Inside Brandon (Coventry) Speedway Stadium

So on our way to a large manor house explore Mo told us to pull over and head to a local venue, the Coventry Brandon speedway. was a great day there as we got to see pretty much it all and were there for the day with the only interruption being a few traveller folk at the end looking for tatt. great place to see plenty of history of the sports dotted around, very happy we got to see this one.
Fancy buying us a brew? head over to: / redstateconnection
Brandon Speedway information:
Brandon Stadium also known as Coventry stadium was a speedway track just outside of Coventry that held its first speedway meeting on the 29th September 1928. Since then it has been home to the Coventry Bees speedway team, the Brisca F1 Stock car racing since 1954 and the Greyhound racing since 1978. Midlands sports stadium owned the arena until 2003 when it was sold to Avtar Sandu. Although the capacity is around 5000 its record was around 25,000 during the speedway. The shale speedway track, which is inside the dog track is 301 metres (329 yards) in length while the greyhound track is 409 metres (447 yards) in length. The stadium has held many events and championships over the years including but not limited to -
Speedway world finals:
1993
2000 (Last ever world team cup)
under 21 world championships:
1991
Speedway Grand prix:
1998
1999
2000
After Boxing Day 2009 the company went into liquidation and closed. Just three years later the well-known professional gambler and owner Harry Findlay re-opened Coventry until 2014 when it shut once again. Independent racing (unaffiliated to a governing body) then took place until January 2016.
Music by: Seamus White - / seamuswhitemusic

[@aces-ww8zl]

As a speedway fan, i have to say its heartbreaking whats happened to Brandon. Watched many meetings there as as a kid. British finals ect.

[@UncleBaldy]

Likewise , this is heart wrenching to see as ã Speedway fan 😥😔 - 🐝 Been to many ã British final/ league matches when following The DUKES at the Shay/Odsal . Loved going to Brandon.. this is evoking So so many memories. Sad indeed whats become of this wonderful place. 😔😔

[@masonhare9419]

My local team is kings lynn but all the trophies that coventry earned over the past with speedway then they go and close it down its sad

[@RedStateFilms]

We went back recently but unfortunately its really not looking fit for anything, we had hoped with the new purchase that the owners would be leaning towards a rebuild but it looks like its still going to sit until its unsafe and has to be pulled down. :(

[@dude1544]

This is one of the many tracks my grandad used to race at, he was called Brian Powles (154) 👍🏻👍🏻

[@RedStateFilms]

AWESOMDUDE 154 I’ll check the posters and mags we have mate if he’s mentioned in any I’ll get them sent over to you if you like?

[@dude1544]

Red State Connection that would be amazing thankyou 👍🏻👍🏻

[@Motorsportschris]

@@dude1544 Got a load of magazines to with your Grandad in I just need to go through them and you can have a few if you want bud?

[@dude1544]

Chrissy Spencer yes please dude that would be awesome

[@dude1544]

Chrissy Spencer dude do u have a way so I can contact you this is amazing thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Noahhingley520]

That was the best track I’ve been to

[@RedStateFilms]

George Hingley great place hey mate big shame it’s been left like this!!

[@godsp.a-book7596]

Those goodies are vintage speedway memorabilia, worth a shit ton. The TLD vests on the floor are super rare.

[@RedStateFilms]

i guess everything is worth something to somebody out there right? was TLD a team or company then?, personally i dont know a great deal about speedway.

[@brournemouth]

Extremely sad to see an abandoned stadium. I first watched stock car racing there in about 1964; there was even a double-decker special bus service to and from the stadium. In the early Sixties I remember young women on the morning bus were as often cheering about speedway rider Nigel Boocock as about Cliff Richard!

[@RedStateFilms]

bet it looked great back then! for a place with history dating back to 1928ish youd think more would be done to save it

[@Ravenuk]

I spent so many days there as a kid, the speedway was fantastic . Such a shame

[@RedStateFilms]

hopefully speedway doesnt disappear from coventry altogether a big part of the history and it seems loads of people local love it

[@nervo6321]

What a shame.....it was a huge part of speedway history....went to many British Finals there including the notorious 1984....

[@RedStateFilms]

alot of folks have been saying similar Nervo. Coventry is loosing alot of its History like this in replacement of new modern housing/flats. its strange looking at the main city these days.

[@oliverwalker8544]

Spent almost every other weekend here as a kid, makes me sad seeing it in this state

[@RedStateFilms]

its not good mate, its almost hard to picture the place being so active only years ago from the state its in now. im preparing to do a follow up on how its looking soon but i dread to think the state its in now from when i last went in.

[@nealspilsbury5786]

So many memories from this place awful of the owners British finals never will belong anywhere else remember ole Olsen farewell to all speedway fans past and present stay safe I have always thought speedway fans are part of a large family

[@RedStateFilms]

its a real shame Neal! and unfortunately the stadium now looks even worse. we are running out of hope for brandon to come back.

[@iollyio]

I remember it exactly :(

[@RedStateFilms]

hard to see it in such a state isnt it mate, we went back this year and made another video on the place if you havent seen it and want to see how its changed since this video have a look on the channel.

[@robocop2asap]

Thank you guys for showing this on utube I stood may many times to the right & round to the left & up the steps at the top over looking pits an a great view of the track every race meeting I visited. To much money to rebuild these days shame.

[@RedStateFilms]

Cheers for the comment Rob its great hearing everyones story of the place in the comments its just a shame the fate of the stadium doesn't look so great. we visited again recently and although more measures are now in place i fear the worst has already been done in terms of damage and its a waiting game for a housing estate. but we remain hopeful. all the best, Gazz.

[@robocop2asap]

@@RedStateFilms business world today are hard to beat only interested in making money same for owners of the land. 75 years now visiting since 1950s 60s 70s

[@whooshdrill2970]

i went there the other day and it’s good but there’s not much there except from a couple empty rooms, we had to smash some of the senses so if anyone didn’t wanna trigger any senses, you can go freely now cuz there is no senses as far as i know

[@RedStateFilms]

yeah its been trashed, vandalised and robbed loads over the years its been closed. Not much left now and i doubt itll ever re open as a track. will sit like that now until its unsafe and ready to come down for a housing estate. The sensors that were in the buildings are actually just voice recorders with a speaker that plays on a loop. They don't actually send any signals out to security vans. Scare tactics :)

[@tanyabritain5739]

Was here today

[@RedStateFilms]

i bet it looks sorry now isnt it? :(

[@tanyabritain5739]

@@RedStateFilms yeah it looks dreadful

[@ameys9703]

Its so sad that I have been on this stadium 3 years ago and now its in ruins

[@RedStateFilms]

unfortunately it went south real quick when it closed. travellers moved in at one point. alot of people have gone to take the metal and cables for money. then ofcourse the vandal damage mixed with that makes it look a right state. id love to see it re-open but its very doubtful at this point.

[@rh4h981]

I went to one of the last stop car races there sad to see there shutting it down BTW how did you get in there

[@RedStateFilms]

been a sad time for coventry/Brandon loosing this place, i havent been for a while now but we normally head out and walk around till we find some kind of entry.

[@hwilky]

Yeah I went to the very last one

[@Undercoverkidzgaming]

Strange because it's actually only been abandoned for two years. The Coventry council want to demolish this stadium for housing, hence why it's now abandoned.

[@RedStateFilms]

late 2016 it closed didnt it? wasnt too sure exactly myself. its a real shame but it doesnt take long for places like this to get real bad real fast, im just glad there hasnt been a fire yet. but it doesnt look likely that itll return to being a stadium. They have wanted a housing project there for a while it would seem. Big shame for the local club that were home there.

[@Undercoverkidzgaming]

Red State Connection It's a big shame, the club that were there were constantly in grand finals and semi finals of the first division league. The team now ride at Leicester in the national league, the third division of speedway. The good news is that the ground isn't demolished because the speedway club are still fighting for it.

[@grahamlangston5613]

Cov stadium it's a dam shame it was closed I s was a regular from 1967 till it closed seen some great races there but greed and and this need to biuld more dam hoses took it the same as wellsbourn air field long mason air field soon there be sod all left except bloody housing estates

[@RedStateFilms]

bet you have some stories to tell of the place them graham! its weird seeing it so empty and silent knowing the crowds that use to gather there. yes noticed mason air field has gone the same. most old places do these days. cheaper to knock down than save.

[@whooshdrill2970]

COVENTRYYYY

[@RedStateFilms]

all the way! :)

[@Noahhingley520]

I played football on them stairs

[@RedStateFilms]

hopefully one day you will again george!

[@Noahhingley520]

Hopefully I used to go on the track to race dogs

[@johnlowe7375]

Rip banger racing it’s a dying sport now 💔

[@masonhare9419]

No it aint theres other tracks around the uk like kings lynn that holds the world finals and everything

[@RedStateFilms]

only dying if people stop viewing/partaking! But i do hear the crowds are lesser than they once were, hopefully just for the time being!

[@michaelrudge3927]

Funny when you said.. Someone has been here before that door has been kicked open........The whole place has gone to shit bud then the next thing you show is a window frame without a window.......

[@RedStateFilms]

ahh yea that would of been me! i hadnt been before and didnt know it was empty until we were in the car going somewhere else that day and decided to pop in. didnt know it had been closed for a while already well until seen the open doors and damage. shame wasnt on it sooner really but was still nice to have a walk round see what was left. - Gazz

[@michaelrudge3927]

ok.. I take it you are not local then.........It was a hive of activity......All the big meetings used to be ran there.

[@michaelrudge3927]

The landlord wants to build houses on there

[@RedStateFilms]

Well im from Nuneaton so not Brandon local but close by, i knew bits about the stadium but it wasnt something i had went to when open (always ment to but never got round to going), Mo however my friend in the videos dad use to race there in the 90s and he informed me on alot of info with the place. From what we saw its clear the landlord is letting it sit until its ready to be knocked down rather than putting in these measures to help secure it.

[@niczdarkside]

I'm from nuneaton to and urban explore. Do you have any locations to swap?

[@bigoz5687]

The owners have a lot to answer for. Letting it get run down and ruining a great stadium so they can make a profit. Wankers

[@RedStateFilms]

m ozzy have you heard the news it’s been brought to turn back to a stadium? Not sure how official it is but that’s the word in the forums/groups. We visited again recently and made another video on the place, unfortunately looks much worse from this video

[@nicelittlerunner]

Sad that this will be bulldozed to make a generic housing estate or home bargains / b&q. More people in the country and more houses and shops, but less interesting things for people to do, this country is really turning into concrete garbage, work shop eat sleep repeat

[@RedStateFilms]

the worse part is it happens more than people think, and its not even slowly. the amount of history specially with these sort of places that get left purposely to be ruined and burnt out just to build housing is unreal. and as you say we are loosing all the things to do and see and arent replacing them.