Chris Rattue: Speedway should go flat out for home in Manukau

Yes, Sir Barry Curtis, Yes.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

I refer to the high-decibel speedway debate which has rocked central Auckland, and the Manukau mayor and council's solution.

This, speedway fans, is the moment to seize the future.

Such chances don't often come along in a growing city where you just about need a mortgage to buy a letterbox these days.

To recap: The Herald revealed yesterday that Manukau is planning a motor-racing centre on a 61ha block at Puhinui, complete with a noise buffer zone.

Long-range sporting vision in this city? Surely not.

First, I'll declare an interest. Yes, I do live in reasonable proximity of dear old dilapidated Western Springs. But, no, the speedway noise has never bothered me.

Our house is far enough away that I can actually enjoy the distant surges of engine drone, a reminder of childhood days when speedway was the most exotic sports show in town.

My wife, however, is not a fan of the noise, and I sure as heck wouldn't want to live next door to that stadium.

And Sir Barry is absolutely right. Speedway's inner-city days are numbered. Its location is out of kilter with the surroundings. Speedway is flogging dead horsepower by investing its heart in the heart of the city.

Manukau's project provides a vision that other sports, including the national obsession, needed years ago.

Instead, we've got a load of half-pie stadiums which leave Auckland trailing other major cities which provide high-quality sports viewing experiences for their citizens.

The major example is the alleged development of Eden Park, a bizarre game of pin the tail on the donkey which has produced a misshapen beast trapped in our yard.

Anyone who has been to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane - and even Waikato Stadium in Hamilton for that matter - will concede that Auckland is being robbed of a perfectly feasible chance to enjoy the real modern football experience.

As for a cricket stadium, Eden Park is a mild joke.

So please, speedway, and motorsport in general: Don't look this gift horse in the mouth.

The response of speedway promoter Dave Stewart to yesterday's news was not overly encouraging.

I've sat on the fence on the issue because it has been an argument with merit and understandable passion on two sides desperate to save their Saturday nights.

But yesterday's story immediately raised the question in my mind: Is Dave Stewart really the best man to "promote" speedway any more?

Stewart did manage to applaud the concept, but then claimed that night-time events needed to be close to town "or people will not drive for an hour to get to it".

It was fantastic for motorsport, he reckoned, but not that helpful for speedway. Huh?

And - excuse me - an hour? Is that an unreasonable amount of time to travel to a sports event?

The punters battling Eden Park jams know all about that sort of travelling time.

You can't always have these things on your doorstep. A Surfing New Zealand survey recently revealed a remarkable number of surfers who travel more than 3000km a month to indulge in their sport.

The question might be: Is Mr Dave Stewart helpful for speedway, and should a promoter be driving this sport right now?

He could be buying time, of course, pinning hopes on the independent commissioner's report due out early this year. But this battle will never go away, and speedway will ultimately lose.

The residents will monitor every little decibel, and are well within their rights to do so. For my money, the authorities should be encouraged to severely punish speedway for any transgression and so help steer it towards Manukau, for their sakes and the neighbours'.

At the moment, speedway is throttled rather than being able to go full-throttle. A season has already been heavily curtailed.

Just imagine, speedway fans, that in return for a bit of extra travel, you could be sitting in a grand, purpose- built stadium, free from the surrounding enemy, and enjoying the sights and sounds of your favourite machines going full tilt. How can you resist?

It is, of course, time for motorsport in general to put aside any divisions. They should all be racing out to Manukau, getting poll position on this deal.

The fear with speedway is that the bitter battle with neighbours has clouded judgment to the point that it will ignore a great opportunity.

We all admired the passion speedway supporters showed when they took to the streets, but they are in danger of looking like lead-heads.

Let's hope that Mr Dave Stewart can struggle free of the struggle.

This is not to denigrate the man. Minor sports survive on the energy and entrepreneurial spirit of a few.

But there always comes a time, both during and after battle, where a change of leadership needs to considered in the name of clear thinking.

It happened to good effect during the industrial action involving our cricketers, and in the ugly league war of the 1990s.

Maybe Stewart is simply taking up a negotiating position, not wanting to give up a foothold.

But if he continues to show the lack of vision suggested by yesterday's comments, the time has come for speedway to find new hands to hold the wheel and honk the horn.