Governing body steps in to close team “with immediate effect”.
Top class sport in the city has been dealt a blow with the announcement that the Birmingham Brummies speedway team has been forced to close.
The expected decision was announced by the British Speedway Promoters’ Association after the club failed to meet today’s deadline to find new owners.“I’m gutted about this outcome but sadly there was no alternative,” said BSPA chairman Alex Harkness in a statement issued this afternoon. “We have done everything possible to try and ensure the continuation of speedway but with no promoter willing to take the club forward I am afraid that it its no longer in business.”
Former promoter Allan Phillips had his licence annulled on 4th July, after the BSPA had been forced to pay Birmingham riders’ wages for recent meetings. The future of the Brummies has been under increased threat in recent weeks, following the collapse of a takeover by local businessman Tony Mole, who claimed that the level of debt owed by the Brummies made any rescue moves unaviable. The Brummies’ last meeting was a 59-36 defeat at Belle Vue on 30th June.
Today’s news comes seven years after the sport made a successful return to the city, with the Brummies riding at Perry Barr stadium in the latest chapter of a chequered history. Formed in 1929, their original home at the Birchfield Stadium was demolished in 1984 and the club moved to the Wheels complex at Bordesley Green until folding in 1986.
A twenty year campaign to bring speedway back to Birmingham culminated in a return to Perry Barr in 2006, with the Brummies gaining promotion to the top-flight Elite League in 2011. They topped the league table last season, losing the play-off final to Poole Pirates but amidst rumours of trouble behind the scenes manager Phil Morris left Perry Barr shortly afterwards.
While there are hopes that the club will reform next year, this latest news is a blow to the sport, with just nine teams remaining in the Elite League and one of these, Easttboune, reporting that they will be unable to continue beyond this year without new owners.
