Wasn't Jezza on Radio Leeds about this this morning?

I didn't hear it.

Yes, someone was interviewed. They also spoke to Gary Havelock (sp) but that might have been last night.

At last somebody fast on the wing!!!

As a Speedway fan, i'd love to see it back at Odsal. Still watch it now on TV and think that we (the Dukes) were probably to worst done to in the whole Super Dome episode.

Imagine what would have happened if the Super League champs were just wound up as the council "thought" building work "might" commence imminently. Well this happened to the Dukes and we have a long history with Odsal so I'm hopeful it will come off.

If it does, I can see them being parachuted straight in at Elite level tbh so crowds might not be an issue.

The issue with bolts/damage to the pitch was nothing to do with the bikes... that was the stockcars (bikes actually tended to stay on the track or just to the edge if it broke down) which I really wouldnt like to see back.

With regards to the corners, I used to go down on a sunday morning with my dad and lay the corners. It was essentially turf laid on large wooden boards so it was quite easy to lay, if not hard work and i'm sure that if the banking gradient did not change then it wouldnt be too big a difference as it is now.

To be honest, there is no actual 'need' for banked corners in speedway anyway and many tracks are flat.

Considering the pitch at Widnes, it might be possible to make the corners out of that coloured, rubberised tarmac they use on playgrounds. Sorted!

I don't know if you were at the forum last week, but Gerry Sutcliffe did mention speedway and the material they use for tracks these days [which doesn't sound dissimilar to the surface you mention at Widnes], and he said that the surface erodes due to the racing and was likely to block the drains. That was apparently the biggest of the cons in the, 'is speedway feasible' argument.

Well if the speedway guru wants to bring it back he should pay for the improvements to the drainage, why don't we get a heated pitch whilst we are at it also, makes sense.

Why would spending a fortune on a heated pitch make sense?

Digging the pitch to improve the drainage lol we could have it rated also.

This is all up in the ailir anyway need both parties to agree to this idea or it will be dead before it starts I don't see a problem apart from the drainage, as mentioned. A lot of the grounds are differwnt sizes and no one moans so why would out up turned corners gives us home advantage which I though was the point of playing at home.

Bricking up one goal and swapping them round at half time would give us some home advantage too.

On the face of it, with the season as it is [we seem to be playing every week Feb to April, then twice a month in summer] it seems logical. To be honest though, if money were to be available for spending on the pitch, I'd go for upgrading the drains and re-laying.

No don't be silly, if its done properly with thoughtful planning don't see why it cant work.

Having the slopes is pretty silly, and frankly I can't justify having them there for home advantage. I'm pretty sure we were instructed to flatten them out when we returned to Odsal.

I honestly can't see the RFL agreeing to this at all. I'm not sure I want them to either.

Well, instructed to or not, they've all but disappeared these days - which I must admit amuses me when commentators refer to the corners as if they were still the same as 25 years ago