Background

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The Abbey Stadium in Blunsdon St Andrews, Swindon was the home of the Swindon Robins since its opening in 1949 until 2019 and has entertained and thrilled generations of speedway fans throughout its seven decades of operation. But times have changed, and serious challenges now face the long-term viability of speedway racing in the UK. 

The Abbey Stadium is now surrounded by residential development and the environmental impact on neighbouring properties, such as noise and air pollution, take precedence over speedway racing. As a result, planning restrictions severely limiting the number of days of motorsports operation and strict noise restrictions made the Abbey Stadium unviable as a motorsports venue. Greyhound racing, the financial underpin and enabler of speedway racing promotion is under severe financial pressure and with growing concerns related to welfare has a very uncertain future.

The financial status of speedway racing in the U.K. is under increasing pressure with eight speedway teams going into administration as a result of shifting financial and supporter dynamics since 2016.

Recent analysis conducted by sports consultants Knight, Kavanagh and Page (KKP) outlined that the nation-wide decline in speedway operations has been caused by unsustainable revenue streams owing to declining audiences and fewer broadcasting deals. KPP concluded that speedway as a sport operating in isolation is therefore no longer commercially viable.

Despite numerous discussions with many potential partners, investors and politicians it has not been possible to find a viable and sustainable way of operating motorsport at the Abbey Stadium. 

But that is not the end of the story.

Swindon Motorsports, a joint partnership between Swindon Speedway and Gaming International, was formed in autumn 2022 with the core objective of identifying and securing a new and sustainable location for motorsports and speedway racing.

In November 2022, we issued a ‘call for sites’, asking speedway fans and interested parties to submit suggestions for a new site within a 45-minute drive of central Swindon. We were overwhelmed by the number of responses we received, and in February 2023, appointed Savills, one of the UK’s foremost property agents, to lead the process of formally reviewing potential sites. This led us to identify the Studley Grange site.

In November 2023, following positive discussions with the landowner, we announced that a new site had been identified. Following the exchange of contracts and extensive investigation, in August 2024, we formally announced Studley Grange as the new site for motorsports.