Dons to return to Wimbledon?

[Green]

Most football news stories are met with at best a "meh" from me but this is a real heart warmer just before the festive break.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35066622

However it's not a done deal, despite Merton's approval I think the mayor has to rubber stamp it, and there's also a campaign to keep the dog track. It'd be sad to lose the dog track of course - but having been there a few times over the past few years they've really done themselves no favours, it's so incredibly tatty and old fashioned it's never really going to draw in the punters in the way it used to.

[Ouroboros]

That's great, indeed.

Shocked by the claim at the end there: "greyhound racing is still the fifth most popular sport in this country."

[Green]

That's great, indeed.

Shocked by the claim at the end there: "greyhound racing is still the fifth most popular sport in this country."

The "still" kind of admits it's on the wane though.

Can't find a source for that but this article http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/09/london.greyhoundracing suggests it's taken out of context

The popularity of the sport as a bet remains remarkably strong; greyhound racing accounts for about a fifth of all betting shop turnover. The problem is that fewer people are actually going to the tracks to bet - now you can walk down to the high street bookies or place your bets on the internet or even through your television set.

That's from 2008 but if it's still the case today it's difficult to justify having real estate in a prime location to host it. Keep your Crayfords, Romfords and Halls Green for that.

[Ouroboros]

Wondered if it was something like that.

Sports that only exist because of gambling can IMO.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

The death of Greyhound Racing in London after 150 years. Very Sad.

The current stadium is totally run down and needs rebuilding, but to kill off a sport in London in favour of another football stadium? Not to mention for club that so often claims the moral high ground.

There's less demand for a football stadium in Merton than there was for one in Milton Keynes 12 odd years ago.

[Nameless]

Hard to see how greyhound racing rates 5th.

Football, athletics, rugby, northern rugby, golf, tennis, swimming, cycling, cricket, horse racing, darts (stretching definitions somewhat), American Football , boxing, fishing (more definition stretching)probably all rate bigger in terms of participation/ TV / attendances

[One8Seven1*]

Good on 'em! And they can expand to 20k if needed later. If they do make it back to the Premiership, they'll outgrow it though and it doesn't look like they can expand beyond that looking at all the propery built right on their doorstep. Hopefully a problem they will face one day.

[Royalist]

Apparently they are giving Kingstonian £1 million but no new ground lined up so making them homeless when they sell the current ground to Chelsea who don't want the non leaguers there.

[paultheroyal]

Disgrace that the dog track is under threat.

Why can't the two go together? Commercial sense surely?

[Green]

FTR I'm in complete agreement that the loss of the dog track is sad. However it really is inevitable IMHO, it's completely run down and attendances are falling.

I'd rather a football club moved in than Barrett Homes.

Walthamstow was a bigger loss, the spiritual home of dog racing. I think I went as far as to sign an online petition against its closure. But telling that even they couldn't survive.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

FTR I'm in complete agreement that the loss of the dog track is sad. However it really is inevitable IMHO, it's completely run down and attendances are falling.

I'd rather a football club moved in than Barrett Homes.

Walthamstow was a bigger loss, the spiritual home of dog racing. I think I went as far as to sign an online petition against its closure. But telling that even they couldn't survive.

It is rather inevitable as the sport is in steep decline and the place is totally run down. That said, as the lease was up and just being extended, there hasn't been any point in them spending any money on the place. It was a case of applying for planning permission to rebuild the track completely, which was one of the other options instead of a football ground.

It seems football gets its way these days at the expense of everything and everybody else

http://www.racingpost.com/news/greyhoun ... d/1801297/

[Green]

Well it is the national game, Tone.

BTW and FTR

The death of Greyhound Racing in London after 150 years. Very Sad.

Not quite true, we've still got Romford & Crayford.

But yes the death of greyhound racing within a London postcode - but then a couple of things there:
1. Wimbledon isn't exactly central London anyway
2. Arguably out of town areas lend themselves rather better to this kind of thing - there are no racecourses in London either

RIP all the same though, but really I'm mourning the death of the sport itself rather than that individual dog track.

[Aubery Boyce]

My thoughts are with the fans of Banger racing* in these difficult days.






*STILL the 6th most popular sport in the country.