FANS of the Coventry Bees will have to travel an additional 29 miles from the club’s Coventry Stadium home in Brandon to watch races, as SpeedwayGB confirmed the team will start the 2017 season at Leicester Speedway.
The temporary move – opposed by 80 per cent of fans in an online Observer poll – is the culmination of a bitter off-season dispute between Bees promoter Mick Horton and Coventry Stadium owners Brandon Estates Ltd.
Fans had been assured speedway was safe in the city. Last July a one-year lease was agreed to keep the Bees on track for 2017, with the possibility of extending the lease to three years.
However a further fallout led to CoventryStox – the organisation which promotes stock car racing – removing various assets from Coventry Stadium, including shale, grandstand seats and wiring.
Fans were promised work would start in the new year to restore the Brandon venue back to its original state, but this has not happened.
The announcement was made nine days after an ‘absolute final’ deadline was set by the sport’s governing body – British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA).
The Leicester deal means the Bees will compete in the upcoming SGB Premiership, with the first fixture scheduled for April 7 against Kings Lynn Stars.
Mr Horton said: “I know racing at Leicester for the time being is going to present some difficulties to supporters, and we will be looking at various measures to make things easier.
“We all realise it isn’t going to be straightforward, but this club is too big to just let it fold.
“That most definitely could have happened during the winter, and we’ve kept on working to ensure that doesn’t happen.
“We’ve now got to have everyone backing us to make it work, and to prove that we were right to save the Bees.”
A BSPA spokesman said: “We have accepted proposals for the team to race on a temporary basis at Leicester’s Beaumont Park for the opening weeks of the season with the ultimate aim of moving back to Coventry during the campaign.
“Coventry and Leicester will be racing as separate teams and this is in no way an amalgamation of the two clubs.
“The move has been made to keep Coventry on track in very trying circumstances with their former Brandon Stadium home currently unavailable.
“However, strenuous efforts will continue to be made to take the team back to the famous site.
“As an association we have tried to give every opportunity for Coventry, a world famous club with a rich heritage, to remain in action at the highest level of British Speedway.
“We look forward to seeing the Bees move back home at the earliest possible time during the season.”
