March 20, 2025 • 10 mins
After 96 years, Western Spring's Speedway's final race will take place tomorrow night.
The Legends Night will be headlined by Midgets, Sprintcars, and other open-wheel categories.
In October last year, Auckland councillors voted 11-8 to move all speedway events to Waikaraka Park, which will undergo an $11 million upgrade.
Western Springs Speedway Manager John McCullum told Kerre Woodham their focus is on having a good season and sending it out on the right note.
He says that under different conditions they could’ve have still operated out of Western Springs, but the stadium belongs to the city, and the city has made it abundantly clear they see a better use for the stadium.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carry Wooden Morning's podcast from news Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be after ninety six years. Western Springs Speedway's final
race will take place tomorrow night. The Legends Night will
be headlined by midgets, sprint cars and other open wheel categories.
In October of last year, Auckland councilors voted eleven to
eight to move all speedway events to wik at Arka Park,
(00:32):
which will undergo an eleven million dollar upgrade. Western Springs
Speedway manager John McCallum joins me. Now, John, a very
good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Wanting Carry, Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Crikey, it's a cat among the pigeons, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
It certainly is. I mean, could there be a more
divisive that?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I do think so loose is something we all desperately
want to keep it, but facing the realization that you can't.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Why can't you? I think that I think everyone's sort
of reverting to a four year old why not? Why
can't we stay?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well?
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, in basic terms, we've been there for five years.
We explored what we thought was every avenue to see
if we could stay, even though it's a particularly difficult.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Stadium to operate it now.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
The conditions under which it's managed and the sharing of
the stadium make it challenging maybe financially and operationally. But
the previous promoter had the same problem. He's on record
of saying that it wasn't a purpose and he was
losing millions.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
How is it suddenly not for purpose when it has
been for ninety years.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I strictly go
along with that line of thinking. I think you could
still operate there under different conditions. But the fact of
the matters is it's not our stadium. It belongs to
the City Tau the landlord, and like with any property,
if the landlord doesn't want to rent it to you,
he probably doesn't have to. And that's been abundantly clear,
(02:02):
is that they see a better use for stadium. They
were tasked with going for in the stadium to make
more money. They think without Speedway there it will be
more profitable, it will be more beneficial, so that they
simply didn't offer the opportunity for Speedway to come back.
And to be fair, no one from Speedway put their
hand up either to say they wanted to run Speedway there.
When the when the expressions of interest came out to
(02:24):
what should we do with the stadium? Nobody from Speedway
slipped up and said we'd like to continue Speedway here.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
So they didn't put together a proposal that would see it,
you know, at least be considered as a viable option.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
No, in recent days we've seen the three.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
People that are involved in that process that the football
pants to be rugby the music people who will put
an expression of interest in, But there was nothing from
Speedway that was received.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
We didn't put one in.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
We had an experience of realizing how difficult it was
and faced the financial hardship of being there. The previous
promoter didn't put one in, and lord of than anybody
else there. The three people that did are the three
be able at the AU and now speaking to.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, what's all the chat about the Serious Fraud Office
being involved?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Like who would know? Carry?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I mean, with passion becomes an accuracy, and these people
are desperate to keep Western Springs. I was having a
nap in the afternoon as a kid to be able
to go to Western Springs. I've been there my whole life,
so I absolutely get the passion behind it. But I
think sometimes that passion gets a little bit misguided as
we desperately find a reason to stay there. So what
(03:39):
that's about, I guess we'll wait for the Serious Fraud
Office to come and ask. But in the meantime there's
a celebration to be had on Saturday night. That's what
our focus has been. Time to have a good season
and to see that out on the right note, because
as it sits today, we've seen no indication that it's
going to continue, so we can only.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Treat it that way.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
What the future holds, who knows, but with the landlord
doesn't want you there and they're already engaged with other parties.
In fact, Press Robinson had to put his hand up
in twenty nineteen at Maywell it disappeared. Then he was
the only person. In twenty nineteen there was two tenders,
Bill Buckley and Bruce Robinson. They reopened tenders and said
we want more interest because plenty of people were speaking,
(04:20):
then will take it on. We'll take it on the
open tenders again. Bruce Robinson was the only person who tended.
So in twenty nineteen there was one party. In twenty
twenty four there was nobody's That's the reality of the
history of tendround Speedway Western Springs.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Well, I mean, it's kind of hard to rebut that
isn't it If the landlord doesn't want to lend let
it out to you again? And if nobody from Speedway
put forward a proposal to keep Speedway there, what on
earth did they expect to have happened?
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I mean, I think the expectation is because it's been
there for ninety six years, that it should be there
for the ninety the next ninety six. And I'm probably
of that school. I thought myself, I never imagine a
time when there wouldn't be speed about Western Springs.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I just think it's part of the fabric of Auklam City.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
And no matter what the stadium generates or what cost,
the fact that it provides that family entertainment and has
done for so long, I think it should remain there.
But I'm not on the council. I'm not on the TAU.
I didn't make that decision. So we were told, and
no one certain terms there would be no future that
the Chairman of TAU would asked directly that question at
(05:36):
the council meeting. Is there a further tenure for Speedway
Western Spring. She said no, So that makes life very
difficult unless you think you're going to change the whole
system and take over the management away from Ulkam City,
which once again was investigated.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
None of that's really on the table.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I'm getting a lot of texts.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I bet me too.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah. So as the Serious Fraud Office involved and having
a look at the documents and what was tended and
what wasn't or.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Not, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
I mean, certainly we have any involvement with them, whether
there's been the lodge with them said to them, we
haven't any contact from them, right, I will tell.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, Well, it is hard to have a celebration when
there is such a depth of feeling that exists. And
how are you going to have a forced marriage between
wyk at Aka and Western Springs that will prove successful.
And it's a bit like when we had radio coming
into the Herald. You know, the Herald and the radio
station were put together because we're all owned by the
(06:46):
same company. And hey, you're all media, so no you
know the newspaper writers write quietly, we're loud, we're big,
we're noisy. It was, it was, there was a lot
of unhappy people before we settled into our arranged marriage,
you know, and I can see that happening here.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Absolutely that there will be a period of it's a
bit of a grieving type period. We've described it as
some people are still getting their heads around the fact
that this is going to come to an end and
having trouble accepting that others have moved on and gone.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Well, at least we've got a home to go to.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
I mean, an eleven million dollar initial injection isn't jump
change for a sport of our size.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I think we should be grateful that we've got that.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Opportunity to redeveloped for the Waikeracka Park has site into
something that is a better facility that they've got. Now
it's been let to run down to rack and ruin
over there, so they deserve some help.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I think grateful. I think we were a few weeks
away from grateful, if not months away from grateful. Acceptance
might be about all you can hope for at the moment,
given the depth of feeling here. It's quite extraordinary. And
you can run the midgets and the saloon cars along
with the stock cars.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I just tuned into.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
You dispose wedding on hold there and they talked about
not being to run two things together. I think from memory,
and I may be out by one or two here,
but there's twenty two tracks in New Zealand. Three of
those only run motorcycles Invercargo, christ Church and Race Bank
Raid only run motorcycles. Two of them only run open
wheel classes, being Western Springs and Real pern Un christ Church.
(08:22):
Everybody else runs them combined. So the seventeen tracks already
doing it. There's the same competitors that race at Western
Springs race at Bay Park where they shared the track
was stock Castle and cast Et cetera. Last as somebody
bought it that before last night there was a practice
for the retired drivers at Whye Cracket Park. So I
don't really get the argument that you can't run the
(08:43):
two things together. They may well, I'll continue to run
as separate meetings at Whykerrako. I don't know what that
arrangement will be. Maybe there'll be an open wheel style
meeting one week and stock cart meeting the other. I'm
not sure how that'll unfold. But there are seventeen tracks
in the country already running all the classes together.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
That's not unusual interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So tomorrow night trying to look for a positive. It's
going to be a celebration, is it. Are people coming
from all over the country.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Or it's a bit of sweet celebration.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Curious, it's the meeting we never wanted to believe me,
We're not celebrating the fact that we're we're leaving through
no choice. Yeah, so that should be very clear, not
the choice of this promoter and just the rebunk something
that said yesterday that really probably got under our skin
a little bit. Bruce Robinson's been a promoter in speedway
for longer than anyone I know, well over thirty years.
Probably the most respected man of speedway. He's got a
(09:34):
life membership, et cetera. What he does for the sport
is second to none. To suggest that he took over
wy Iraka Western Springs for some scolorous reason to close
it down and move it to.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Way Iako is absolute rubbish.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
He took over Western Springs because he was the only
person that put his hand up who the tenderant. He
was the only tender. So the reason he got the
rights to it was he was the only person who
asked interesting, I thank you very much tomorrow and we
look forward to a great celebration of history.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
At least.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
We've got people coming from safe from not only all
of the country, all over the world. We've got four
times world champion Barry Briggs Intown from LA. We've got
drivers from every class. Ticket sales have gone wild as
people realize that this is quite possibly their last opportunity.
We certainly are looking to have a huge night. And
if you're going to get along to the stadium tomorrow night,
I would suggest getting there early because I think the
(10:30):
house full sign will be up late afternoon.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I'd imagine it would be thank you very much for
your time. I would like to think it's the last
that we hear of it, but I fear not.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings. Listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
It'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Carry Wooden Morning's podcast from news Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be after ninety six years. Western Springs Speedway's final
race will take place tomorrow night. The Legends Night will
be headlined by midgets, sprint cars and other open wheel categories.
In October of last year, Auckland councilors voted eleven to
eight to move all speedway events to wik at Arka Park,
(00:32):
which will undergo an eleven million dollar upgrade. Western Springs
Speedway manager John McCallum joins me. Now, John, a very
good morning to you.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Wanting Carry, Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Crikey, it's a cat among the pigeons, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
It certainly is. I mean, could there be a more
divisive that?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I do think so loose is something we all desperately
want to keep it, but facing the realization that you can't.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Why can't you? I think that I think everyone's sort
of reverting to a four year old why not? Why
can't we stay?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well?
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, in basic terms, we've been there for five years.
We explored what we thought was every avenue to see
if we could stay, even though it's a particularly difficult.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Stadium to operate it now.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
The conditions under which it's managed and the sharing of
the stadium make it challenging maybe financially and operationally. But
the previous promoter had the same problem. He's on record
of saying that it wasn't a purpose and he was
losing millions.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
How is it suddenly not for purpose when it has
been for ninety years.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I strictly go
along with that line of thinking. I think you could
still operate there under different conditions. But the fact of
the matters is it's not our stadium. It belongs to
the City Tau the landlord, and like with any property,
if the landlord doesn't want to rent it to you,
he probably doesn't have to. And that's been abundantly clear,
(02:02):
is that they see a better use for stadium. They
were tasked with going for in the stadium to make
more money. They think without Speedway there it will be
more profitable, it will be more beneficial, so that they
simply didn't offer the opportunity for Speedway to come back.
And to be fair, no one from Speedway put their
hand up either to say they wanted to run Speedway there.
When the when the expressions of interest came out to
(02:24):
what should we do with the stadium? Nobody from Speedway
slipped up and said we'd like to continue Speedway here.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
So they didn't put together a proposal that would see it,
you know, at least be considered as a viable option.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
No, in recent days we've seen the three.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
People that are involved in that process that the football
pants to be rugby the music people who will put
an expression of interest in, But there was nothing from
Speedway that was received.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
We didn't put one in.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
We had an experience of realizing how difficult it was
and faced the financial hardship of being there. The previous
promoter didn't put one in, and lord of than anybody
else there. The three people that did are the three
be able at the AU and now speaking to.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, what's all the chat about the Serious Fraud Office
being involved?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Like who would know? Carry?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I mean, with passion becomes an accuracy, and these people
are desperate to keep Western Springs. I was having a
nap in the afternoon as a kid to be able
to go to Western Springs. I've been there my whole life,
so I absolutely get the passion behind it. But I
think sometimes that passion gets a little bit misguided as
we desperately find a reason to stay there. So what
(03:39):
that's about, I guess we'll wait for the Serious Fraud
Office to come and ask. But in the meantime there's
a celebration to be had on Saturday night. That's what
our focus has been. Time to have a good season
and to see that out on the right note, because
as it sits today, we've seen no indication that it's
going to continue, so we can only.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Treat it that way.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
What the future holds, who knows, but with the landlord
doesn't want you there and they're already engaged with other parties.
In fact, Press Robinson had to put his hand up
in twenty nineteen at Maywell it disappeared. Then he was
the only person. In twenty nineteen there was two tenders,
Bill Buckley and Bruce Robinson. They reopened tenders and said
we want more interest because plenty of people were speaking,
(04:20):
then will take it on. We'll take it on the
open tenders again. Bruce Robinson was the only person who tended.
So in twenty nineteen there was one party. In twenty
twenty four there was nobody's That's the reality of the
history of tendround Speedway Western Springs.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Well, I mean, it's kind of hard to rebut that
isn't it If the landlord doesn't want to lend let
it out to you again? And if nobody from Speedway
put forward a proposal to keep Speedway there, what on
earth did they expect to have happened?
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I mean, I think the expectation is because it's been
there for ninety six years, that it should be there
for the ninety the next ninety six. And I'm probably
of that school. I thought myself, I never imagine a
time when there wouldn't be speed about Western Springs.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I just think it's part of the fabric of Auklam City.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
And no matter what the stadium generates or what cost,
the fact that it provides that family entertainment and has
done for so long, I think it should remain there.
But I'm not on the council. I'm not on the TAU.
I didn't make that decision. So we were told, and
no one certain terms there would be no future that
the Chairman of TAU would asked directly that question at
(05:36):
the council meeting. Is there a further tenure for Speedway
Western Spring. She said no, So that makes life very
difficult unless you think you're going to change the whole
system and take over the management away from Ulkam City,
which once again was investigated.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
None of that's really on the table.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I'm getting a lot of texts.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I bet me too.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah. So as the Serious Fraud Office involved and having
a look at the documents and what was tended and
what wasn't or.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Not, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
I mean, certainly we have any involvement with them, whether
there's been the lodge with them said to them, we
haven't any contact from them, right, I will tell.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, Well, it is hard to have a celebration when
there is such a depth of feeling that exists. And
how are you going to have a forced marriage between
wyk at Aka and Western Springs that will prove successful.
And it's a bit like when we had radio coming
into the Herald. You know, the Herald and the radio
station were put together because we're all owned by the
(06:46):
same company. And hey, you're all media, so no you
know the newspaper writers write quietly, we're loud, we're big,
we're noisy. It was, it was, there was a lot
of unhappy people before we settled into our arranged marriage,
you know, and I can see that happening here.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Absolutely that there will be a period of it's a
bit of a grieving type period. We've described it as
some people are still getting their heads around the fact
that this is going to come to an end and
having trouble accepting that others have moved on and gone.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Well, at least we've got a home to go to.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
I mean, an eleven million dollar initial injection isn't jump
change for a sport of our size.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I think we should be grateful that we've got that.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Opportunity to redeveloped for the Waikeracka Park has site into
something that is a better facility that they've got. Now
it's been let to run down to rack and ruin
over there, so they deserve some help.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I think grateful. I think we were a few weeks
away from grateful, if not months away from grateful. Acceptance
might be about all you can hope for at the moment,
given the depth of feeling here. It's quite extraordinary. And
you can run the midgets and the saloon cars along
with the stock cars.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I just tuned into.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
You dispose wedding on hold there and they talked about
not being to run two things together. I think from memory,
and I may be out by one or two here,
but there's twenty two tracks in New Zealand. Three of
those only run motorcycles Invercargo, christ Church and Race Bank
Raid only run motorcycles. Two of them only run open
wheel classes, being Western Springs and Real pern Un christ Church.
(08:22):
Everybody else runs them combined. So the seventeen tracks already
doing it. There's the same competitors that race at Western
Springs race at Bay Park where they shared the track
was stock Castle and cast Et cetera. Last as somebody
bought it that before last night there was a practice
for the retired drivers at Whye Cracket Park. So I
don't really get the argument that you can't run the
(08:43):
two things together. They may well, I'll continue to run
as separate meetings at Whykerrako. I don't know what that
arrangement will be. Maybe there'll be an open wheel style
meeting one week and stock cart meeting the other. I'm
not sure how that'll unfold. But there are seventeen tracks
in the country already running all the classes together.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
That's not unusual interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So tomorrow night trying to look for a positive. It's
going to be a celebration, is it. Are people coming
from all over the country.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Or it's a bit of sweet celebration.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Curious, it's the meeting we never wanted to believe me,
We're not celebrating the fact that we're we're leaving through
no choice. Yeah, so that should be very clear, not
the choice of this promoter and just the rebunk something
that said yesterday that really probably got under our skin
a little bit. Bruce Robinson's been a promoter in speedway
for longer than anyone I know, well over thirty years.
Probably the most respected man of speedway. He's got a
(09:34):
life membership, et cetera. What he does for the sport
is second to none. To suggest that he took over
wy Iraka Western Springs for some scolorous reason to close
it down and move it to.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Way Iako is absolute rubbish.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
He took over Western Springs because he was the only
person that put his hand up who the tenderant. He
was the only tender. So the reason he got the
rights to it was he was the only person who
asked interesting, I thank you very much tomorrow and we
look forward to a great celebration of history.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
At least.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
We've got people coming from safe from not only all
of the country, all over the world. We've got four
times world champion Barry Briggs Intown from LA. We've got
drivers from every class. Ticket sales have gone wild as
people realize that this is quite possibly their last opportunity.
We certainly are looking to have a huge night. And
if you're going to get along to the stadium tomorrow night,
I would suggest getting there early because I think the
(10:30):
house full sign will be up late afternoon.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
I'd imagine it would be thank you very much for
your time. I would like to think it's the last
that we hear of it, but I fear not.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings. Listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
It'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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