Oxford Stadium reopening set to create 150 jobs

ITV News reporter Mark McQuillan has been given an exclusive look around Oxford Stadium.

The new leaseholder of Oxford Stadium has told ITV News Meridian the reopening of the site is set to create 150 jobs.

The site, which hosted greyhound racing and speedway, closed nearly a decade ago and has fallen into disrepair since.

The stadium originally opened in 1939 and attracted around 4,000 people per week at its peak, but suffered a major setback in 2007 when the local speedway team stopped operating, and eventually closed in 2012.

New boss Kevin Boothby is going to invest about a million pounds renovating the site ahead of reopening the greyhound track next year.

He said: "When you come here on a Friday, Saturday night, it will be full. We'll be doing extra, different things here but we will introduce extra leisure facilities here so people are part of this place."

• David Lestrade from Save Oxford Stadium campaign says it's welcome news for those who've fought to bring this entertainment venue back

Oxford City Council says it wants this to be a high quality, long term project which provides a boost in jobs.

Regarding the plans, Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, from Oxford City Council, said:“The Council was clear that we wanted to ensure that the site was kept for community and leisure use. We will want to be confident that the operator will be committed to ensuring this is a long term proposal delivering a high quality and accessible venue as well as delivering jobs and training to the local community."

Requirements which much of the local community will want and expect the new stadium boss to deliver.