Archerfield Speedway could close as soon as next season, and by 2027 at the latest, according to management of the Brisbane venue.
That the speedway’s days are numbered is hardly a surprise, considering its namesake suburb in which it is located is a key industrial area on the south side of the Queensland capital.
However, the end could come very soon.
Archerfield management has been open recently about it not being around next time it would be due to host the Australian Sprintcar Title, in 2027, which has now been backed up now by comments in Brisbane media by promoter John Kelly.
That report prompted the speedway to issue a statement via Facebook that it continues to operate “for now”, although no secret was made of the fact that it will close down in coming years.
“It will sell in the next few years, there’s no doubt about that,” Kelly told The Courier Mail.
“It will come to an end.
“It will be sold for industrial use, it’s too valuable for a speedway now. But that means we’ll be in need of a new speedway and it certainly needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
The subsequent statement read, in part: “With regard to the recent Courier Mail article, the Speedway land is, and has, been actively for sale over the past few years.
“The speedway will ultimately close, whether it be in the short-term, next season or in the next few years.
“It is no secret there is a lot of interest at the moment for a property such as this, which is prime commercial real estate.”
Archerfield, which opened in 1978, faces the perfect storm of the demand for the land on which it sits, the cost of the investment which would be needed to rejuvenate the facility, and that its owners are now quite elderly.
Once it has hosted competition for the final time, it will join Parramatta City Raceway in the pages of history, after the Sydney venue was demolished in recent years to make way for a train stabling yard for the city’s new Metro West line.
Parramatta has been replaced by Eastern Creek Speedway, located in the same precinct as Sydney Motorsport Park and Sydney Dragway, and Archerfield believes it imperative that the Queensland Government works to ensure Brisbane too has a new facility.
“It is time for the Queensland Government to start looking at opportunities to build a new capital city race track and follow their counterparts’ lead in New South Wales, with the recent building of Eastern Creek Speedway, and Western Australia with the Perth Motorplex construction in 2000,” read the aforementioned statement.
“You only have to look at South Australia to see the result of losing a capital city speedway and the effect it has on the competitor base.
“With the Olympics just around the corner, it is a great opportunity to build a new multi-purpose facility, primarily focusing on speedway.
“For now, the [Archerfield] speedway will continue to operate until such time as the land is sold unreservedly.”
Archerfield’s next event is the Queensland Sprintcar Title, on Saturday, May 28.
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