Speedway to move from Western Springs, paving way for cricket to move in
Speedway promoters have agreed to move from Western Springs, opening the way for the venue to become the home of test cricket in Auckland.
International cricket at Western Springs in Auckland is a step closer, with speedway promoters agreeing to move from the venue to a site near Auckland Airport.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said a memorandum of understanding was about to be signed, with Speedway looking at moving to Colin Dale Motorsport Park in Wiri.
"There's no neighbours there to disturb, unlike at Western Springs, a new start for them, they're enthusiastic about it," Goff told The AM Show on Friday.
Western Springs Speedway promoter Greg Mosen said the decision had been "one of the toughest imaginable".
"There's been a stand-off between Regional Facilities Auckland and Speedway for such a long time and I want to give credit to Speedway for saying, 'look, it's time for us to move to a new home'," he said.
READ MORE:
* No more speedway but Western Springs could get louder, council says
* New Auckland stadium backed by sport's heavy hitters
* Spaghetti junction stadium: Is motorway jungle best fit for Auckland?
* NZ Cricket backs new Western Springs stadium, Eden Park not 'fit for purpose'
"It does free up the potential of Western Springs for further development, and of course New Zealand Cricket's really interested in that ... but that's a little way down the track yet."
Getting Speedway's active agreement and enthusiasm about moving was the first step on a new stadiums strategy for Auckland, Goff said.
"So we'll sign a memorandum of understanding - it's not a done deal yet - but it's an agreement by the parties. Speedway want to move. We'll make a contribution toward the new facilities for Speedway ... and then cricket will start to work with Regional Facilities Auckland."
As for Eden Park, where test cricket has been played in Auckland, work still had to be done on the issue of concerts at that venue, Goff said.
"At the moment there's a restriction under the unitary plan on concerts ... that's still got to be worked through."
A statement on the Western Springs Speedway website said staff had fought to stay at Western Springs as it had been "home for almost 90 years".
"Our emotional attachment to the venue has been the main driving force behind this, however we seem to be fighting this battle more and more often," it said.
"The competitors and fans of speedway deserve better than this, which gave cause to review the entire situation, to ensure the sport continues to grow whilst providing a legacy for future generations.
"Rather than delay what was proving to be inevitable, the collective decision was made with the future of speed in mind."
The speedway at the new site in Colin Dale Park is set to open in November 2020.
In the same statement, Western Springs Speedway promoter Greg Mosen said the decision had been "one of the toughest imaginable".
"We called all the drivers together to ensure they were part of this process, it was great to have them support us with a unanimous call to support the move," Mosen said.
In March, director of venue development strategy for Auckland Stadiums, Paul Nisbet, said the speedway at Western Springs was no longer financially viable.
The annual cost to RFA of maintaining it was about $560,000.
"This significantly exceeds the venue hire fee that SPL pays to use it for speedway events," Nesbit said.
- Stuff
Comments