Wolverhampton Speedway Bosses Pledge To Find Brand-new Venue

25 April 2023
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Nick Clitheroe & Clare LissamanBBC News


Speedway club bosses have actually pledged to find a new place after news they can not stay at their home of 96 years.


Wolverhampton Speedway said on 17 April they were devastated their tenancy arrangement for Monmore Green would not be beyond this season.


About 17,000 people have now signed a petition requiring it to be conserved.


But Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten stated the "amazing" support had led to talks with authorities about a brand-new site.


"The truth that this petition has actually been signed and got such a substantial quantity of assistance in just a couple of days is rather amazing and I think that's definitely been the influence and unlocked to these conferences for the club," he said.


Site owner Entain has said it will focus on greyhound racing but understands fans and the club will be "disappointed".


Mr Van Straaten, who took control of running the club from his father in 1986, said speedway was "a crucial part of Wolverhampton folklore".


"My energy in the last couple of days has actually turned to supplying a brand-new site where we can develop a Wolverhampton Speedway club and we can be the primary occupants," he said.


"I wish to create our own place, I wish to be the primary holder of the occupancy and likewise develop something that is open 6 days a week to assist train motorcyclists; to train children to take them off the streets."


He said he had handled to bring a stadium to Redcar and had actually gained knowledge from that job.


"I 'd like to be in a position where I can bring a speedway stadium to the city of Wolverhampton," he said.


The response from people made him think this was possible.


"The amount of people that signed the petition has took my breath away. The assistance for this sport is quite remarkable," he stated.


Mr Van Straaten said it would be an "immense" blow if it didn't happen, but added he was going to be positive and they had the rest of this year to attempt to discover a site.


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