The long-running saga about the future of Glasgow Tigers was finally settled on Friday when a takeover for the troubled club finally went through. With former promoter Brian Sands increasingly at odds with the speedway authorities and indicating that he was prepared to sell there had been speculation for some months about the future of the track. With unpaid fines resulting in Brian Sands's licence being suspended it appeared that something had to give if Glasgow were to remain in operation.
Stewart Dickson, a bus operater from Paisley, and Alan Dick, chief executive of Partick Thistle football club, joined the Tigers board last year and were always considered front runners to take over the Tigers. However there were suggestions of a rival consortium involving former promoter Neil MacFarlane, Alex McDonald, and Shawfield owner Billy King. Had this latter option come about, Tigers would have left Ashfield returned to Shawfield.
All the smart money was on the Dickson/Dick bid succeeding. However around a week ago, the deal appeared to have collapsed and it was announced that Brian Sands was to remain in control and that the unpaid fines had been cleared by 'supporters'. However in another twist the deal was revived and went through on Friday afternoon just before the self-imposed deadline of 5.00PM.
It will be interesting to see if Alan Dick will be able to use any of the same approaches that have made Partick Thistle by far the best supported club in the lower reaches of the Scottish Football League. Alan Dick commented:
"We hope that this is the beginning of a very exciting time for all at Glasgow Speedway. I know that both Stewart and myself are really looking forward to this and the general feeling is that the supporters are also pleased about this move. But the hard work has only just begun, we have so much to do and so very little time to do it, and I hope the supporters will bear with us over the next few weeks as we try to put into place everything that is required. We will make an announcement about the make up of the team shortly, while the management structure of the company will also be under review over that period. It is our intention to meet with the shareholders and the supporters before the start of the season."
Stewart Dickson added:
"There are so many people who have contributed so much to the cause over the years and we are hoping that many if not all will stay with us and offer their support as we are certainly going to need it as we are keen to see Glasgow back amongst the front runners. I would like to especially thank the supporters of Glasgow Speedway as without them we have nothing. They are very passionate about the team and the sport and if we can all come together then that can only be good for the future."
The fact that Tigers' future is now secured is good news for Scottish Speedway in general and for Monarchs in particular.
Monarchs Armadale season will open on Friday 23rd March with a challenge match against Glasgow Tigers.