Tuesday 28th October The latest news from tonights Newcastle Evening Chronicle would seem to suggest that Brough Park is to be available for Greyhounds and Speedway next year.
"Greyhound racing looks set to stay at Newcastle's Brough Park stadium after the group bidding to keep the sport at the track was told by receivers it was the preferred party. Team Greyhounds, run by Brough Park bookmaker Alan Hutton and businessman Roy Gibbons, is confident of taking over. Mr Hutton said: It looks as though we are in pole position to take over."
Sunday 19th October As you may be aware Brough Park (The home of the Newcastle Diamonds) is currently in the hands of the receiver. This is because the company which operates the greyhound racing, and sub-lets to the speedway has gone under after about 18 months of operation. Bids have been requested by the reciever for the remainder of the 21 year lease to operate at Brough Park and are due in this week. The speedway operating company is still operating and my understanding is that average crowds were approx 800 against a break even figure of 600. Assuming Brough Park is still available next year the Diamonds will definately be running.
The following article appeared in the Newcastle Journal last week which gives more background on the problems.
The future of Brough Park as a greyhound track looks doomed and it's odds-on that it will be sold for re-development. Now in the hands of the official receivers, the lease for the Byker stadium is up for sale and offers must be submitted by Tuesday (14th October).
The Journal has a copy of a confidential document setting out the pricple terms of the lease and it doesn't make good reading for anyone profit from the venture.
It's a mystery as to why promoter Eric Armstrong ever agreed to rent Brough from owner Kevin Wilde in February last year and expected to make money.
Apart from having to pay £2000 a week rent, there was interest and insurance to find and 10% of any tote turnover exceeding £1.3million a year was also destined for Wildes pocket. And in the event of a BAGS contract being awarded to Brough for live satellite coverage of afternoon meetings to betting shops, Wilde required another £100,000. Wilde, who now runs Sunderland greyhound stadium at Boldon, also collects £18000 per annum for kennel rent. The conditions of the lease also stipulate the overall rent will be reviewed at the end of 5, 10 and 15 years.
Since Wilde leased the track to his former accountant, it showed a trading loss of £195199.53 for the 16 month period up to June 30th. There is an option in the 21 year lease to buy the freehold of the stadium for £1.7million and, unless someone with greyhound racing at heart comes up with the money, it seems inevitable that it will be leased or sold for other purposes.
I understand a large hotel and casino group, an a Glasgow company who have club interests in Northumberland are among the contenders, but whether greyhound racing would figure in their plans is debatable. It would appear that the only guarantee of Brough remaining as a sporting venue rests with the small consortium of greyhound enthusiasts headed by Roy Gibbons, chairman of the National Association of Greyhound Owners. That might only be a short term solution, however, unless pressure is put upon the owner to have a radical rethink.
Newcastle Diamonds, meanwhile, are confident speedway will stay next season, having put in a considerable amount of work this year to re- establish the sport on Tyneside.
Monday 6th October Tonights second leg of the Young Shield play off meeting between Exeter and Newcastle has been rained off. A torrential downpour 15 minutes before the scheduled start time meant there was absolutely no chance of the meeting going ahead and this has now been re-arranged for next Monday 13th October.
This Sundays meeting will be feature two individual meetings for senior and junior riders. The formula to be used will be similar to that used in the final meeting of the 1993 season. In that meeting 12 senior riders raced over twelve heats and a final and 8 junior riders raced over 6 heats and a final. As a matter of interest, Paul Thorp won the senior meeting and Paul Gould the junior meeting.
Saturday 4th October This Sunday Newcastle take on Exeter at home in the first leg of the play-offs with the return leg on Monday. Newcastle will use Paul Pickering as a guest on Sunday and Scot Pegler at Exeter on Monday night.
If Newcastle overcome Exter they will meet the winner of the Reading/Isle of Wight meeting, presumably next weekend.
The doubts over the future of Brough Park continue (see news item dated 31st August) with the news that Brough Park is now in the hands of the receiver. This story goes back to 1994 when the stadium owner (Kevin Wilde) bought Sunderland Greyhound Stadium and transferred all of the major greyhound meetings there from Brough Park. He also agreed a deal to sell Brough Park to housebuilders Wimpey, subject to planning permission. Because of the uncertainity, there was no speedway at Brough in 1995 as demolition was intended to take place as soon as planning permission was granted. The City council refused planning permission so Kevin Wilde, looking for an alternative, sold a 21 year operating lease to the stadium to his accountant Eric Armstrong. This was too late for speedway to resume in 1996 but speedway was able to re-start this year. Now the remainder of the lease is to be auctioned next week with one of the bidders expected to be Kevin Wilde and in the meantime the stadium is operating normally. I understand that it is the Greyhound side of things which has been losing money while the speedway has been attracting an average crowd of around 800 when the break even is approximately 600.
Monday 28th September Mike Smith failed a late fitness test yesterday afternoon and was replaced by Lee Dicken in last nights home win over the Isle of Wight Islanders. Lee may also guest for Newcastle in tonights return fixture on the Isle of Wight. Newcastle have now qualified for the end of season play offs for the Young shield and will race against Exeter in the first round at Brough Park on Sunday and at Exeter on Monday. The new number for the Diamond Line as from today is 0930 555927.
Sunday 21st September The third win in three days for the Diamonds at Newport this afternoon with the Diamonds beating the Wasps by 47 points to 43. Scorers for the Diamonds were: Paul Bentley 10 (from 5 rides), Stuart Swales 6 (5), Richard Juul 11 plus two bonus (6), Jesper Olsen 14 (6), Lee Dicken 6+3 (6) and James Birkinshaw 0 points (3). The Diamonds now have a home meeting tomorrow night against Hull in a challenge match with Richard Juul not taking part so as to rest his injured leg.
Sunday 21st September Another good win last night for the Diamonds at Stoke by 53 points to 37 with the Diamonds also taking the bonus point. For the Diamonds, Jesper Olsen scored a 15 point maximum, Paul Bentley 13 points, Stuart Swales 7 points, Richard Juul 12 plus two bonus points, Lee Dicken 5 points and James Birkenshaw 1 point. The Diamonds now move onto Newport this afternoon where they are looking for their third away victory in three days.
Saturday 20th September An excellent win at Edinburgh last night started the last week of the 1997 league season for the Diamonds. Tonight (Saturday) they race at Stoke, followed by away at Newport on Sunday, home against Hull on Monday, away at Berwick on Wednesday, away at Isle of Wight on Thursday and finally at home to Isle of Wight on Sunday. Each of these matches could be won by the Diamonds but with them all coming so close to each other, no-one knows what the effect will be on men and machinery. Until the results are known the Diamonds final league place will not be decided and therefore their opponents in the end of season play offs.
Monday 8th September A number of fixture changes have been made following on from last weeks postponements. The Diamonds will now ride at Stoke on Saturday 20th September and at Newport the following day. There will therefore be no home meeting on Sunday September 21st and Monday September 22nd is now scheduled as an 'Open' date. I have heard rumours that Isle of Wight will visit Newcastle on Sunday September 28th after racing at Glasgow the same afternoon but this has not been confirmed yet. Meetings at Berwick and Isle of Wight have yet to be arranged although they must be completed by the end of September, the only possible date for the Berwick meeting would be Saturday 27th September. As far as I am aware, no dates are available at the Isle of Wight.
Sunday 31st August This afternoons meeting at Newport has been called off due to the rain, as was last nights scheduled meeting at Stoke.
It was reported in last nights local paper that Kevin Wilde (owner of Brough Park and Sunderland Greyhound Stadium) is sueing Eric Armstrong (who rents Brough Park from Kevin Wilde) for unpaid rent, Eric Armstrong is also counter-sueing Kevin Wilde. It would appear that the disagreements are mainly about money but also the rights to stage the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) meetings. Let's hope that this dispute is settled soon as Eric Armstrong has been a good supporter of speedway this year while it was Kevin Wilde who stopped the speedway two years ago.
Sunday 17th August Tonights match against the Isle of Wight was rained off 45 minutes after the scheduled start time of 6:30 after a thunderstorm at 6:15 followed by steady rain for the next hour.
Newcastle have signed James Birkenshaw from Sheffield to replace Brian Turner who has been transferred to Hull.
Tuesday 12th August Two good home wins for the Diamonds over the weekend 48-42 against Berwick on Sunday night and 53-37 against Newport on Monday night. Jesper Olsen more than made up for his three engine failures on Sunday night by scoring a magnificent 18 point maximum and reducing the track record by 0.50 seconds to 64.6 against Newport.
Jesper Olsen was officially excluded from his third ride on Sunday night after he borrowed junior Malcolm Hogg's bike which was found to have last years fuel in it. Just as well Jesper didn't finish the race. Berwick tried to have all of the points he scored in the meeting deducted but they were overruled by the referee.
Malcolm Hogg was fined £50 by the referee on Sunday night after throwing his bike to the ground, stepping over the tapes and walking along the track when his engine failed just before the start of a junior race.
The great Ivan Mauger was spectating on Monday night and seemed to be taking an interest in Richard Juul.
The rumour on Monday night was that Brian Turner was about to sign for Hull with Chris Readshaw coming into replace him, personally I hope this does not happen. Brian was 'rested' from the team on Monday night after two engine failures on Sunday and replaced by Jonathon Swales.
A benefit evening for Glyn Taylor is to be held at the PTE club, Byker on Tuesday 26th August.
Tuesday 29th July Unfortunately, bad news about Glyn Taylor. He is to have an operation to have a titanium rod inserted into his back and has decided to retire from speedway. Although he is expected to fully recover from the operation, if he continued riding and had an accident he may damage his back permanently.
Newcastle have now re-shuffled their riders and signed Mike Smith from Berwick. The likely line-up for the rest of the season is: 1. Paul Bentley, 2. Rider Replacement for Glyn Taylor, 3. Stuart Swales, 4. Jesper Olsen, 5. Mike Smith, 6. Richard Juul, 7. Brian Turner. On current averages, I believe that Richard Juul will be able to take one rider replacement ride and Brian Turner the other 3.
Friday 25th July Glyn Taylor is likely to be out of action for two months after crushing three vertebrae in his crash at Hull on Wednesday night. This means a recall for Andre Compton and a reshuffle of the Diamonds riders. For this Sundays meeting at Brough Park against Oxford, the team is likely to line up as follows: 1. Paul Bentley, 2. Andre Compton, 3. Stuart Swales, 4. Richard Juul, 5. Jesper Olsen, 6. rider replacement for Glyn Taylor, 7. Brian Turner. Track reserve Brian Turner is likely to take 3 rider of the rider replacement rides and Andre Compton the other.
Wednesday 23rd July A fantastic win for the Diamonds tonight at Hull by 46 points to 44. I have no details yet other than to say that Glyn Taylor was taken to hospital after being taken into the fence by Peter Scully in his first ride.
Monday 21st July For the third week in a row Newcastle hit 50 points, this time against Exeter, to take the two league points and this week also the bonus point, to start moving up the league. What a change in the team over the last month!
Sunday 13th July For the second week in a row, Newcastle won the Premier League meeting at Brough Park to take them off the bottom of the League. This follows on from an encouraging meeting at Oxford on Friday when the Diamonds were beaten but not disgraced.
Monday 7th July At last, the Diamonds have won a Premier League match, last night they beat Hull Vikings by 53-37.
Sunday 29th June Tonights meeting with Long Eaton has been postponed after torrential rain during the last week has left the track flooded.
Tuesday 24th June After posting my match report from last Sunday and comments over the weekend I received e-mails from Lee Rowland and Andy Williamson. Click here to read these e-mails and my response.
Sunday 22nd June Another terrible home defeat for Newcastle by 42-47 against a Stoke team with only five riders. Andre Compton blew another engine tonight, the fourth in three days, this time one of Jesper Olsen's. Only Stuart Swales can escape criticism tonight as all the rest of the team had a number of poor rides. Something must be done sonn (but what?) as at the moment I can't see where Newcastle first league points are going to come from. Next weeks meeting will be even more difficult with the visit of title favourites Long Eaton.
Saturday 21st June A much better showing from Newcastle tonight as they took second place behind Edinburgh in the final leg of the northern round of the four team tournament qualifying rounds. The final result is that Newcastle finish third behind Edinburgh and Bwerwick and infront of Glasgow.
Saturday 21st June Andre Compton's position in the team looks even more insecure after last night display at Edinburgh. He was replaced in all four of his scheduled rides by reserve Brian Turner because of machine problems. One report I have read, said that both of his bikes blew up while he was warming them up, while the other said that he was withdrawn from the team 5 minutes before the start of the meeting by team manager George English because neither of his bikes were functioning. This follows on from him not being able to take his first ride at Brough Park last Sunday because he was unable to get his bike going. I can understand a rider having machine problems, but this has now been going on all season. Personally, I would prefer to have a junior in the team who is at least able to take part in the race and has the potential to improve.
Jesper Olsen was the star of the Diamonds team with ten points, while Paul Bentley contributed only 3 and Stuart Swales 7 points. Brian Turner failed to score from his four rides but any points scored by him in this company should be seen as a bonus.
The final round is at Berwick tonight and there is some doubt about whether Andre Compton will be included, it all depends on hime getting a working bike.
On Sunday the Diamonds take on Stoke in a Premier League meeting with Peter Scully in as a guest for Glyn Taylor. This is a match the Diamonds have to win.
Friday 20th June
At the start of the season, I said that I thought Paul Bentley was not a number 1 and I still believe that even though he has done better than expected so far as has Stuart Swales (apart from engine problems) and Brian Turner. Jesper Olsen has been disapointing while I think that Glyn Taylor has done as well as expected. Andre Compton has been the biggest disappointment and I believe he is the one who should most be worrying about his team place. The problem of course is that it is not as simple as that due to averages and the riders that are available.
Newcastle must make a new signing soon to rescue the season or Andre and Jesper must suddenly start to show their true form (or are they already !?).
Monday 16th June A terrible weekend for the Diamonds in the 4 team tournament qualifying rounds at Glasgow and Newcastle, only picking up 33 points from the 32 races and already looking certanties to finish last in the group. Once again, the Diamonds had numerous falls and machine problems but these have now got past the plain bad luck stage. The Diamonds management are meeting this week to decide what to do to try and resurrect the Diamonds season, out of the cup, out of the 4 team tournament and bottom of the league without a point. Next weekend sees the conclusion of the 4TT qualifying rounds with meetings at Edinburgh (Friday) and Berwick (Saturday) and then a home meeting with Stoke on Sunday. The talk at Brough Park last night was that the planned fixture with Edinburgh has been re-arranged because Stoke provide a better opportunity of Newcastle getting their first league points of the season.
Saturday 14th June Last nights meeting at Edinburgh was called off just before the scheduled start time due to a waterlogged track. Tomorrows 4TT meetings at Glasgow (1:30) and Newcastle (7:30) are currently still on but the weather forecast is not looking too good for the weekend.
Tuesday 10th June Due to problems with my PC I have not been able to keep this page up to date over the last week or so. The problems are now sorted and I will be bringing everything up to date during the rest of this week.
Saturday 31st May Newcastle tonight won at Berwick by 51 points to 39 but this does not seem to be enough to take the Diamonds into the semi-finals of the knock out cup. More details as soon as I have them.
Monday 26th May After a home defeat to Berwick on Sunday night the Diamonds tonight beat Glasgow by 48-42. The Diamonds next meetings are at Berwick on Saturday night as the first part of a double header (start time 6pm) and at Exeter next Monday. There is no meeting at Brough Park next Sunday because of the British Final at Coventry.
Sunday 18th May For the third week in a row Newcastle's home meeting tonight against Glasgow has been rained off. However, earlier today at Glasgow, Newcastle won by 46 points to 43.
Sunday 11th May Once again, both home and away matches this weekend, with Berwick, have been rained off, this time without a wheel being turned. As yet, no restaging dates have been announced.
Tuesday 6th May With this weekends meetings against Glasgow both being cancelled because of the rain it is hoped to re-stage both meetings on Sunday May 18th. This decision rests on agreement from Long Eaton and Stoke who are the scheduled opponents for Glasgow and Newcastle, respectively, on that date.
Monday 28th April Andre Compton will return from injury this weekend in the home and away clashes with Glasgow and with Jesper Olsen also expected to return for the home meeting on Monday night this will be the first time this season that Newcastle have been able to put out a full team.
Monday 28th April After becoming the first team in the Northern Section of the Knock Out Cup to take an away point on Friday, Newcastle last night became the first team in the Northern Section to lose at home. The Diamonds suffered machine problems all night before finally going down in a last heat decider 44-46 to Hull, see the fixtures/results page for a full report.
Saturday 26th April Newcastle last night gained a very important away draw at Edinburgh, the first away point gained by a team in the Northern section of the Knock Out Cup qualifying rounds, top scorer for Newcastle was guest Scott Robson with 13 points. A full report will appear on the fixtures/results page as soon as I have it.
Wednesday 23rd April Injured Newcastle rider Andre Compton tonight qualified for the next round of the World under 21 Championship by scoring 8 points from his 5 rides in the British under 21 Championship at Kings Lynn. Andre broke his left ankle at Newcastle's practice day in March and has not ridden since, he is not expected to return to the Newcastle team for some time yet and tonights meeting was a one-off in the hope of qualifying for the next round.
Sunday 20th April Chris Readshaw returned to speedway tonight after what must be the shortest retirement ever. He rode in two races during the second half of tonights meeting against Edinburgh winning them both from Malcolm Hogg. Before tonights meeting, Malcolm Hogg and Stephen Jones both signed contracts to ride for Newcastle.
Saturday 19th April Chris Readshaw has decided to retire from speedway and his place in the Newcastle team will be taken by Malcolm Hogg. Since the start of the season Chris Readshaw has not shown the form that he, the Diamonds management and supporters were expecting and he has decided to retire from speedway. His place in the Newcastle team for tomorows meeting with Edinburgh will be taken by 21 year old Malcolm Hogg from Fenham in Newcastle. Although Malcolm only took up speedway two years ago he has proved so far this season to be the top Newcastle junior rider and has already beaten Chris Readshaw a number of times.