Technik Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 Smallmead was a fantastic race track which was a credit to it's curator Doug Harris & Jeff Sealey. The size & shape of the track complemented the bikes used at that time, it might not be as exciting now as most riders use a very short stroke motor. The Stadium at it's best looked like a garden shed which was OK when it was tucked away at the end of Bennett Road over the river & onto the dirt track. It's sad to think that in the early days we had to wait to start racing as traffic would be queueing down to the Basingstoke Road & beyond. If only some of that money had been put into the up keep of the stadium. The writing was on the wall when the new by-pass was built followed by the football stadium then Kennett Island & the hotel. The Dore family sold their interest to John Posthlewhite who had very little idea of how to run the business & by the time Legg & Holloway stepped up it was only a matter of time. Even the return to the Racers name & dropping to a level that was more appriciated to the dwindling crowd. It was a blight on the landscape & the council would be easily swayed with the weight of investment from the surrounding area. Driving past now I'm not unhappy that the stadium has been destroyed, I know that I will never see racing in there again. conversely I feel sorrow every time I go past the Cowley stadium in Oxford it's still there & what would it take to get racing back on track their fan's must be depressed when they see their stadium 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 19 hours ago, a4poster said: I have just been looking at Google Earth at the old Smallmead site and you can still see the outlines of both the main track and training track - but unsure if this an updated image or not. If the site is still in place and the current financial climate regarding development post COVID has anyone explored the idea of trying to re-open at the current site. With this in mind I am only suggesting what would basically be relaying the track with a couple of portacabins for changing facilities and portable toilets. Fans facilities would be basic - but it would be a chance to get the sport back - even if even on a short-term lease and would also allow would be prospective promotors the chance to gauge the desire for a full-time return. Just and idea and no doubt someone has already thought of it but I would just throw the idea out there. We have indeed enquired about Speedway returning to Smallmead. The land has been sold and we were assured that we'll never get back in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruckerroo Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 It was a sad day when they shut smallmead, was a bit of a tip but literally bugger all has been done on the site for a decade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 6 hours ago, steve roberts said: Personally I felt that the stadium when it opened was a credit to those involved during a struggle getting the place ready (remember that the 3 day week delayed construction) but it seemed to go down hill very quickly. General upkeep and maintenance appeared to be disregarded and it showed pretty well early on during its short existance. I actually preferred Tilehurst personally. Reminded me of Cowley Stadium! Tilehurst was pretty similar to Cowley Steve, but i think Smallmead was a better race track. Tilehurst was too flat in my opinion. The Highlight of my trips to Tilehurst were the excellent pre meeting chippy, just across the road from the stadium! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piotr Pyszny Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 (edited) Last time I went to Smallmead, on a warm evening in the early Noughties, I was eaten alive by bugs - presumably from the adjacent sewage treatment plant. The place was a dump (as are most UK speedway venues) but I guess a dump is better than no speedway at all. Edited June 22, 2020 by Piotr Pyszny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 3 hours ago, cityrebel said: Tilehurst was pretty similar to Cowley Steve, but i think Smallmead was a better race track. Tilehurst was too flat in my opinion. The Highlight of my trips to Tilehurst were the excellent pre meeting chippy, just across the road from the stadium! It was a good shape modelled on Ipswich (?) if I remember but often far too slick...probably to suit Jan Andersson! I recall the first Easter Triangle in 1984 and the circuit resembled a dust bowl and was as slick as hell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 2 hours ago, steve roberts said: It was a good shape modelled on Ipswich (?) if I remember but often far too slick...probably to suit Jan Andersson! I recall the first Easter Triangle in 1984 and the circuit resembled a dust bowl and was as slick as hell When Smallmead was prepared right, it was excellent. When it was neglected, it was terrible. Attending the world cup final there in 2006 was a surreal experience. Coachloads of Poles parked in the Madjeski stadium car park, thought the meeting was being staged at the football ground! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 43 minutes ago, cityrebel said: When Smallmead was prepared right, it was excellent. When it was neglected, it was terrible. Attending the world cup final there in 2006 was a surreal experience. Coachloads of Poles parked in the Madjeski stadium car park, thought the meeting was being staged at the football ground! Yes I have plenty of memories of the "Cheetahs" turning them over on their own patch plus the fact that the "Rebels" were the first visiting team to win at Smallmead (albeit a Challenge Match) when based at Cowley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 48 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Yes I have plenty of memories of the "Cheetahs" turning them over on their own patch plus the fact that the "Rebels" were the first visiting team to win at Smallmead (albeit a Challenge Match) when based at Cowley! Not so many as i have of us winning at Cowley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, racers and royals said: Not so many as i have of us winning at Cowley Yes you blighters back in the early seventies but we got our revenge when Dag Lovaas joined us and he was the first "rebel" to defeat mighty Mich round Cowley I seem to recall. With the re-birth of the "Cheetahs", however, we more or less held our own against those "Berks" from Reading! Edited June 22, 2020 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Yes you blighters back in the early seventies but we got our revenge when Dag Lovaas joined us and he was the first "rebel" to defeat mighty Mich round Cowley I seem to recall. With the re-birth of the "Cheetahs", however, we more or less had the better of those "Berks" from Reading home and away! We called them the " cheaters " 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 1 minute ago, racers and royals said: We called them the " cheaters " Yes the Oxford "Cheaters", Reading "Berks" and the Swindon "Budgies"...what days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The H Man Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 The land was sold by the council to the owners of Green Park, which occupies the large office developments adjacent to J11 of M4. I believe the plan was to develop the land into stage 3 of the Green Park development. This never happened due to the recession of 2008 and is highly unlikely to happen anytime soon. I was waiting for someone to blame BSI for the closure, they actually ensured we had speedway 2006-2008 because at the end of 2005 the track and related speedway infrastructure would not have been able to continue in its current guise. Stadia UK acquired the lease from Pat Bliss and Martyn Dore in 2001 but failed to secure the long term future of the stadium with the council except a couple of short term extensions to an expiring lease on the pretence they would develop a new stadium on land allocated to them just a Mile up the road! Like every other Stadia UK project that failed miserably and the rest is history. So unless a multi millionaire speedway fan fancies buying the old site back from Green Park owners and convincing authorities around developing site for leisure then sport is gone forever in the town. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The H Man Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 8 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Yes the Oxford "Cheaters", Reading "Berks" and the Swindon "Budgies"...what days! The Easter 3TT were great occasions in mid 80s big crowds at all 3 venues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinny Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 I used to enjoy my trips to Reading , such a shame Reading, Exeter, Trelawny, Newport , Oxford all gone now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 4 hours ago, cityrebel said: Attending the world cup final there in 2006 was a surreal experience. You can say that again. I know there were reasons it was chosen but wtf were they thinking? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 5 hours ago, salty said: You can say that again. I know there were reasons it was chosen but wtf were they thinking? The pre meeting downpour helped make it a pretty good meeting though, compared to the awful race off a couple of days earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 Didn’t realise Reading’s last season was that long ago Went twice and my second visit was that final year. Oystercard had some very fast kit that year and was unbeaten when I went in a draw against Lynn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattK Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 Funnily enough, I was looking at the Smallmead site on Google Maps the other day. Can't for the life of me remember why. I always thought a site the other side of the M4 would be ideal, as you're away from all the Reading-side development which is always going to be more lucrative than speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted June 23, 2020 Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 15 hours ago, The H Man said: I was waiting for someone to blame BSI for the closure, they actually ensured we had speedway 2006-2008 because at the end of 2005 the track and related speedway infrastructure would not have been able to continue in its current guise. The seeds of Reading's demise were sown before BSI got involved, by the previous promoters not fulfilling terms of the lease for whatever reason. Maybe the money was just never there, but I think Reading was ultimately doomed anyway once the location and its surrounds was earmarked for re-development - inevitable in a growing Thames Corridor town. Even a long lease wouldn't have protected it, although might have been a bit of leverage for finding an alternative site and funding a new stadium. Didn't think the Rubbish Tip was too bad in the 1980s and the site had a lot of potential. I quite liked going there, but it did get rundown towards the end and the crowds seemed to be woeful much of the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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