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Speedway at Ashton Gate....

spudski

By spudski
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spudski

spudski

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51 minutes ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

The dangers of talking to people ITK in the pub i'm afraid, can anybody actually believe that the wonderful Bristol council and it's wonderful mayor Herr Red Pants, would agree to this in a million years in a residential area.

kinnel mate...no offence...but why don't people read the thread properly? This is never going to happen...this as said, was before AV was even thought of and when the club first proposed rebuilding AG...early 2000's?

And it wasn't some bloke in the pub...he was actually part of the consortium...a businessman.

Dig around on the net and you can actually find mention of it to back it up.

Would provide a link, but using a damn phone which doesn't like this forum I'm afraid.

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Major Isewater

Major Isewater

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19 minutes ago, spudski said:

kinnel mate...no offence...but why don't people read the thread properly? This is never going to happen...this as said, was before AV was even thought of and when the club first proposed rebuilding AG...early 2000's?

And it wasn't some bloke in the pub...he was actually part of the consortium...a businessman.

Dig around on the net and you can actually find mention of it to back it up.

Would provide a link, but using a damn phone which doesn't like this forum I'm afraid.

Spudski you are a real treat on this forum , you're like a dog with a bone and you are n't going to let anyone take it from you .  :clap:

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Frenchay Red

Frenchay Red

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All seems a bit unlikely and somewhat fanciful to me. I worked with someone who was very driven about getting speedway going again in Bristol, around the time being referred to, and got no joy at all with the City council who were not remotely interested. He was and is a City fan so I have no doubt he would have let me know if such a proposal to use a redeveloped Ashton Gate was even a remote possibility.

I was his boss at the time and I suspect that he spent too much time on his speedway activities rather than on his work ones!

Fair play to him though, he didn't give up and despite getting no interest from BCC, he went on to form the Somerset Rebels.

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22A

22A

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32 minutes ago, Frenchay Red said:

Fair play to him though, he didn't give up and despite getting no interest from BCC, he went on to form the Somerset Rebels.

I reckon though that Somerset Rebels may in time, become part of Bristol Sport. A few years ago Jason Crump (son of Phil Crump) was World Champion. In an interview on Sky TV he said "I have my Dad's Bristol Bulldogs chest cover. If they could get speedway back in Bristol, I'd be glad to and ride for them".

Going back to the Eastville days, was the "official" reason given for the closure being that the locals complained of the noise? The same locals who had the M32 between them and the two hours a week of speedway.

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RedLionLad

RedLionLad

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2 hours ago, beaverface said:

I guess it all boils down to cost doesn't it?

I mean, at the BIG stadiums such as Wembley and Millennium, don't they import hundreds of tonnes of dirt to make bigfoot truck racing and motor x tracks whilst still protecting the pitch?

The Millennium pitch (as fas as i am aware) is fully removable as it's on pallets.....a bit like thick carpet tiles. Underneath is a flat concrete floor.

Not sure about Wembley being the same.

EDIT: The pallet system was done away with last year.

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Mortis

Mortis

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Hi - Mortis here - Preston fan

 

Bobbed onto the site as I do from time to time to find this wonderful topic about a sport very close to my heart - adore Speedway and attend the GP at Cardiff every year and at Somerset the night before ( as somebody posted superb track bettered only IMO by S****horpe in the UK ) , been lucky enough to see Speedway at Torun , Stockholm and Vojens in the last few years but never saw the Bulldogs race ( Geek alert - I collect Speedway Badges as a hobby and have over 30 from Bristol - one arriving today ! ) .... I know from the Speedway forums there is still a passion for the sport in Bristol and me being a Belle Vue fan cannot wait for the opening of the New Stadium with the Peter Craven Memorial in March which I cannot wait to attend and the news today that the SWC will be held at Manchester next year for the first time in the UK for over a year - can only be good news for this minority sport ..

On a separate note entirely , watch most of the Championship games on tele , and have to say v Notts F and Cardiff - not a sniff you will go down this season .... thought you where the better side by a country mile v Cardiff ( who I thought where really poor at our place as well ) , we are solid to say the least - 6 clean sheets on the spin in any league is impressive although its not the most exciting to watch - 4th bottom for us will do this season and build for next year - 7 / 8 sides in my opinion for the bottom three but cannot see much beyond Bolton , Rotherham and one other which includes us being involved 

 

All the best for the rest of the season and Ill see you for the 0-0 at Ashton Gate :)  

 

Mortis 

 

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spudski

spudski

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15 hours ago, Frenchay Red said:

All seems a bit unlikely and somewhat fanciful to me. I worked with someone who was very driven about getting speedway going again in Bristol, around the time being referred to, and got no joy at all with the City council who were not remotely interested. He was and is a City fan so I have no doubt he would have let me know if such a proposal to use a redeveloped Ashton Gate was even a remote possibility.

I was his boss at the time and I suspect that he spent too much time on his speedway activities rather than on his work ones!

Fair play to him though, he didn't give up and despite getting no interest from BCC, he went on to form the Somerset Rebels.

Andy by any chance?

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M.D

M.D

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I worked for one of the sports top riders for almost 10 years up until he retired 3 years ago and I do remember a few plans to try and get the sport back in Bristol, didn't hear any rumours about the Gate but wouldn't rule it out..

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BobBobSuperBob

BobBobSuperBob

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44 minutes ago, M.D said:

I worked for one of the sports top riders for almost 10 years up until he retired 3 years ago and I do remember a few plans to try and get the sport back in Bristol, didn't hear any rumours about the Gate but wouldn't rule it out..

Wow 

An Aussie MD ?

Love Speedway 

Intrigued :D

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M.D

M.D

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8 minutes ago, BobBobSuperBob said:

Shame that Speedway is not more popular across the country as many more could appreciated what a fantastic , talented , exciting World Champion we have in Woofi :chant6ez:

It is a shame, I do fear for the sport at domestic level in this country. In the UK we just can't pay riders in the same way that they do in Poland and Sweden and the top GP riders really don't want to race over here as they would prefer a fixed race night in the UK. The money Adam was on in Poland was unreal compared to his UK deal and Sweden payed far more than the UK but he just wanted to ride 5 nights a week and wasn't interested in the GP's.

 

Tai Woffenden is excellent but its such a shame that the current world champion is English but won't race in the UK's domestic league..

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BobBobSuperBob

BobBobSuperBob

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7 minutes ago, M.D said:

It is a shame, I do fear for the sport at domestic level in this country. In the UK we just can't pay riders in the same way that they do in Poland and Sweden and the top GP riders really don't want to race over here as they would prefer a fixed race night in the UK. The money Adam was on in Poland was unreal compared to his UK deal and Sweden payed far more than the UK but he just wanted to ride 5 nights a week and wasn't interested in the GP's.

 

Tai Woffenden is excellent but its such a shame that the current world champion is English but won't race in the UK's domestic league..

Totally agree MD - and you are much better informed

You can't blame GP riders not wanting to risk injury in relatively poorly paid Elite league , often on poorish tracks, in ageing ' stadiums'and compromise their major earnings abroad or the GPs.

Its a shame Sky appear to have lost interest as they were the main hope to attract new fans.

im convinced that if you could attract more people to go to a live Speedway event a lot would love it and return

Cardiff is a great night out and 4 hrs or so entertainment and I would recommend  anyone to try it once 

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22A

22A

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If it wasn't for Sky's money, I fear Speedway would be in a far worse state than it is now.

Peterborough dropped out of the Elite League and into the Premier (2nd tier) as they couldn't afford it anymore. Birmingham, Leicester and Eastbourne all competed in the Elite League, but Brum & Leics folded and part way through last season, again due to lack of income, Eastbourne dropped out of the Elite League and dropped down to the third tier just to keep going.

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spudski

spudski

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Speedway is a simple sport made complicated by the ever changing rules.

Costs are astronomical to keep engines tuned to a high standard....close to breaking point.

Have always said Teams should provide sealed engines straight from the factory...say Jawa...and riders draw lots for the engines and bolt into their own rolling chassis.

As for individual meetings....let the riders spend what they want on their own machines....within set rules.

Watching four riders race on standard engines, would be far more exciting than watching 4 riders with equal talent, but some on better machinery that they can afford.

Same can be said for F!.

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EstoniaTallinnRed

EstoniaTallinnRed

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15 hours ago, RedLionLad said:

There are houses on the opposite side of the River Taff, that flows alongside the stadium..

Yes, I know that, but the high sides of the stadium probably shields a lot of the noise. The flats, however are right next door to it  and when there is any International Rugby match, Westgate Street and all of the City centre is closed for most of the day.  As I drove for Cardiff Bus for 13 years,before retiring,  it was always a nuisance,  as we had to walk from our canteen, which is right next door again to the stadium, to the take on places at the edge of the centre. Of course it was even worse when all the big Wembley games were played there, still I managed to get a lot of programmes from those games, as they were sold outside on Westgate Street.

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M.D

M.D

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There is a speedway foram, the 'British Speedway Forum' and this was a topic on there with a guy posting last Wednesday that he had permission to bring speedway to the gate and even quoted the £1.5 million on that, a couple of days before this thread started..

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T R

T R

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I remember when I was a young lad being taken to speedway with the family, aunts, uncles, cousins the lot. We used to travel up in convoys in old bangers to places like swindon etc etc. We used to stop half way and have a picnic on the side of the road on the grass. When we got there the smell and noise of the bikes was brilliant. Then i chose to follow football, could have been a mistake. My late cousin was a speedway fanatic and supported the rebels. I went with him a few times but I haven't gone back since he passed. My uncle is also a speedway fanatic watching the rebels since they started. Probably knows every rider and bike in the country on how they perform. 

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