Belle Vue speedway license reinstated

The Belle Vue Aces had their license revoked back in 2016 due to concerns expressed by Manchester City Council and the BSPA, the governing body of British speedway racing. The concerns expressed involved financial mismanagement and late payment of rent to the City Council for the stadium.

The stadium had been given to The Eastland’s Trust, but it is understood that the city council has agreed to return the stadium to the Aces, after negotiations between the two groups and the BSPA. Fans had reacted very negatively to the situation, with many criticising the city council or expressing concerns about the future of British speedway racing in Manchester. After popular demand however, the license has been reinstated, and the BSPA confirmed this by publishing the fixture list.

The commitment expressed by the new management, sponsors and promoters to investing in speedway sufficiently impressed both Manchester City Council and the BSPA and convinced both parties to agree to allowing the Aces to use the stadium once again.

The decision means that the Belle Vue Aces team will once again be able to use the facilities at the Belle Vue speedway facility, and will be able to designate the speedway as their home ground. Tickets for the new season can now also be bought on the Belle Vue website.

A statement from the Aces confirmed the move. "We are pleased to finally confirm Belle Vue WILL be racing this year. Full details on the new management will be announced soon."  

The Aces will have to sign new players to make up for losing some of their original team after the license to race was revoked, but the BSPA and Aces have made a special agreement to allow the Aces to sign new players and prepare the stadium for speedway racing.

Fans reacted with delight to the return of speedway racing to Belle Vue. Wayne Cooper, a long time speedway racing enthusiast and Belle Vue fan, wrote on twitter to say he was “Delighted” with the news. “So happy and delighted that the Aces will be racing again!” he wrote. “MCC and BSPA made a serious mistake revoking license originally, now it is going forward fans will be very happy.” Other fans expressed similar sentiments.

Catherine Howarth, who manages the youth team at Belle Vue, said she was very pleased to see the stadium reinstated to the club after concerns about the future of the sport at Belle Vue. “We were more than a little concerned that this might have been the end of speedway racing in Manchester”, she said. “Speedway racing as a niche is growing increasingly popular, and our Junior VUE membership has grown quite a lot. It would have been a disappointment for many of our younger members to not have the chance to take part in speedway racing”.

The Aces will start their 2016/2017 season in April. Tickets are available now for fans to buy from the BSPA website.