Towcester promoter Kevin Boothby plans to contact GBGB MD Mark Bird to suggest the Nothamptonshire venue as one of the Government pilot projects for the re-opening of stadia.
Prior to the national plan to re-open stadiums from October 1, they have announced that a number of trial runs will take place at different sports including horse racing and cricket, to test the feasibility of allowing crowds to attend. Mark Bird has already approached civil servants with a request to include greyhound racing.
Boothby said: “In greyhound racing there couldn’t be a better opportunity than Towcester. I am assuming that the Board will suggest one of Ian Smyth’s tracks, possibly Hove, and would like to suggest Towcester too.
We are in a unique position. We have two grandstands, each with three floors plus an unlimited viewing area outside. Even allowing for social distancing, we could easily get 800 people in here. I have all the PPE that anyone would ever need, and we wouldn’t even be a burden on public transport.”
Although he currently has one SIS contracted meeting, Boothby believes that an attendance of 800 people on a Saturday night would be commercially viable.
He said: “We are working on getting the tote up and running at the moment, and we can do something with the TV studio, so we would be ready to go. I think people will be desperate for a decent night out.”
Other projects are also progressing on the site. Among the most interesting is a party of 150 from the Formula One Ferrari team.
Boothby said: “We are just renting the facility, they are bringing everything else from their own chefs to their own security.”
