Speedway to return to Leeds?

Speedway could be on its way back to Leeds, 63 years after the roar of the brakeless bikes was last heard in the city.

Plans are being laid by Sheffield-based A&S Leisure to build a ?7m-plus stadium to host speedway and greyhound racing at a purpose-built 12-acre site in Leeds - and the sport could return within two years.

Speedway last ran in the city in 1938 at the Fullerton Park Stadium in Elland Road and Leeds were the first English "dirt-track" champions when league racing started in 1929. Crowds averaged 15,000 with a best of 28,000 watching a North versus South challenge match in September 1931.

A&S director and Sheffield's Owlerton Stadium managing director Dave Proctor said: "We are actively seeking new opportunities in the greyhound and gaming side. One of those is in Leeds where speedway would run alongside. We have an agent trawling through suitable sites for us and are looking to spend ?7-8m to develop a suitable site. A site off the A1/M1 link road has been proffered to us but it needs to be at the right price to make the project viable."

The company owns Napoleon's casino in Leeds and Proctor said their knowledge of the city led them to believe there was a call for a greyhound and speedway development." British Newspaper, the Yorkshire Post, understands the South Leeds Stadium and a site near Leeds United's Elland Road ground have already been ruled out.

A&S have invested ?2m at Owlerton since they took over in 1991 and have seen average attendances on dog nights rise from 900 to more than 4,500. The group is chaired by Dave Allen who also owns a restaurant in the city and is a director at Sheffield Wednesday where he was at the forefront of a recent financial rescue package.

Speedway's governing body, the British Speedway Promoters Association welcomed news of the Leeds plan and a spokesman said: "The possibility of new tracks opening is always welcomed. British speedway is growing in popularity and it is nice to note the prospect of virgin tracks like Leeds. The BSPA wish the people concerned with the Leeds project all the best."

Sheffield Tigers' co-promoter Neil Machin also backed the plan and said: "It has always been traditional that West Yorkshire has a speedway venue. A lot of people have been lost to the sport from that area of the country and it would be progressive to get them involved again.

"If A&S get the go-ahead they will do a good job if what they have done here at Sheffield is anything to go by. Their knowledge of speedway racing is excellent and I would hope they can use what we've done together at Sheffield as a blueprint to work from in Leeds."

Hull promoter Malcolm Wright is also looking forward to an extra Yorkshire rival.
"I would imagine they would be looking to join the Premier League and that's brilliant news for us," said Wright, a former promoter at Middlesbrough. "They should get good support from fans and it's all good news for the sport."

The first Leeds Speedway had a chequered history. It opened late in 1928 and was the venue for several England international meetings as well as a regular track for Bedale's Eva Askquith, the English Ladies Dirt-track Champion. But the track was closed down in 1931 after illegally racing on a Sunday. It reopened for one season under promoter Arthur Westwood, but the outbreak of war brought the end of the sport to the city.

Speedway has been staged at 21 venues in 15 towns and cities across the region since the pioneering days of the 1920s. Bradford's Odsal Stadium hosted the British Grand Prix as recently as 1997, Halifax was also the home of the Dukes and Middlesbrough's Cleveland Park ran for several spells between 1929 and 1996.

The sport has also featured at Barnsley, Castleford, Doncaster, Hedon, Huddersfield, Scunthorpe, Wakefield, Wombwell and York as well as Hull and Sheffield - where today's only two teams remain.

Reproduced, with Permission, from Steven Penny's column in the Yorkshire Post.