Deano Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 5 hours ago, customhouseregularisback said: Wot! No West Ham?. Ha ha... Of course! The more the merrier... Hopefully there's decent transport links to help the masses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbuck Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 Probably the ideal option would be one of the non-league football grounds in the London area? I don't have a particular knowledge of which football clubs there are and whether any of them would be suitable - bearing in mind possible environmental issues, plus the fact that speedway tracks around football pitches haven't been outstandingly successful in the past. It's a nice thought, the old speedway stadia that used to exist in London were all far too big to have ever been able to survive into the modern era. My club Birmingham's Perry Barr Stadium could at one time accomodate over 40,000 and in the 1940's even that was often considered too small, but these days with spectator facilities only on one side, a couple of thousand would be its approximate limit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technik Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 I can't see any track opening within the M25 any time soon. The only venue I have seen that would be anywhere near suitable is an old football (Non-League) ground near to the end of the M1 where it meets the A406 north circular road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noaksey Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 6 hours ago, brianbuck said: Probably the ideal option would be one of the non-league football grounds in the London area? I don't have a particular knowledge of which football clubs there are and whether any of them would be suitable - bearing in mind possible environmental issues, plus the fact that speedway tracks around football pitches haven't been outstandingly successful in the past. It's a nice thought, the old speedway stadia that used to exist in London were all far too big to have ever been able to survive into the modern era. My club Birmingham's Perry Barr Stadium could at one time accomodate over 40,000 and in the 1940's even that was often considered too small, but these days with spectator facilities only on one side, a couple of thousand would be its approximate limit. Certainly the prospective new Lakeside Hammers promoters have looked at a few non league football grounds in the Thurrock/Essex area without success. Most traditional grounds are in residential areas, best bet would be one of the new "out of town" grounds like Truro City's new one (on a park and ride site no houses nearby that I could see) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noaksey Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 20 minutes ago, Technik said: I can't see any track opening within the M25 any time soon. The only venue I have seen that would be anywhere near suitable is an old football (Non-League) ground near to the end of the M1 where it meets the A406 north circular road Hendon's old ground is around there somewhere I think, demolished in 2006 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Downes Posted September 9 Report Share Posted September 9 Any chance of getting a track in at Canada Heights, the Moto X centre near Swanley. Been many years since I've been there but it looks like there's plenty of room there and the locals are used to the bike noise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technik Posted September 9 Report Share Posted September 9 23 hours ago, noaksey said: Hendon's old ground is around there somewhere I think, demolished in 2006 I think your correct in that was Hendon's ground. But last time I passed it there was still stands. Not in the best condition I'll confess but it was still standing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 On 9/8/2024 at 7:39 PM, noaksey said: Hendon's old ground is around there somewhere I think, demolished in 2006 Correct, now a small housing estate backing onto playing fields. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secsy1 Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 Could this be a possibility Leyton FC: The story of an extinct club that strangely still exists — Charlie Gilbert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Ore Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 16 hours ago, Technik said: I think your correct in that was Hendon's ground. But last time I passed it there was still stands. Not in the best condition I'll confess but it was still standing. The ground was finally knocked down in 2014, although demolition started around 2 years before that and housing is now on the site. We had a hate hate relationship with them, which is being generous, but still sad to see it go. Even ignoring noise issues the whole stadium would have needed to be knocked down to fit a track around the pitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Ore Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 1 hour ago, secsy1 said: Could this be a possibility Leyton FC: The story of an extinct club that strangely still exists — Charlie Gilbert Well before my time but it is within spitting distance of where Lea Bridge speedway was. I'm a member of the group trying to reopen it for football. We have approached Beckham and Redknapp as former locals for support. Totally surrounded by housing and too small to fit in even a Costa Mesa track but a good call. Parking is a real bummer too. The Hare and Hounds pub next door, after which the ground was named used to have the most enormous and quality portions so loved games there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralMelchett Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 On 9/6/2024 at 6:42 PM, Chadster said: Sadly, I can't see it happening. When the Dons were booted out of Plough Lane they looked long and hard for some land on which to build a track but to no avail and I would imagine the situation would be worse now. Another consideration is that if we accept that speedway is traditionally a white, working-class sport, then the demographic changes in London (and many other cities) would suggest that the target audience is either no longer there or would be vastly reduced. Completely agree with this, sadly the old Arena-Essex site continues to just lie empty / unused! But I feel thats gone forever now in London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roundthebend Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 3 hours ago, GeneralMelchett said: Completely agree with this, sadly the old Arena-Essex site continues to just lie empty / unused! But I feel thats gone forever now in London. Such a shame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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