Club focus on Premier League

FOLLOWING a poor year financially, Scunthorpe Speedway has taken the decision to focus all efforts on their Premier League side for 2015.

Unfortunately it will mean the resignation of their development side from the National League but, with promoter Rob Godfrey giving the club twelve months to turn things around, every possible measure is being taken.

The decision will see sponsors for the National League side switch over to the Scorpions, who operate in the second tier of British Speedway, whilst there will greater focus on running regular Friday night meetings.

Godfrey admitted the decision had been made with a heavy heart but admitted the only other alternative considered was not running either speedway team.

He said: “A year ago we had a health bank balance and everything looked rosy. We were optimistic about the future and able to commit to a youth development programme through our National League side. However, due to a number of factors we have had an ‘Annus Horibilis’, as the Queen once said, and we can’t afford for it to be repeated.

“Whilst I knew it had been a bad year for the speedway, the full horror of things really only became apparent a couple of weeks ago and I really thought about not running the Scorpions next year. However, I’d announced the fans that we would run next year and I really didn’t want to go back on that.

“I’ve got some great people helping me analyse what we need to do and we have plans.

“We have some plans for cost effective promotion and I believe running regular Friday night meetings will make a difference. I had quite a lot of people come to the track on a Friday night last year, when we were running on a Sunday, because they had got into a routine. With the exception of the bank holiday meetings I want to run Friday nights and also hope the sport can avoid running in March and October.

“The weather is often cold in those months and I’d much prefer the regular season to finish in August and for the play-offs to be in September. Nobody gets a crowd in October so I don’t understand why the sport insists on running that late”, Godfrey said.

“Naturally I am upset about the Stags side and gutted for Richard Hollingsworth who had put so much into running them. He had certainly put the building blocks in place for it to go from strength-to-strength and we had already seen it produce some quality assets.

“Sam Chapman and Arron Mogridge have already shown they have a bright future, whilst Ellis Perks was another who came in at the end of the season and was very impressive. There are others too who show promise and will almost certainly kick-on after their debut season. Other clubs will benefit from them next year but just maybe we can return to the National League at a later date.

“I’m delighted that Richard and his wife, Anne, have agreed to continue their excellent work with the amateur meetings and second halves. They, along with John and Anne Eyre from Sheffield, Dan Palmer, Pete Hibberd and the Kent Crew really are devoted to developing riders and the success of their amateur meetings and practices does mean they are a valuable income stream to the club.

“For now we have to focus on the positives. We have a year to prove that 2014 was a one-off and professional speedway is sustainable in Scunthorpe. We have a race track that provides probably the best racing in the country and we have enthusiastic group of people doing all they can to help the club”, Godfrey concluded.