going to come good on their promise to redevelop it, especially as they are a loss making company and greyhound racing is in decline in the UK.    

The idea of having a standalone speedway site away from the houses seems like a good one if the fans could raise the money and find a site.

On Facebook, whenever the track is mentioned on local community groups, speedway fans seem to think that it's the speedway that residents object to.  Most residents that have been in touch with us say they don't mind the noise of the speedway and they bought knowing they would have to live with that noise.  It's the noise of the dogs crying during the day as they are kennelled at the back of the stadium that has distressed some local residents and caused them to object, especially now people are working at home during the day. 

Edited April 20, 2021 by JessicaJones

[Racin Jason 72]

No speedway club profits from greyhound racing. While some share the stadium the greyhound stadiums are all owned by council or greyhound companies 

not one speedway owned stadium allows greyhound racing in their stadium. 
I understand your position but speedway promotions are not responsible in this situation.  Although I can see why the two sports seem connected. 
good luck to you 

[IronScorpion]

On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2021 at 12:54 PM, JessicaJones said:

There are several options that the council could consider.  I also spoke to the philanthropist who wanted to develop Swindon town centre and he had some ideas too which he was going to put forward to the council.  However, the council didn't seem to want to consider any of them.  

There are standalone speedway tracks here and there are many other uses of a speedway track that could be used to subsidise speedway.  Gaming International have reported a loss in their last set of accounts for 2018 and 2019 so I can't see that greyhound racing as a spectator sport has a future at Swindon.  And to rely on that to subsidise speedway is very short sighted.  Far better to propose alternative uses for the stadium that are more financially viable.

The stadium itself is in a terrible state and it's hard to believe that GI Ltd are going to come good on their promise to redevelop it, especially as they are a loss making company and greyhound racing is in decline in the UK.    

The idea of having a standalone speedway site away from the houses seems like a good one if the fans could raise the money and find a site.

On Facebook, whenever the track is mentioned on local community groups, speedway fans seem to think that it's the speedway that residents object to.  Most residents that have been in touch with us say they don't mind the noise of the speedway and they bought knowing they would have to live with that noise.  It's the noise of the dogs crying during the day as they are kennelled at the back of the stadium that has distressed some local residents and caused them to object, especially now people are working at home during the day. 

Isn't this a condition for GI Ltd to sort out which is always overlooked. I have read that they are supposed to make the site safe or find another suitable venue & replace to a certain standard before a sports team leaves its home. GI Ltd seem to get away with murder as building work always is evident before any of the prior mentioned is sorted & the councils should block this. Torquay FC is always mentioned as an example of GI Ltd's work (or lack of it).

[SteveLyric2]

Govt housing targets always affect local council decisions. (The occasional brown envelope also helps too!)

[cityrebel]

I see that Lee Kilby is now co promoter at Eastbourne.

[SSL84]

13 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

for this year

True for this year and beyond.  

[BuxtonTiger]

So it's about time Swindon, Somerset and Poole stop messing about and say we are History.

[JessicaJones]

On 4/20/2021 at 1:22 PM, Racin Jason 72 said:

No speedway club profits from greyhound racing. While some share the stadium the greyhound stadiums are all owned by council or greyhound companies 

not one speedway owned stadium allows greyhound racing in their stadium. 
I understand your position but speedway promotions are not responsible in this situation.  Although I can see why the two sports seem connected. 
good luck to you 

Thanks @Racin Jason 72 - that's good to hear.

My comment was aimed at those who continually tell us that, without greyhound racing, the track at Swindon wouldn't be able to function and therefore the speedway would disappear.  I find that stance disappointing.  But good to hear that not one speedway owned stadium allows greyhound racing.  I thought that was the case but good to have it confirmed.

[Ovalman]

On 4/26/2021 at 6:47 PM, BuxtonTiger said:

So it's about time Swindon, Somerset and Poole stop messing about and say we are History.

Disappointed that none of these top west country sides aren't in Premiership, much poorer without this trio of trophy winners.

[Racin Jason 72]

56 minutes ago, JessicaJones said:

Thanks @Racin Jason 72 - that's good to hear.

My comment was aimed at those who continually tell us that, without greyhound racing, the track at Swindon wouldn't be able to function and therefore the speedway would disappear.  I find that stance disappointing.  But good to hear that not one speedway owned stadium allows greyhound racing.  I thought that was the case but good to have it confirmed.

No problem.  I wish you luck in your campaign