Kent kings are no more ??

[blueherb777]

Confirmed on Website no Championship speedway at CP.

So no Speedway left in South East....and very little left elsewhere!!!!

[old bob at herne bay]

Expect Mullford to concentrate on Grastrack … seems to be where his interests lie …..

Everyone mentions Eastbourne as an option but not racing in league until 2023 according to Trev Gear. ….and  Oxford still haven’t achieved membership of the secret society . 
 

[Jimsboy]

31 minutes ago, blueherb777 said:

Confirmed on Website no Championship speedway at CP.

So no Speedway left in South East....and very little left elsewhere!!!!

Premiership then ?

[FromBendThree]

2 minutes ago, Jimsboy said:

Premiership then ?

Seems unlikely from the Kent statement but it is not 100pc clear, to be fair.

[Jimsboy]

1 minute ago, FromBendThree said:

Seems unlikely from the Kent statement but it is not 100pc clear, to be fair.

Friend who goes to Kent every week says Terry Russell been a regular there. Maybe here move his Swindon setup into Central Park. And that where Doyley is coming back and racing in the UK 

[flipper11]

There is another statement on the Kent website that clears a few things up. 

Len originally wanted to go Premier league but it created too many problems so decided CL was the limit, the biggest problem is the curfew of finishing racing by 8.30, so I doubt PL will ever be at CP. 

 

[old bob at herne bay]

If ARC don’t/can’t guarantee use of the stadium for speedway … it’s a dead duck. 
 

IMO, don’t think Len would have retired if he thought there was a realistic chance of an amicable agreement with ARC. This must have been going on for a while now behind the scenes. 

[SteveLyric2]

The Kent situation seems pretty clear from the latest statement - the stadium 'sale' documentation between ARC and Cearns should have included that speedway would continue under the new stadium ownership!  This appears not to have been the case and ARC are now spreading the rumour that the local Council 'do not want speedway there' -despite no complaints or evidence of contravening any planning consent.  

Hence no speedway in 2022, but......................??

Edited November 9, 2021 by Skidder1

[Gambo]

22 minutes ago, Skidder1 said:

The Kent situation seems pretty clear from the latest statement - the stadium 'sale' documentation between ARC and Cearns should have included that speedway would continue under the new stadium ownership!  This appears not to have been the case and ARC are now spreading the rumour that the local Council 'do not want speedway there' -despite no complaints or evidence of contravening any planning consent.  

Hence no speedway in 2022, but......................??

Amazing how stadium/land owners are allowed to get away with blatant lies untruths!  

Just the same as the current Coventry situation!

[lbw]

I hope Kent, or any other club come to that, isn't lost to the sport. I haven't actually been to Central Park but was looking forward to visiting asap as it looks like a fantastic venue. 

Wish everyone at Kent all the best in keeping the club alive as I only know too well what it's like to lose your local track as I live in Long Eaton.

[cityrebel]

18 minutes ago, PirateShip said:

I hope Kent, or any other club come to that, isn't lost to the sport. I haven't actually been to Central Park but was looking forward to visiting asap as it looks like a fantastic venue. 

Wish everyone at Kent all the best in keeping the club alive as I only know too well what it's like to lose your local track as I live in Long Eaton.

You missed a cracker there against Poole this season. It was one of the best meetings I've seen at Central Park.

[lbw]

2 hours ago, cityrebel said:

You missed a cracker there against Poole this season. It was one of the best meetings I've seen at Central Park.

Was thinking of going but was too soon after lifting of covid restrictions if I remember rightly.

But great to hear that it was a cracking meeting, 

Let's hope it won't be too long before Kent get back on track as I'll be visiting even if they're in a different league to Poole.

[ruckerroo]

Arc are a one way street

[heathen52]

Makes me worry about Birmingham and Newcastle both having the same Landlords, and both having struggled to get through the 2021 season.

[cityrebel]

1 hour ago, heathen52 said:

Makes me worry about Birmingham and Newcastle both having the same Landlords, and both having struggled to get through the 2021 season.

Newcastle is under threat from redevelopment. ARC only lease Perry Barr. Who knows what the long term future is at either stadium.

[teaboy279]

Still in shock to be honest, the amount of people who are totally devastated and don't really know where to turn is heartbreaking. So many good friends really struggling with this bolt out of the blue.  

[Jimsboy]

6 hours ago, teaboy279 said:

Still in shock to be honest, the amount of people who are totally devastated and don't really know where to turn is heartbreaking. So many good friends really struggling with this bolt out of the blue.  

It be ok @teaboy279 we are in the same position at Arlington but have a little bit of hope with open Meetings in 2022 by the new committee being formed and looking to return  to league racing in 2023.

Was  a shock to us when our season was pulled in August but not as big a shock realising our Director now wants to be known as Carol and wanted to rob all us fans.

I was looking forward to some Tuesday nights up at Central Park in 2022 and still believe something will still happen there.

I heard from a mate yesterday AGM is now been put back 3 weeks. Maybe thats to allow more time for clubs like Kent to come to tapes in 2022.

[Hawk127]

ARC do not seem to mention the ownership of

Kent on the website but do mention Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in terms of dog racing. Do we have another stadium landlord who is anti speedway?

However from an impartial business perspective, it would not take a rocket scientist to work/find out that speedway is on its knees and with  the deteriorating level of support for a dying sport added to which we have seen examples of clubs experiencing financial difficulties mid season, why would any landlord entertain the idea of hiring your stadium with the chances being that you might not get the revenue you want to make it worthwhile as the speedway club folds because financially the owners of club work on wafer thin margins with a business model which is flawed and has so many risks and rarely makes financial sense. The fact is that turnstile money is nowhere near enough to keep a club afloat, hence the club relies on third parties (sponsors etc) whose financial condition the stadium owners would need to assess, be fully understood in order to give them an idea of the financial risks they are taking on with the club. Given the foregoing why let speedway or for that matter any other sport that operates a similar business model, through the door.

Len has not only a knowledgeable and wonderful servant/advocate to speedway, he is an astute businessman and if he has finally walked away, then the writing is well and truly on the wall and those in charge of the sport in this country need to act decisively to protect the remnants.

[cityrebel]

2 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

ARC do not seem to mention the ownership of

Kent on the website but do mention Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in terms of dog racing. Do we have another stadium landlord who is anti speedway?

However from an impartial business perspective, it would not take a rocket scientist to work/find out that speedway is on its knees and with  the deteriorating level of support for a dying sport added to which we have seen examples of clubs experiencing financial difficulties mid season, why would any landlord entertain the idea of hiring your stadium with the chances being that you might not get the revenue you want to make it worthwhile as the speedway club folds because financially the owners of club work on wafer thin margins with a business model which is flawed and has so many risks and rarely makes financial sense. The fact is that turnstile money is nowhere near enough to keep a club afloat, hence the club relies on third parties (sponsors etc) whose financial condition the stadium owners would need to assess, be fully understood in order to give them an idea of the financial risks they are taking on with the club. Given the foregoing why let speedway or for that matter any other sport that operates a similar business model, through the door.

Len has not only a knowledgeable and wonderful servant/advocate to speedway, he is an astute businessman and if he has finally walked away, then the writing is well and truly on the wall and those in charge of the sport in this country need to act decisively to protect the remnants.

That's why I'm flabbergasted by the Oxford revival!

[Hawk127]

21 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

That's why I'm flabbergasted by the Oxford revival!

Totally agree. The only thought has to be that with Swindon unlikely to return, Somerset gone forever, Reading never to return, Weymouth having no chance of  happening and Poole seemingly living on borrowed time, that just leaves Plymouth as the last outpost down west. With little chance of revivals elsewhere in that part of the country, Oxford does seem to be an overly optimistic opportunity for someone with more money than sense to perhaps try and turn a ten year lease into a profitable business proposition by putting on speedway alongside some other motorsport and perhaps greyhound racing.. Unfortunately I cannot see that enough fans or riders exist to make Speedway pay at another track unless it is at an amateur level and riders  pay to participate. T V money will not filter down assuming that the broadcaster is happy to relay a sport with so few teams in the top tier of what would be a minor league sport/competition.The best Speedway UK can do is reinvent itself and stop pretending that it can compete as a team sport on the world stage.