Newcastle Diamonds planning final ever meeting after 92 years of speedway

Newcastle Diamonds speedway club says it is planning for what is likely to be their final ever meeting, after 92 years in the sport.

This summer, co-promoters Rob Grant and Dave Tattum announced they would be bowing out. Today, the club has announced that along with saying goodbye to Grant and Tattum at their last home meeting of the season, it is likely that it will be saying goodbye to the sport altogether.

In a statement, Newcastle Speedway management said any potential of a takeover following the departure of the current promoters remains unlikely, and due to the financial strain the club is under, the final meeting at Newcastle will be this Sunday's Championship fixture against Birmingham Brummies.

"The club has suffered significant losses this year and everyone at Newcastle firmly believes Rob Grant has done remarkably well just to get us to the end of the season, as the truth is we could have folded much earlier in the season.

"It certainly has not been an easy decision for Rob to make. However, after a meeting with management this morning, following yesterday evening's Championship meeting with Edinburgh, which unfortunately once again failed to attract crowd numbers large enough to sustain the financial pressures of running a speedway club, it is a decision that he regrettably has had no choice but to make."

A final farewell meeting for the current promoters had been planned for Sunday 25 September; that has now been cancelled because of the financial situation.

Co-promoter Rob Grant says he is "deeply sorry and disappointed" for sponsors, riders and supporters.

In June, ITV Tyne Tees spoke to Newcastle Diamonds about how the Covid pandemic has affected the club and the sport.