RobRoyGuy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Never been speedway at Shawfield, it was always a dog track, even back in the 1950's when it used to be the venue for all the Central league cup finals. I remember being there three times in May/june 1954 for finals involving Kilsyth. Crowds of around 16,000 for each one; and yes, of course, we won them all! Back on topic, the speedway was at White City, just across the road from Ibrox Thanks answered my question on a previous post. The very last paragraph on the statement is encouraging .... “Already we’ve had great practical support from west coast businesses including Luddon Construction, WH Malcolm, Icam Steel, Universal Electrical and many other companies, which are helping rebuild this historic system. We’ve also had great encouragement for the project from Glasgow North Housing Association and Glasgow City Council.” Just spoke to a mate of mine who is a big speedway fan. Apparently the season runs from late march until October. Thanks for that ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue manalishi Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Never been speedway at Shawfield, it was always a dog track, even back in the 1950's when it used to be the venue for all the Central league cup finals. I remember being there three times in May/june 1954 for finals involving Kilsyth. Crowds of around 16,000 for each one; and yes, of course, we won them all! Back on topic, the speedway was at White City, just across the road from Ibrox Glasgow Tigers home was Shawfield from about 1989 until the late 1990's prior to moving to Ashfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Presumably the lack of floodlights precludes evening meetings as well? I am sure i have seen lights of some sort at saracen park. Maybe not floodlights but certainly some sort of lighting dthat would light up the track but not the actual pitch . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue manalishi Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Presumably the lack of floodlights precludes evening meetings as well? They would probably get away without floodlights in the height of summer , but your right , they'd need them at the start & the end of their season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I am sure i have seen lights of some sort at saracen park. Maybe not floodlights but certainly some sort of lighting dthat would light up the track but not the actual pitch . Not just the old dog racing lamps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Presumably the lack of floodlights precludes evening meetings as well? EDIT: Apparently the Glasgow Tigers raced at: http://www.glasgowtigers.co/?page_id=26 White City - 1929 to 1968 (with breaks) Hampden - 1969 to 1972 Cliftonhill - 1973 to 1977 Blantyre (2 different venues) - 1977 to 1986 Workington - 1987 Shawfield - 1988 to 1998 (with 1 break) Ashfield - 1999 onward Thanks for that ! I knew i watched the speedway there as a kid. Clyde moved out of shawfield when ?( sorry off topic but while your own wanted to ask ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Not just the old dog racing lamps? Yeah could be that ! Sure i saw bigger lights though , might of been the finish line lights or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Thanks for that ! I knew i watched the speedway there as a kid. Clyde moved out of shawfield when ?( sorry off topic but while your own wanted to ask ! Clyde moved out in 1986. Clyde fans will know the detail better, but during the 1930s the SFL was concerned about football clubs being involved in greyhound and cheetah racing, and banned clubs from running them. Clyde sold Shawfield and became tenants to get around this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue manalishi Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 One of the Blantyre venues was the old Blantyre Celtic juniors stadium........ I use the term 'stadium' loosely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Article from 2012. Current Speedway champions the Glasgow Tigers face closure unless a new owner is found. The 66-year-old club has called a meeting of supporters this weekend to update fans on the immediate future of the club. The Ashfield team has been in severe financial difficulty for a number of years and needs to raise a substantial sum, understood to be five figures, to pay off debts. Club bosses are hoping the meeting will help generate ideas and a plan of action which could turn the club's fortunes around. Formed in 1946 the club are the current Premier League Speedway champions. The team, which is sponsored by Western Commercial, currently averages 620 fans at its 2200-capacity arena. A club spokesman, said: "I cannot emphasise this enough, we desperately need all Tigers fans and speedway minded people of the city to turn out on Saturday night. "The very future of the club, after 66 years as sporting institution in this great city, may depend on the enthusiasm and show of support of our fans. Without them there is no future. "The message is simple, if you want speedway to continue in Glasgow, please make sure you come along this Saturday night and show your support." The club was plunged into crisis in 2009 after it lost its sponsor, Buildbase, and £7500 of funding. The speedway side has also faced several battles to stay at Ashfield Stadium, in Possilpark. In 2005 club bosses objected to plans to build flats and offices just yards from their base. They claimed it would have left their stadium, which it rents from Ashfield Football Club, difficult for race-goers to access and severely limited parking spaces. Seven year ago the club almost folded over noise complaints. It was forced to raise hundreds of pounds to build sound barriers to meet environmental health rules before racing could resume. The Tigers had a brief ~ 4 year spell at Hampden Park from 1969-1972. However, the on track death of Svein Kaasa on 29 September 1972 cast a shadow over the club and at the end of that season the Tigers were searching for a new home. The meeting is being held on Saturday at the Queen Mary Suite of the city's Marriott Hotel, 500 Argyle Street, at 5pm. It will be followed by a live screening of the final Grand Prix from Torun, Poland. Glasgow Tigers will face Redcar Bears at Ashfield stadium on Sunday (start time 4pm) in their home leg of the Premier Challenge Trophy. Highlighted the interesting bits. In particular in 2012 it reads glasgow tigers paid ashfield a rent for the use of the stadium / ground yet by 2014/2015 going by today's article it seems ashfield were paying someone not sure who rent. So between 2012 and now someone has ended up buying the stadium? maybe i am reading it all wrong though ! Clyde moved out in 1986. Clyde fans will know the detail better, but during the 1930s the SFL was concerned about football clubs being involved in greyhound and cheetah racing, and banned clubs from running them. Clyde sold Shawfield and became tenants to get around this. Very interesting ! thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoyGuy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 One of the Blantyre venues was the old Blantyre Celtic juniors stadium........ I use the term 'stadium' loosely. 'Between 1982–86, blantyre celtic Craighead Park ground was also used by the Glasgow Tigers speedway team as their home track' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Very interesting ! thanks ! I have seen suggestions that Forthbank, home of King's Park, in Stirling was the only Scottish venue used for cheetah racing... Greyhounds were quite common for a while. According to GreyhoundRacingHistory.co.uk there have been 54 greyhound venues here over the years, many of them football grounds: http://www.greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk/scottishlicencedtracks.html http://www.greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk/scottishindependenttracks.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue manalishi Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 'Between 198286, blantyre celtic Craighead Park ground was also used by the Glasgow Tigers speedway team as their home track' Some good shots of the corporate boxes there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clash city rocker Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The stadium is surrounded by houses. Have been to Ashy on quite a number of occasions. ...so are all other tracks Poole,Eastbourne etc out in the sticks ?.They do Monday or Tuesday nights on Sky sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue manalishi Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Have been to Ashy on quite a number of occasions. ...so are all other tracks Poole,Eastbourne etc out in the sticks ?.They do Monday or Tuesday nights on Sky sports. I've no idea. Berwick Rangers stadium is used by their local speedway team which is in a residential part of town. According to my mate , the Berwick speedway meetings are on a saturday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintonfan Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 pass, i know cowdenbeath is very much town centre and the noise from 40 stock cars in full contact will be a helluva lot louder than 4 bikes, yet cowdie has a licence for up to 10.30pm on a friday and saturday nights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Have been to Ashy on quite a number of occasions. ...so are all other tracks Poole,Eastbourne etc out in the sticks ?.They do Monday or Tuesday nights on Sky sports. Poole's stadium is bang in the town centre, I'm surprised its still there given its location as the land must be worth a fortune. There is a mixture of office blocks and housing in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdenbeath Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 pass, i know cowdenbeath is very much town centre and the noise from 40 stock cars in full contact will be a helluva lot louder than 4 bikes, yet cowdie has a licence for up to 10.30pm on a friday and saturday nights To be honest I don't know how they still get a licence for it being in such a built up area. I live 5-10 minutes walk away and can hear the noise on a Saturday night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I've no idea. Berwick Rangers stadium is used by their local speedway team which is in a residential part of town. According to my mate , the Berwick speedway meetings are on a saturday night. That's correct, their main race time (or whatever it's called in speedway) is Saturday nights. They even hosted a prestigious world event a couple of years ago, U21 World Cup qualifier or something. There are homes about a football pitch width behind the south end and about a football pitch length behind the main stand side. Apparently the wall heighteners on the south end walls are to baffle noise, or keep in gravel, or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clash city rocker Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Perhaps it's just a Glasgow City Council thing.Sunday is a pretty good day for it but a few warm Friday nights in the summer,good meal,few beers,good racing would surely attract a fair number of punters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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