'Call To Arms' For Fen Tigers’ Future
Faced with the final costs for the type of foam fence required to get Speedway up and running again at Mildenhall Stadium this year, the Supporters Trust's Steering Committee have made an urgent 'call to arms' for those in the locality and in the wider sport to make one more big push to make it happen for the 2025 season.
On behalf of the Steering Committee, joint-coordinator Kieran Phillips said, " 'I have a dream' is not a phrase you would normally associate with Speedway, however it’s very appropriate and has been for the Steering Committee since we were formed. Every step of the way we have negotiated obstacle after obstacle, we been met with sniggering and silence, but always found a way to take another step towards bringing racing back to West Row.
"They say a club is nothing without fans. The Fen Tigers family and the Community Interest Company [CIC] have been nothing short of amazing: buying into our "dream "and providing us with the funds to be able to give us a kick start so to speak.."
Phillips went on,
“Where we are now is nothing short of a minor miracle, however with continued talks with the foam company, we realised that to be able to get racing on we are still short of the mark in fiscal terms. With the foam idea being very much planted in people's minds we will not scrimp on safety. We cannot and will not have a rider's injury on our conscience.”
Fellow co-ordinator Steve Ribbons explained the latest position, "Speedway clubs and tracks are falling by the wayside year after year. We at Mildenhall Speedway do not want to be one of them. Local football clubs, rugby clubs, hockey clubs are all under financial pressure and more and more often they are under pressure from housing developers. We, at Mildenhall are not in that position, the track and stadium are there and ready to go - we do however need to make the track as safe as possible.
"What we need now are the funds to purchase the foam blocks for the new style of safety fence we described at our recent fans' meeting. After a long lead-in period we have managed to get the price for everything we need - which is supplied for £17,550.00 plus VAT. This is of course a massive saving of the price that was initially quoted by the supplier used by the British Speedway Promoters Ltd. affiliated clubs of £76,000 + VAT.
Green Light For Fence Plan & NORA Racing!
Two major steps forward have been made in getting the Fen Tigers Speedway club back on track at Mildenhall Stadium. A meeting of the Mildenhall Speedway Supporters Trust last Sunday (22nd. June) voted unanimously to endorse the proposals to use a bespoke combination of foam barrier and air fence and to apply to the NORA92 approved authority for the necessary insurance accreditation for the motorcycle sport to return to the West Row venue in what is the 50th. anniversary of Speedway opening there.
And with the go-ahead given by the members of the Trust (a legally-constituted Community Interest Company [CIC] – a unique feature in British Speedway), the next stage was for the Stadium owner Deane Wood of Spedeworth Motorsports to meet with NORA92 to get the necessary insurance and other reassurances. That meeting was held the day after the Trust’s approval and went well, so the green light has now been given for the Trust to order the foam blocks needed for a track inspection by NORA, as soon as possible in July.
Steering Committee member Kieran Phillips commented,
“It’s a pair of very big steps forward – the way we have secured 62 trust members all putting in at least £100 and received the full backing of these members to proceed down the routes of a foam barrier in tandem with the existing air fence, well it couldn’t be a clearer indication that people want Speedway at Mildenhall Stadium again.
” Of the 62 members, as acting CIC Secretary Derek Barclay explained at the meeting held in West Row Village Hall, 29 had voted via email in favour of adopting the NORA route to return to active racing and the 27 paid up members in attendance, without a dissenting voice, voted in person to follow this path: thus a 100% vote in a ‘turn-out’ of over 90% - the clearest of mandates”.