Nearly 100 years of speedway racing at Western Springs is coming to an end after Auckland Council voted to move all racing to Onehunga.
However, the process to get there has been called a shambles, with a derailed council meeting, claims of misrepresentation and a split council vote.
Things got messy last week when a report to Auckland Council’s governing body meeting suggested Speedway New Zealand supported moving to Waikaraka Park, Onehunga.
During the meeting, councillor John Watson tabled a letter from Speedway New Zealand stating it had been misrepresented.
President of Speedway New Zealand Lani Thompson told Morning Report on Thursday she had since met with the mayor to discuss what happened.
“We hadn’t actually intended to completely derail that meeting, but that is how it ended up,” she said.
The organisation wanted to be clear about its position.
“We didn’t have the mandate to support the closure of Western Springs but we absolutely, wholeheartedly support the investment into Waikaraka Park.”
By Wednesday, the decision was finally made — the speedway was moving and council would invest $11 million into upgrades at Waikaraka Park.
Thompson said the final decision had come as a shock.
“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.”
Proponents of the move said the city had been planning to consolidate speedway activity in Auckland for at least 10 years.
They also said the park was losing $1.1 million a year for ratepayers.
Councillor Kerrin Leoni voted in support of the move, and said she knew of discussions occurring as far back as 2018.
“There has been a lot of consultation around the process, and actually at some point we just have to be making decisions for our city — and that’s what we have been elected to do,” she said.
Councillor John Watson was one of eight who voted against the move. Speaking on Midday Report, he took a different position.
“Yesterday’s decision was absolutely woeful. Western Springs Speedway have been there for nearly a century — it’s an international acclaimed venue — and instead, they are getting evicted, shunted off to Waikaraka Park,” he said.
Watson said he thought the process was an ambush.
“There’s a real feeling in the community that this is a jack-up, it’s been brought in through the backdoor.”
He said the people who were most affected had not been given a chance to give input into the outcome and the speedway was only losing money because of council-imposed constraints at Western Springs.
However, Leoni said the lease was running out anyway and she voted for the move to help future-proof the city.
“The more that we continue to put these decisions off, actually the more that it is going to be a huge cost to the ratepayer.”
On the streets of Auckland, people were not sure it was the right move.
Among them was Bruce Lupton, who thought the move was a terrible idea. He had been going to the speedway for 40-odd years.
“I think it’s a great waste of money when you’ve got a perfect stadium here that’s been here for so long.”
But Lupton admitted he would probably follow the sport at the new stadium.
Speedway is expected to be settled into Waikaraka Park for the 2025-26 season.
rnz.co.nz
