BELLE VUE CEO Mark Lemon admits there were opening night glitches despite the success of the first-ever Grand Prix events held in Manchester.
The National Speedway Stadium hosted outstanding racing, with only one race re-start, thanks to perfect track preparation in excellent weather in front of 12,000 fans over two nights.
Racing legends Tony Rickardsson, Greg Hancock and Jason Crump all stated that Friday night’s SGP was one of the best in the history of the series.
But there were opening night entry problems for fans which Lemon is keen to address.
He said: “On Friday night there were some issues with the seating plan configuration of East Grandstand which only became apparent when spectators started to take their seats.
“It only came to light on Friday evening that the grandstand contractor had not installed seating precisely as per the box office seating plan, meaning certain seats were out of sequence, appearing missing.
“On top of that, there was some confusion over screenshotted tickets which led security into thinking there could be increased capacity entering the stand.
“The security team on the ground took the decision to pause entry into the stadium to establish some facts with safety being their number one priority. Naturally that caused delays and frustration for those waiting outside.
“I attended the scene and discussed with security the capacity of the stand and tickets sold which then allowed for the gates to be re-opened after a short delay.
“I appreciate for any fans outside of the gate the frustration they must have felt, however, safety of all our spectators has to be the priority and I sincerely apologise for those caught up in it outside the gate.
“We worked late into the early hours of Saturday morning to establish what had happened and make a plan for Saturday’s racing, contacting the customers we could whose seats were affected.
“We also deployed extra support staff to the East Grandstand entry on Saturday to assist with ticket queries and I’m pleased to say that it was a much smoother operation on day two.
“Likewise, we put on more event staff for food and drink next to the stand, as more fans moved into the stadium quicker than we predicted from the Fanzone. We also learnt that sound improvements are required for the East Grandstand in future for better commentary of the action.
“These are issues we will learn from and make improvements. The feedback has been excellent and if we run another event of this nature, we are aware of these problems and can solve them in our planning so that the fans get the best possible experience at the National Speedway Stadium.”
Lemon is also grateful for the support for the events, adding: “I’d like to pay a special tribute to all of the fans who came out to support the first-ever SGPs of Manchester, our wonderful volunteers who worked so hard for us all week, not just the two days.
“We had a huge army of people who gave the club so much effort. We are hugely grateful for them and to the track staff, who do an incredible job.
“Also a big thank you to the directors Tony Rice and Robin Southwell for their incredible backing along with ATPI and Rentruck.
“It’s been a memorable week for the club achieving such a historic milestone in staging Grand Prix Speedway.”