Construction is under way at Central Park to host speedway from May

by Craig Tucker

Central Park is set to host its first speedway meeting in May.

Hertfordshire team Rye House Raiders are moving to the stadium and will change their name to Kent for the 2013 National League season.

Central Park chief executive Roger Cearns has called on people to get behind the new venture after linking up with veteran promoter Len Silver to bring Rye House’s second string to Sittingbourne.

He said: "Len, the promoter at Rye House, is one of the most dynamic 80-year-olds around.

"He’d been giving us a lot of advice on bringing speedway to Central Park and eventually we agreed their second team (the Raiders) would come over and become our first team in the bottom rung of the National League.

"A lot of people still go through the Dartford Tunnel to watch Arena Essex, so I hope there will be support for this venture.

"Starting at the bottom, the expenses are not as high so we don’t need that many spectators to break even but Len is convinced we will do well. If we’re successful, the idea is to work our way up to the Premier League."

Construction of the speedway track is well under way, with May 6 pencilled in for the first of 20 Monday night meetings in 2013.