Sheffield plan to go ahead with the Bresmed Northern Sprint in April but have postponed the Coors Three Steps to Victory.
Managing Director John Gilburn said: “The Bresmed will be very much the same as last year with the final live of RPGTV on April 17.
“Fitting in the ‘Three Steps’ has proved a major problem. The schedule is very tight with the Derby coming forward. But the Three Steps will definitely be staged at a later date, again with a winner’s prize of £10,000, whether or not there is a SKY deal in place.”
If the Bresmed sprint is held again in 2019, it could well tie in with the opening of a major new £5m development on the site.
The new conference and banqueting suite will be a major new asset to the site. The three suites with a total capacity for 500 will be built above their supporting services, including kitchens, with an overview of the greyhound stadium.
Gilburn said: “I first suggested the scheme ten years ago. There is nothing of its type this side of the city and will enable us to host conferences and well as other functions. We have already applied for a wedding licence.
“Apart from being profitable in its own right, we are hoping that the new facility will attract new customers to the site with some wanting to investigate the greyhounds, and of course the casino next door.
“We are also planning to demolish the old exec boxes and replace then with something more modern and suitable. Like the conference rooms, they will be inter-connectable, and allow up to around 100 guests, all as one party if desired.”
After a tight few weeks, Sheffield’s racing strength is back somewhere near the optimum.
Racing manager Dave Brayshaw said: “This week we are up to 416, ideally I would like 430-440.
“Fortunately, we run quite a few sprints and the sprinters are usually happy to run every four or five days, plus the Tuesday open races have picked up again.”
