We’ll be back say Bees
BEES VOW TO RETURN TO CITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
COVENTRY Bees have vowed to return to Brandon Stadium as soon as possible after revealing the club will start next season at Leicester’s Beaumont Park.
The deal to use the Leicester facility for home matches means the team will still be able to compete in the SGB Premiership this season while negotiations over a return to Brandon continue.
It will see both Leicester and Coventry Bees competing there, with Coventry racing on a Friday night.
Uncertainty has surrounded the Bees’ future at their Brandon Stadium home for some time, following a long-running row over the removal of fixtures and fittings which is yet to be resolved.
The club described the Brandon situation as “an unprecedented series of circumstances” requiring “extensive and detailed negotiations, involving several parties”.
The club said numerous options had been considered over recent weeks adding that promoter Mick Horton and Coventry Racing Club chief Avtar Sandhu “remain determined that the club will return to Coventry at the soonest possible opportunity”.
It said work was ongoing in a bid to achieve that. Mr Horton said: “We had to find a solution which enabled the club to survive whilst the negotiations continue to bring us back to Coventry.
“That is going to involve us racing some meetings at Beaumont Park at the start of the season, and I must place on record my thanks to Leicester for their co-operation.
“We are rivals on-track but they have been more than helpful throughout, and I won’t forget that if they ever need a favour in return.”
Mr Horton thanked the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA), Cllr Michael Stokes, the leader of Rugby Borough Council, and the council itself for “their continued assistance”.
He added: “It is well documented that Mr Sandhu and I have had our differences in the past.
“These are behind us - we are both passionate about the Bees and we are both determined for this interim arrangement to work with the ultimate aim of a return to Brandon as soon as possible.
“It is a relief to us all that we will be able to take to the track this season with our seven riders who have had to cope with so much uncertainty over the winter.”
Mr Horton also thanked the fans for their patience and said he realised holding matches at Leicester would present challenges.
“I must also say to our supporters from a personal point of view that it has been frustrating to be unable to provide them with more information at times, and I hope they can respect that,” he said.
“We have been working round- the-clock to ensure the club can continue but the nature of our talks have had to remain confidential.
“It goes without saying that this arrangement can only be successful with everyone working together - management, sponsors, supporters, everyone involved.
“I know racing at Leicester for the time being is going to present some difficulties to supporters, I under- stand that, and we will be looking at various measures in an attempt to make things easier.
“We all realise it isn’t going to be straightforward, but this club is too big to just let it fold.
“That most definitely could have happened during the winter, and we’ve kept on working to ensure that doesn’t happen.
“We’ve now got to have everyone backing us to make it work, and to prove that we were all right to save the Bees.”
We had to find a solution which enabled the club to survive while negotiations continue to bring us back to Coventry. Mick Horton