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On Thursday, October 24 a meeting at Auckland Town Hall was adjourned after a report proposing for the consolidation of Auckland’s speedway racing activities to Waikaraka Park was called into question.
That report came with letters of support from various stakeholders. Some, but not all, supported the end of open-wheel racing at Western Springs and that it be moved to Waikaraka Park.
Other letters, including one from Speedway New Zealand, supported the proposed $11 million investment into Waikaraka Park. The letter made no mention of closing down Western Springs.
Speedway New Zealand was only informed on the eve of the meeting that its letter was being used as leverage to support the closure of Western Springs Speedway. The first meeting was adjourned after that revelation was made by Councillor John Watson.
On Thursday, October 30, Auckland Council met to vote on the $11 million transfer of funds from its long-term plan to the Maungakiekie Tamaki Local Board to facilitate upgrades to the venue. That vote was passed 11-8 after five hours of questions and debate.
Speaking with Radio New Zealand after the decision, Speedway New Zealand conceded the decision is final but questioned how it came to fruition in the first instance.
“Essentially, the reason that we’re not in favour of this is because we were left in the dark,” said Thompson.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t hear about the closure of Western Springs or that there was going to be a consolidation until Wednesday evening until last week.
“So we haven’t had the time or the opportunity to actually canvas our membership to find out how they feel about the consolidation and the closing of one of our oldest and dearest tracks.”
Thompson suggested she was blindsided by the decision and did not know it would go to a vote as soon as last week.
Letters attached to the 2023 consolidation report suggest that various stakeholders knew that the closure of Western Springs Speedway was a likely outcome.
Western Springs Speedway promoter Bruce Robertson voiced support for open-wheel racing’s move. In his letter, he said he would not seek a renewal of the venue hire agreement of Western Springs Speedway if the $11 million funding was approved.
Robertson is set to continue promoting open-wheel racing at Waikaraka Park alongside stock cars and saloons.
One competitor cited in the report said they were “kept fully briefed” around the closure of Western Springs Speedway.
Letters supporting the closure of Western Springs were dated mid-October. The letter from Speedway New Zealand supporting the investment of Waikaraka Park was dated mid-August.
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Thompson defended suggestions the governing body should have known about the likelihood of Western Springs Speedway being closed.
“We have received pushback on that and people have said you should have known about this, we’ve been saying that it’s the last season for a very long time. Whilst that is true, until you actually have it from officialdom that is what’s happening, it’s just rumour really and speculation,” said Thompson.
“Until we had that, via a member contacting us on that Wednesday evening stating that we had been quoted as saying we supported the closure of Western Springs, we actually hadn’t been involved in the process at all.
“We had a meeting with Mayor Wayne Brown on Tuesday to do with the fallout from their meeting on Thursday where our letter was tabled and the meeting was adjourned. We hadn’t actually intended to completely derail that meeting but that is how it ended up.
“We did want to clarify what our position was and just let them know we didn’t have the mandate to support the closure of Western Springs but we absolutely wholeheartedly support the investment into Waikaraka Park.”
Auckland’s economic development agency Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) said its $11 million fund transfer would only be supported if Western Springs Speedway was closed.
Racing at Western Springs Speedway will cease after the 2024/25 season concludes in March.
