Plymouth Gladiators Club Statement

The Management of Plymouth Gladiators Speedway have released the following statement; regarding the trial and test of Tuesday Evening Racing; in Meetings planned for September and October, following approval to commence speedway with paying crowds in the coming weeks, in line with Covid 19 restrictions.

The Club has explained fully the logistics behind the experiment.

All Supporters will be aware that our application to move up to The Championship League for the 2020 season was rejected by The BSPL. 

Whilst we remain committed to the NDL (National Development League) it is our intention to seek entry to either The Championship or Elite League at the earliest opportunity, should the current 3 tier structure remain in place, or into a professional/higher tier, should the Sports structure change in the future.

All of the Supporter feedback we have received indicates an overwhelming preference for a higher level of racing at The Coliseum in the future. The reality of the situation at the moment is that the only option for the continuance of Speedway is at NDL level on a Friday Evening, and it is certainly absolutely better to have some Speedway as opposed to no Speedway at all.

We therefore ask that all speedway supporters in Devon and Cornwall continue to give us maximum support to maintain a credible and viable presence at whatever level we are allowed to compete.

The unfortunate demise over the years for various reasons of St Austell, Exeter and Trelawny very much focus our short, medium and long term aim of stability and growth to provide speedway racing for everyone in the South West.

The Club has spent in excess of £35,000 in the past 12 months to facilitate a brand new 500 seater stand and the continued improvement and upgrade to other facilities for Disabled Supporters and investment in plant and machinery to enable better Track preparation.

The track has been widely praised by all attending recent Practice sessions as being as smooth and consistent as it has ever been. We cannot wait to start a delayed and truncated 2020 season to show the full potential we have for 2021.

The launch and innovation of the PACE – Plymouth Arena Community Events initiative in the past few months will see the Arena and surrounds develop into a 24×7 365 days a year Community Facility with Events, Fairs, Sporting and Community based initiatives planned for 2020 and 2021. This initiative will all support and stabilise the Speedway and Motor Sport operation at The Coliseum. 

The decision to experiment and test supporter reaction to Tuesday evening speedway is a considered decision which merits fuller explanation, as we seek to provide answers and solutions to potential issues before they occur.

The Championship League currently has 12 Clubs of whom Edinburgh; Glasgow, Redcar and Scunthorpe are established Members with Friday as their chosen race night. This means that on any regular Friday night 8 of the 12 Clubs will be racing and any increase in Friday night Fixtures would compromise rider availability. This is an issue that we are acutely aware of. 

The League also has a significant number bias to Clubs in the North and Midlands and as everyone will know travelling South on the M5 and A38 can be a nightmare on a Friday (and Saturday) in the holiday season, with roads South of Bristol often grid-locked by traffic from the North and the A30 A303 / A35 similarly affected from the East. All relevant surveys indicate that Tuesday and Wednesday are the quietest days of the week on those trunk roads.

There are 2 Southern / South West based Clubs in the League, and both Somerset and Poole have a regular race night on a Wednesday. By switching to a Tuesday night we can therefore assist and BSPL and Northern/ Midland/ South Eastern Clubs, if we are accepted in to The Championship, by facilitating “short tours” to include Plymouth on a Tuesday and either Somerset or Poole on a Wednesday to reduce travelling and also offering an exciting opportunity for fans of other clubs to have a brief vacation on those nights to take in the planned speedway meetings. 

With a host of affordable and top quality Hotel and many other forms of accommodation available in the South West we are working hard on arranging discounted and local accommodation for Riders and Supporters of Away Teams to enjoy this opportunity.

We would also be able to make our Stadium accessible to visiting Riders on a Wednesday morning for vital bike cleaning and preparation, prior to their onward journey to either Somerset or Poole.

Plymouth, as the UK’s “Ocean City”, has many attractions available to all and the area is a massive and popular tourist destination attracting hundreds of thousands annually from all parts of the UK.

There are also exciting commercial benefits in Plymouth racing midweek as this could open up the opportunity of attracting holiday makers from North Cornwall, South Somerset and the whole of Devon, including the very popular Torbay Area who are currently less likely to come to Speedway on a Friday night as the vast majority of “change-overs” are on a Friday or Saturday, hence the traffic gridlock.

We fully understand that for some of our most established supporters that a Tuesday night may not be as attractive as a Friday night, but we will always endeavour to have a finish by 9.30pm therefore not compromising the local school children we wish to attract in growing numbers by new Community schemes or the increased possibility of attracting more Tourists to Speedway.

The reality and pragmatic position though is that to both optimise our chances of moving up to The Championship by cooperating fully and working to resolve possible concerns of other Championship Clubs, and to optimise the terrific potential we have at Plymouth, that this experiment is both very worthwhile and possibly our only route to where we wish to be in the League structure. 

The experiment therefore is to “test the water” for all concerned to assess viability and options open to us going forwards.

Main image Credit: Ultimate shot.