Calls for government to fund speedway replacement in Brisbane as Archerfield nears end

A government-funded replacement venue for Brisbane’s iconic Archerfield Speedway is vital to the future of the $2 billion industry, motorsport industry figures say.

Queensland’s racing community will be hit hard by the inevitable closure of Archerfield Speedway with members saying the future of the sport relies on a central dirt track venue.

After years of speculation, Archerfield Speedway confirmed to The Courier Mail that the venue would be sold within the coming years, with no replacement plans in place.

In a statement online, the company said the speedway will continue to operate while the land is actively on the market, however it will ultimately shut whether it be in the short-term, next season or in the next few years.

In the meantime, Speedway Australia’s general manager Darren Tindal said there’s already been initial meetings with the state government to find and fund a new venue location.

The speedway community is urging the government to build a replacement. Picture: Russell Shakespeare.

“People want to know what’s next, and we as the governing body are doing everything we can to make sure there’s a major track in the South East Queensland corner,” he said.

“We know that the government-funded tracks are the best … And we’ve had a great discovery meeting with the government.”

While there’s no timeline as to when a new option will be settled on, Mr Tindal said it was vital for both the sporting culture and the local economy to rebuild.

“Speedway is a $2bn industry nationwide … When races come to Brisbane it’s the motels they stay at, the fuel they need and the food they buy afterwards. It’s the little things that are boosting that local economy,” he said.

In pictures: Thrills and spills at Archerfield Speedway

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Former Australian Sprintcar champion and longtime racer at Archerfield, Robbie Farr, said losing the speedway would affect the entire sport.

“It has a massive impact on our sport and on our fans. There’s also hundreds of businesses that run off the Archerfield Speedway, it reaches pretty far,” he said.

Without a central speedway, Mr Farr said it would change spectatorship in the sport as fans are less likely to drive three hours away to a regional track to watch a race live.

“It breaks a link. A lot of people who go to the speedway, they went to the speedway with their parents and now they’re bringing their kids, and it breaks that cycle which doesn’t ever get repaired I don’t believe,” he said.

Sprintcar driver George Tatnell racing at Archerfield Speedway. Picture: Supplied Brisbane John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.

Mr Farr said through his three decades in the sport, he’d been through lots of track closures, most recently in New South Wales where the capital city went two years without a main city track, much to the detriment of the sport.

“Unless the community and the fanbase make noise, the state government won’t do anything about it,” he said.

“The more noise the speedway community makes, the more chance we’ve got of replacing it with something.”

Fan, racer and photographer for the track Declan Brownsey, 30, has been at Archerfield since the early 2000s where he was the “little kid running a muck” around the adults.

Archerfield Speedway taken on in 1964. Picture: Courier Mail

“When we moved over from New Zealand, it was the only thing that I felt connected to when I wasn’t at home,” he said.

“It’s always been a really good way to catch up with friends and unload what’s been happening during the week. It’s very therapeutic knowing that every Saturday you’ve got somewhere local to go.”

With the end in sight for the speedway, Mr Brownsey said he’ll always remember the packed hill with kids running around and his days on the track with the help of the staff.

“Just the atmosphere and the interaction the crowd has with what’s going on with the racing is just electric,” he said.

“I’ll remember how nice and kind and generous the track workers are. It’s always been like a family there.”