Wolverhampton Speedway Bosses Pledge To Find New Venue
25 April 2023
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Nick Clitheroe & Clare LissamanBBC News
Speedway club bosses have actually promised to discover a new location after news they can not remain at their home of 96 years.
Wolverhampton Speedway stated on 17 April they were ravaged their occupancy contract for Monmore Green would not be extended beyond this season.
About 17,000 people have actually now signed a petition requiring it to be conserved.
But Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten said the "incredible" assistance had resulted in talks with authorities about a brand-new site.
"The reality that this petition has been signed and got such a big quantity of assistance in simply a couple of days is rather amazing and I believe that's definitely been the impact and unlocked to these meetings for the club," he stated.
Site owner Entain has stated it will focus on greyhound racing but understands fans and the club will be "dissatisfied".
Mr Van Straaten, who took over running the club from his father in 1986, was "an important part of Wolverhampton folklore".
"My energy in the last couple of days has actually turned to offering a brand-new website where we can develop a Wolverhampton Speedway club and we can be the primary renters," he said.
"I want to produce our own venue, I 'd like to be the primary holder of the tenancy and likewise produce something that is open 6 days a week to help train motorcyclists; to train youngsters to take them off the streets."
He stated he had managed to bring an arena to Redcar and had actually acquired understanding from that job.
"I 'd like to be in a position where I can bring a speedway arena to the city of Wolverhampton," he said.
The response from people made him think this was possible.
"The amount of individuals that signed the petition has actually took my breath away. The assistance for this sport is rather incredible," he stated.
Mr Van Straaten stated it would be an "tremendous" blow if it didn't happen, but added he was going to be favorable and they had the rest of this year to try to find a website.
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