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Post by Rota on Jun 7, 2018 17:45:45 GMT 12
WESTERN SPRINGS ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THEIR WEBSITE
Tomorrow there will be a collective announcement by Auckland Council, the Regional Facilities Auckland and Springs Promotions around the future of open wheel speedway in Auckland.
For many years now, we have fought to stay at Western Springs as it has been our 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.
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 challenges faced at Western Springs are vast and include a heavily restricted number of race and rain-out nights, strict timing restrictions on those meetings, public parking, race trailer access as well as the shared environment with the likes of Taste, Pacifica, concerts, MOTAT and Ponsonby Rugby.
An opportunity presented itself whereby an alternate location has been offered to our sport, that location is the new purpose-built motorsport facility at Colin Dale Park, near the Auckland International Airport. This opportunity provides a long-term future for open wheel racing in Auckland at a stadium designed specifically for speedway.
This multimillion-dollar stadium will provide an unlimited number of meetings, purpose-built wide track specifically designed for the wheel to wheel racing this sport is renowned for. It will have both terraced and grand stand seating options, International Series events for the premier classes, Mega Screen to watch those all-important replays, pit access for fans and plenty of off-street parking, all created for our sport.
The stadium will have a pit area large enough to hold over 180 competitors with easy access. Additionally, the new stadium will allow New Zealand Championship events to be run over two days, as well as ample pre-season practice meetings and training days along with new exciting events, given we have unlimited scope in the future.
The stadium will have several purpose-built areas including a speedway museum, large grandstand, merchandise shops, food stalls and a clubroom suitable to cater to the sport of Speedway.
We understand the significance of a shift to a new venue, we are focused on even the smallest details when we begin to design the new home for speedway. We know that a plastic seated fish bowl lacks atmosphere, as opposed to the famous concrete terraces of the Springs. We know that drivers face glare from the sun at a certain time of the night, we can position the track to minimise this. We know our drivers need a banked, American style race track with multiple racing grooves. An opportunity to consider these and many other details will allow us to create an amazing venue, charged with atmosphere and a whole new level of racing action.
“This decision has been one of the toughest imaginable” said Greg Mosen – Promoter, “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” he said.
With the recent opening of the Western Route Tunnel, and the proposed widening of the access road to the Airport, along with the proposed commercial developments schedule for the surrounding area, Colin Dale Motorsport Park will become the best place to watch open wheel speedway in Auckland.
Speedway at the Colin Dale Park will open in November 2020 having run at the Western Springs venue for the next two full seasons. This provides time to get everything in place, so there is no loss of any scheduled meetings in the switch-over.
Further detail will be shared with you, as soon as they are available.
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Post by orapiuwharf on Jun 7, 2018 17:57:55 GMT 12
Ok so where does this leave Waikaraka. Have Waikaraka been shafted? Who is going to be paying for this? I dont know thats why I am asking.
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Post by blown on Jun 7, 2018 18:40:10 GMT 12
Greg Mosen is living in a world of smoke and mirrors and trying to convince auckland open wheel supporters all will be well after western springs is closed down as a speedway venue.
Here are some questions i would love Mosen to answer.
Who has offered spl the opportunity to develop a speedway ttack at the new motorsport park.
Why does he think the regional facilities council will agree to this after already stating Waikaraka park is not only their preferred option but their only one, particularly with the amount of money already planned for this venture.
Why would the proposed new motorsport park be considered as this area was already looked at over 10 years ago and the Auckland Airport Authority voiced their strongest opposition to the proposal due to safety concerns with the amount of air born dust being created for aircraft directly overhead the main flight path, the only change since then is the vast increase of numbers of aircraft using the airport.
Waiting for Mosens answers to these questions which i already know will not come anytime in the near future, damm hard fighting your way through smoke and mirrors.
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Post by blown on Jun 7, 2018 18:54:27 GMT 12
The other thing i forgot to mention with the Auckland Airports opposition to having a speedway venue anywhere close to the airports flight path was the safety issue with multiple bright lights creating a magor distraction for incoming aircraft.
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Post by jimmyj on Jun 7, 2018 19:06:03 GMT 12
More to the point .WHO is paying for it Mr Buckley??
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Post by gjd on Jun 7, 2018 19:06:08 GMT 12
maybe it will have a roof....no dust..no bright lights...no rainoffs
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Post by midway on Jun 7, 2018 19:20:33 GMT 12
Well at a quick glimpse of the proposal it looks far better using ratepayers money "if needed " than the present situation ,and can bring much needed progress further ahead of schedule .
The airport authority can lodge as many complaints as it likes ,but if you travel around the globe how many airports are in a far worse predicament by flight path lighting than Mangere .You can have adjusting lights on towers seen at many international airports ,stadiums etc
Old wounds dont heal easy ,but that is progress moving forward ..
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Post by John W. on Jun 7, 2018 19:52:36 GMT 12
Just a heads up for the drivers... unitaryplan.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Images/Auckland%20Unitary%20Plan%20Operative/Chapter%20I%20Precincts/1.%20Auckland%20wide/I101%20Motorsport%20Precinct.pdfUnless the above gets changed, you may want to makes sure your cars are not backfiring. I would also be concerned at the limit of 750 vehicles per day. Take out the 150 for teams and volunteers and you get 600 spectator cars. 10pm curfew on Fridays and 10.30pm on Sat (6pm on Sundays even if Monday is a holiday). 80db noise limit....oh...and no fireworks. Why do you think Colin Dale was originally passed over? I sincerely hope for the drivers sake that SPL can get these restrictive conditions loosened a lot. The car movements is the biggest concern...600 cars x 4 people per car (cos we all know Aucklanders like car pooling) and you get a maximum of 2400 spectators....sorry...2410 (forgot the 10 that will walk there). |
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gmac
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Post by gmac on Jun 7, 2018 20:08:02 GMT 12
Wow, didn't see that one coming! Unfortunately I think that the Waikaraka Park option posed more questions than answers would have compromised the interests of all concerned. An ambitious plan but to start with a blank sheet and with the opportunity to incorporate the best elements of international motor racing facilities is awesome. There are obvious challenges, creating an atmosphere anything like Western Springs and to get a walk up crowd that a city fringe location enjoys would be the obvious ones. The opportunity to run multi night events and driver training and practice events, a bigger pit area were just a few of the things necessary to move the sport forward and were just not possible at Western Springs.
Of course I would love for Speedway to stay at Western Springs but I think deep down I knew it was a losing battle, to be able to front foot the next chapter and not be dictated so sounds like something a certain Barry B would have been right into......
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Post by speedwayjunkie on Jun 7, 2018 21:20:00 GMT 12
More to the point .WHO is paying for it Mr Buckley?? Good question Jimmy J would like to suggest Mr Buckley injunction with us Super City rate payers, I already feel the vacuum on my wallet
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Post by speedwayjunkie on Jun 7, 2018 21:20:58 GMT 12
Just a heads up for the drivers... unitaryplan.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Images/Auckland%20Unitary%20Plan%20Operative/Chapter%20I%20Precincts/1.%20Auckland%20wide/I101%20Motorsport%20Precinct.pdfUnless the above gets changed, you may want to makes sure your cars are not backfiring. I would also be concerned at the limit of 750 vehicles per day. Take out the 150 for teams and volunteers and you get 600 spectator cars. 10pm curfew on Fridays and 10.30pm on Sat (6pm on Sundays even if Monday is a holiday). 80db noise limit....oh...and no fireworks. Why do you think Colin Dale was originally passed over? I sincerely hope for the drivers sake that SPL can get these restrictive conditions loosened a lot. The car movements is the biggest concern...600 cars x 4 people per car (cos we all know Aucklanders like car pooling) and you get a maximum of 2400 spectators....sorry...2410 (forgot the 10 that will walk there). Very interesting reading thanks John W |
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Post by hienekenno1 on Jun 7, 2018 21:54:32 GMT 12
Hopefully a track along the lines of Kokomo Speedway will be built,long overdue I reckon but thanks for the memories Western springs back in the good old days when I enjoyed it.The midgets and sprintcars of today have just out grown the track and it has become dangerous,just to narrow and that wall comes up fast which we saw with Jamie McDonald last season.Looking forward to the grand opening at Colin Dale park Speedway November 2020.
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Post by midway on Jun 7, 2018 22:04:47 GMT 12
Just a heads up for the drivers... unitaryplan.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Images/Auckland%20Unitary%20Plan%20Operative/Chapter%20I%20Precincts/1.%20Auckland%20wide/I101%20Motorsport%20Precinct.pdfUnless the above gets changed, you may want to makes sure your cars are not backfiring. I would also be concerned at the limit of 750 vehicles per day. Take out the 150 for teams and volunteers and you get 600 spectator cars. 10pm curfew on Fridays and 10.30pm on Sat (6pm on Sundays even if Monday is a holiday). 80db noise limit....oh...and no fireworks. Why do you think Colin Dale was originally passed over? I sincerely hope for the drivers sake that SPL can get these restrictive conditions loosened a lot. The car movements is the biggest concern...600 cars x 4 people per car (cos we all know Aucklanders like car pooling) and you get a maximum of 2400 spectators....sorry...2410 (forgot the 10 that will walk there). I am quite sure those who have investigated the possibilities have put one step forward and not two steps backwards .. |
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Post by 00crewchief00 on Jun 7, 2018 22:24:42 GMT 12
So how many seasons will drivers have to run as M or H while waiting for this to get started let alone finished?
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Post by John W. on Jun 7, 2018 22:28:42 GMT 12
Just a heads up for the drivers... unitaryplan.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Images/Auckland%20Unitary%20Plan%20Operative/Chapter%20I%20Precincts/1.%20Auckland%20wide/I101%20Motorsport%20Precinct.pdfUnless the above gets changed, you may want to makes sure your cars are not backfiring. I would also be concerned at the limit of 750 vehicles per day. Take out the 150 for teams and volunteers and you get 600 spectator cars. 10pm curfew on Fridays and 10.30pm on Sat (6pm on Sundays even if Monday is a holiday). 80db noise limit....oh...and no fireworks. Why do you think Colin Dale was originally passed over? I sincerely hope for the drivers sake that SPL can get these restrictive conditions loosened a lot. The car movements is the biggest concern...600 cars x 4 people per car (cos we all know Aucklanders like car pooling) and you get a maximum of 2400 spectators....sorry...2410 (forgot the 10 that will walk there). I am quite sure those who have investigated the possibilities have put one step forward and not two steps backwards .. I hope so too....but I recall only a month ago that there was no intention of moving...Has there been enough time for a thorough due diligence? |
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Post by hmac on Jun 7, 2018 22:30:17 GMT 12
It soumds like a fairly standard set of conditions that also apply to other stadiums such as Eden Park, Mt Smart etc, ....there's a cost involved of course, in having to submit a Traffic Management Plan, on those occasions where the nominal standards are likely to be exceeded on a given night. Coucil has dicrection to allow for flexibilty in those cases. Who knows, those sort of restrictions/conditions might already be currently applied to the Springs at present even. Honestly don't know. Sure is stuff that can be worked around though.
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Post by BarryB on Jun 7, 2018 22:43:37 GMT 12
So how many seasons will drivers have to run as M or H while waiting for this to get started let alone finished? None, according to that report above. Barry B |
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Post by lorryathuntly on Jun 8, 2018 9:07:08 GMT 12
Speedway at the Colin Dale Park will open in November 2020 having run at the Western Springs venue for the next two full seasons. This provides time to get everything in place, so there is no loss of any scheduled meetings in the switch-over.
Further detail will be shared with you, as soon as they are available.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2018 11:04:52 GMT 12
Wow, didn't see that one coming! Unfortunately I think that the Waikaraka Park option posed more questions than answers would have compromised the interests of all concerned. An ambitious plan but to start with a blank sheet and with the opportunity to incorporate the best elements of international motor racing facilities is awesome. There are obvious challenges, creating an atmosphere anything like Western Springs and to get a walk up crowd that a city fringe location enjoys would be the obvious ones. The opportunity to run multi night events and driver training and practice events, a bigger pit area were just a few of the things necessary to move the sport forward and were just not possible at Western Springs. Of course I would love for Speedway to stay at Western Springs but I think deep down I knew it was a losing battle, to be able to front foot the next chapter and not be dictated so sounds like something a certain Barry B would have been right into...... Barry B would have been right into it, and it will be a great facility for the drivers if SPL can sort out all the planning issues at that location. I wonder if the MX guys are waking up this morning and finding out that have just been kicked out, and if any of the smaller organisations that Colin Dale was built for will take long to figure out they have just lost use of the site, they have spent 10 years fund raising for, every Saturday and some whole weekends during the summer months? It sounds like, and looks like a great facility for the drivers and teams, but will the 'mum and dad with two kids Saturday night entertainment crowd' really go more than once or twice a season. Competitors great, fans not so sure...... "Build it and they will come" - Field of dreams was just a movie. The loss of Claremont Speedway in the city of Perth is a pretty good comparison. The Perth Motorplex is an amazing facility and paid for by the WA Government - 40 minutes drive further out than the much loved Claremont Speedway. It took 10 years for people to start to go to the new speedway, and even now it is mostly 'die hard' fans - the family crowd that filled Claremont is gone. We all made judgements about the Waikaraka Park option without even seeing it. The one big thing that has been missed here was the importance of keeping the speedway in the city. We don't have the Western Australian Government paying for this in full - we are expecting SPL (Bill) to pay for it and keep it going. What happens to the cash injections if it does not work in this location - who is the next cab off the rank willing to pump $ms into the sport to cover the loss of the revenue from fans if the same thing happens as did in Perth? Speedway in Auckland has always been a 'partnership' between the spectacle and the fans. Waikaraka Park has suffered greatly in reputation and presentation since the grandstand and toilets were closed - 'mum and the kids' stopped coming, and 'dad' is only allowed out a couple times a summer. It is a quickly compounding issue when cost goes up (or the need to spend is obvious) and revenue goes down. I just hope moving the open wheelers out of the city, rather than even look at the other city option with history and opportunity does not end up in a big 'regret spend' with no where to turn to next. |
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Post by midway on Jun 8, 2018 12:01:42 GMT 12
Rather than write a long platitude of paragraphs to which means very little ,one may say next time you go past a wishing well ,have a good look for a gold coin ..
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