Plymouth Gladiators have confirmed that they will be joining a short NDL (National Development League) season due to start in mid-August.

The League is likely to compromise 5 or 6 Clubs; and is subject to the Club obtaining the necessary consents from Plymouth City Council; to operate at the amateur level designated the NDL by the Sports Promoters the BSPL (British Speedway Promoters Limited).

Club Promoter and Managing Director Mark Phillips confirmed that the Club, who have staged a series of Private Practice sessions on alternative Saturday afternoons since the end of June, have learned a lot in terms of the strict Covid 19 rules that need to be enforced during the Practice sessions and were well advanced with the logistical issues involved in operating at NDL level where small crowds will be permitted, providing certain ticketing protocols are maintained.

The Club understand that a draft Fixture List will be issued shortly and that action should commence in mid-August.

The necessary Local Authority consents should be received early next week, and progress is also being made on the innovative PACE - Plymouth Arena Community Events initiative with some initial Events anticipated for early Autumn, if the necessary approvals are received in time.

Plymouth Gladiators have been forced in to making a change to their initially declared 1-7 and have also confirmed the identity of the 7th Rider for the shortened 2020 campaign.

Mark Phillips explained  the situation in detail-:

"We fully intend to run with the originally declared 1-7 for 2020 in 2021; but I was told about a month ago by Nathan Stoneman that due to contractual arrangements with his sponsors, he could only ride for the Club in 2020 in any shortened season, if he was able to ride in both Leagues in 2020.

Having agreed to ride for Somerset in the Championship, he indicated that he needed to do a minimum of 4 meetings per week, or may have to repay a substantial part of his sponsorship back.

I've had a number of conversations with Nathan; and understood also why he couldn't attend any of the private practise sessions on Saturdays that all other Team Members have attended at least once due to work commitments, as Saturday was one of two guaranteed days in each week that he had work.

When the Championship season was cancelled last week, it became clear that we may need to make an urgent change as Nathan had told me that if he could not race he would go fishing in 2020 and be back in 2021.

We then discovered that almost all the Teams in the short NDL League will race on a Saturday plus one on a Friday which will involve a Northern Tour weekend, meaning that with Nathan being unable to 100% commit to riding for Plymouth in 2020, we reluctantly had to make a short term change.

I've made it clear to Nathan on the phone and in writing that he remains key to plans in 2021 and beyond.

We stood by Nathan last season when he took a short break from the sport after being released by Birmingham, and although he is upset by the decision, its due to him being unable to commit 100% to the short season, that means a reluctant change in the Team.

It is important we field as strong a Team as possible, especially as Nathan is a key player on his average of 8.22.

We also needed to fill the 7th spot for 2020 and had a place with an average of up to 3.13 points available to us.

We considered a number of candidates for the 7th place in recent weeks, some have disappointed by not turning up, or deciding not to ride when invited, and a few others who show great promise are not quite ready yet for the NDL standard of Racing but good prospects for the future.

We've been told Kent, Mildenhall and the Isle of Wight will not be running in 2020 so riders originally declared for those Teams have become available to us.

We had conversations with a number of Clubs and Riders seeking permission to make formal approach to Riders and have 11.35 points available to us.

We could have a heat leader with an average of up to 8.35 leaving space for a 3 point rider.

That ruled some possible candidates out and we also discussed terms with a couple of riders around the 8 point mark, but were unable to find any suitable rider around a 3 point average, willing to come to Plymouth to go in to the second string spot we have to fill; as we already have Sheldon Davies and Arran Butcher in our reserve slots at 6 and 7.

So we've decided to bring in 2 exceptional young English lads for 2020 only,  who we're sure will be very popular with our Supporters. Chad Wirtzfeld joins us from the Isle of Wight on an average of 3.81 and Jason Edwards joins us from Mildenhall on an average of 7.53.

That makes a total of 11.34 leaving us 0.01 under the Points limit. We're very grateful to Isle of Wight and Mildenhall for their permission to use Chad and Jason in 2020, we are absolutely clear that both riders will revert to those Clubs in 2021 on the same averages as 2020.

We think that both riders have a strong possibility of significantly performing above those averages and pleased to have 2 exciting youngsters on board with us for a few months.

We look forward to welcoming Nathan back in 2021 and will continue the search for a 7th rider for next season.

We hope to have more news next week about Fixtures and Ticketing arrangements.

Plymouth Gladiators Speedway are delighted to launch their new ONLINE Merchandise Store which can be accessed via the Club Website here.

The Online Store is provided by Club Sponsors Corporate Connection who specialise in high quality Sports Merchandise and Branded Work-Wear and who provide excellent customer service for such high profile Global names as Mercedes Benz; Jaguar Cars ; Molson Coors, Virgin Atlantic, Phillips; H Samuel and the BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club) who are based at Silverstone F1 Circuit.

The concept of the ONLINE Merchandising Store is to allow Supporters 24x7 access online to a range of branded Club Clothing and related items.

These can be purchased by a secure portal linked to the website. All garments have either printed high quality transfers or embroidered badges on to top quality merchandise. A range of items with sublimated (print in the garment) will also be launched in due course.

All items are delivered by DHL so can be tracked directly to your home, you have the option to amend the delivery time to suit your circumstances or to arrange to pick up at the nearest collection point once the item is in transit. Tracking from the Company HQ in Tamworth Staffordshire by DHL is automatically sent to your e-mail address.

Items are made and posted to order, thereby removing the need for the Club to invest in large quantities of Stock and delivery time is normally 7-10 days (5 to 7 working days). If there are likely to be any delays you will be notified when placing the Order.

All Administration and a Telephone Helpline is provided by Corporate Connection, during Office hours Monday to Friday.

Club Director Ian Jordan commented "I'm delighted with the support of Mark (Phillips) to bring this state of the art Online Merchandise Store to Plymouth Gladiators Speedway.

Having been a client myself of Corporate Connection for 3 years I can't speak too highly of the quality of their merchandise and their outstanding Customer Service.  Managing Director Simon Sprason is a motorsport fanatic, being an ex Formula 3 Racing Driver himself and also a lifelong Birmingham Brummies Speedway fan since the 1970's.

We look forward to a long and successful relationship with Corporate Connection, whose deal also involves some sponsorship of the Club and we will also be launching a separate offshoot linked to the PACE (Plymouth Arena Community Events) operation in due course.

I would also recommend Corporate connection to any Supporter requiring work, leisure or merchandise wear for their own use, be it a large, medium or small business since they have a bespoke start up creation service to support every size and type of request that has the benefit of top quality and not having to spend fortunes on "high numbers of minimum stock levels with upfront cost outlay" which can cripple many Businesses."

The Online Store is now fully open here or click on the Merchandise section on the Club website here and enter the secure Portal via the "Click Here to launch the Online Store" tab or by clicking on any product.

All prices include VAT where appropriate and also all Postage and Packing, so no nasty added costs at Checkout!

The Range will cover the remainder of the 2020 and all of the 2021 season.

Plymouth Gladiators Speedway based at The Coliseum Arena, which is also the home of Plymouth Arena Community Events (PACE), have decided to dedicate their new 500 seat Arena Stand to the NHS for the remainder of 2020.

The newly completed stand incorporated seating in club colours, is branded to show the initials NHS with 2 hearts.

Club Directors have chosen this option, as a thank you to all NHS and Care Staff locally and nationally, not only during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, but also over the past 72 years, since its creation by the vision of Aneurin Bevan, who dreamt of a universal Health Care Service free at the point of contact to all.

The club will shortly announce a Free Admission Scheme for all accredited NHS Staff and frontline Care Staff for any speedway events that may take place in 2020, and for the full 2021 season.

Commercial Director Ian Jordan explained:

"Managing Director and Promoter Mark Phillips set out the new seats in an NHS logo and it just looked and felt right that we should go down this route as our thank you to the NHS and associated frontline Services. We will brand it for the NHS for the remainder of 2020.

The recent Covid19 pandemic has seen the NHS deliver not only world class healthcare and support, but numerous examples of unbelievable public service.

At a time of crisis, everyone has realised, it is iconic, world leading and a national treasure.

We are delighted to acknowledge the gratitude of the people of Plymouth and the wider area, and those in our Sport to the NHS for all they have done, and do, day after day, that touches the lives of everyone.

The most tangible benefit will be for us to allow the opportunity of NHS Staff and frontline colleagues in the Care Sector to have a free night out at Plymouth Speedway in 2020 and 2021.

The winter improvements at The Coliseum, including the new Stand, Disabled Area Renovation, Pits Area enhancement and the acquisition of German style BBQ equipment and also a new Bouncy Castle type Bike Track for young children, has cost in the region of £20,000.  

Title branding of the new stand would have generated funding to cover part of that outlay, however we passionately believe that recognition of the NHS is more important at this time. Title branding for 2021 will be available from January 2021.

What we can offer and would like to make available, is some highly visible Advertising and Sponsorship space at the top of the new stand and around The Arena, visible not only to visitors to the Speedway and our new PACE Community Events project, but also visible to the huge amount of traffic on the A38 Trunk Road flyover above the Track.

We would welcome conversations with any local or national Business that would like to acquire 2021 Title branding and advertising and promotional space, all of which will help to cover not only the costs of the Stadium improvements, but also the long term stability and future development of Speedway in Devon and the South West, and which will also include a small "thank you NHS" logo."

The recently announced PACE - Plymouth Arena Community Events project is also a major opportunity for local entrepreneurs and small or medium Business Owners to showcase their businesses at a variety of planned events.

Phase 2 of the PACE project will see us develop an Online Affinity Portal to allow all businesses to directly link their own website and social media marketing, to our PACE Portal which can also be augmented by Stadium and Arena marketing options.

For further information about Speedway or Arena advertising and sponsorship please contact us at admin@plymouth-speedway.com and for PACE information, contact is at admin@plymouth-events.co.uk

To learn more about Plymouth Arena Community Events, please click here.

Image credits: Thanks to a Plymouth Supporter for the excellent pictures.

We are delighted to announce the new PACE – Plymouth Arena Community Events Project; with the launch today of our new Logo; Website and Social Media presence.

Our aims

The aim of PACE – Plymouth Arena Community Events, will be to turn The Coliseum (formerly St Boniface Arena) into a 364 days a year Community Facility, for the benefit of the people of Plymouth and larger areas of Devon and Cornwall able to stage a large range of Sporting, Community, Social and Retail based Events.

Our particular focus will be to support local SME – Sole Trader + Small + Medium sized Businesses to showcase their wares at a central City based Community / Fair location that is both accessible to tens of thousands of local people and affordable in terms of Pitch Rental for Vendors and which fills a niche in the market that our extensive research indicates has been missing for a long time.

Britain’s “Ocean City”

Plymouth is Britain’s “Ocean City” a population approaching 250,000; vibrant and resilient; capable and proven at putting on large scale events that can attract a Global, National and local audience.

The wider Devon/Cornwall Area boasts a huge number of entrepreneurs, small and growing Craft and Retail Businesses and has a long tradition of local and more Rural Annual Fairs and Events.

We believe that we can fill the City based niche to bring the Rural and City traditions into a new location, easily accessible for all, adjacent to the A38 Trunk Road.

The concept and project also has major Sporting, Health and Community Fitness objectives. 

Supporting all forms of Sport

We wish to stabilise and grow the popularity of Speedway Racing in the City of Plymouth with the Gladiators and across the whole of Devon and Cornwall, where it has been hugely popular in the past.

We also wish to support and assist some excellent local Junior Soccer Teams and Training Groups that are already bringing top class Soccer coaching to Girls and Boys, Men and Women of all ages, all abilities and all races and religions to The Coliseum Arena Complex.

In addition, we also wish to develop and assist Fitness and Sporting access to all, whatever their Sport and whatever level they wish to attain from basic fitness and well-being to competitive level Sport.

We are launching the Project in unique, challenging and difficult times during the Covid-19 pandemic. We wish to be at the forefront of the Community; Sport and Retail bounce back and fight back post Covid 19 to support health , wealth, well-being and a feelgood factor.

Your views

The nature of the current situation means that many of The Events that we plan for 2020 – 2021 and beyond; are at this time “aspirational and dependent on easing of restrictions and also local Planning permissions”.

We are launching now therefore to show the aspiration and aims of the Project; with a view to commencing all planned and as yet unplanned Events; as soon as it is prudent to do so.

We are very keen to have your views and thoughts about what Events we could and you would like us to Stage and feedback about the embryonic plans that we are launching today for us to develop and share over the short, medium and long term future.

We hope that with your help and support and input, that PACE – Plymouth Arena Community Events can be a success and a blueprint for Community Stadium and Facility accessibility and use across not only our local Area but further afield.

To visit the new PACE site, please click here, and do submit any views or suggestions for events that can be included at Plymouth Arena Community Events via the contact forms.