THE NATIONAL SPEEDWAY STADIUM

Reviving The Legend Of The World Famous Belle Vue Aces

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Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium, home of the Belle Vue Aces, has evolved tremendously since the first of its steel columns were installed on Kirkmanshulme Lane roughly four weeks ago. As of this afternoon the first of three “passes” on the grandstand was completed and now that most of its skeleton is in place, the next stages of construction can begin. Club bosses were even more delighted to learn that the installation of the first units of pre-cast concrete had also commenced on G-Block, towards the east of the site. CEO David Gordon said: “This is a significant moment, seeing the framework of the grandstand close to completion and the concrete terracing starting to arrive on site. “It’s fantastic to be able to gauge where the seats will be and you can really start to envisage the excitement of The Grand Opening meeting in March next year. This is history in the making! “Tickets for the GOM continue to be in high demand and we’ve no doubt, even at this stage, that the event will be a complete sell-out and a thrilling night to remember.” To coincide with this historic moment, the club intends to run a “Site Open Day” on Sunday 19th July, where fans can visit the site and view progress on the stadium from close quarters. In addition to purchasing tickets for the GOM, fans will also have the opportunity to get involved with the club’s revitalised “Buy A Brick” initiative and sign up for Belle Vue 500 membership. More information about this event will be communicated in due course.

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See where we're going with this? ♣️

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The Countdown Is ON!!! #AcesPride #NSS ♣️♣️

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Club asset can't wait to take to the track for his parent club!

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The Manchester Evening News caught up with the Aces' top man ahead of their opening fixture tomorrow ♣️ #AcesPride

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The Manchester Evening News quizzes Max Fricke on his top flight leap...

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Aces long-serving veteran targets a better 2015...

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Belle Vue boss declares his side "ready to go!"

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Belle Vue captain Scott Nicholls casts an experienced eye over the 2015 Elite League...

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♣️ NSS BUILD EFFORT, WEEK 11 - "STEELY DETERMINATION ♣️ This week the site produced the most visual evidence of the build to date, and excitement was rife about the place with the appearance of the first wave of steel beams on Tuesday afternoon. Not yet destined for the area of the stadium, the beams were delivered to the site of the new National Basketball Centre situated to the west of the Belle Vue Leisure Centre. ISG had warned us prior to its delivery that arrival of the steel on site would be proceeded by vigorous progress and true to their word, by Friday afternoon, the skeleton of most northerly section of the building stood proud. With the National Speedway Stadium due to take delivery of its first round of steel in mid-April, the rapid progress on the Basketball Centre has our on-site team chomping at the bit for when its turn arrives. Developments regarding the new home of the Belle Vue Aces remain in similar condition to last week, with the trenches of the Main Grandstand being extended across the site at a healthy pace. But contrary to our initial thoughts, ISG have intriguingly been directing some of the build effort towards the South Stand this week with a number of small trenches starting to appear towards the western end of the structure. Elsewhere, the larger of the two 3G all-weather pitches is on the cusp of having its base layers completed. Only one more layer of fine gravel remains to be laid before the drainage pipes start to be installed.

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♣️ NSS BUILD, WEEK 10 - "DEEP EXCAVATIONS" ♣️ Steady progress continues to spread across the site of the National Speedway Stadium, home of the Belle Vue Aces, as the build effort enters its eleventh week on schedule. In the last week, contractors ISG have extended the trenches around the area of the main grandstand and begun installing reinforced steel cages that will work in conjunction with the concrete piles to form the main foundation. The trenches are not much more than four feet deep due to the fact that the piles, which extend some 16 metres underground, will take most of the weight of the structure. Once all of the cages are in place they too will be encased in concrete, and will co-exist with the piles to ensure the weight distribution of the buildings above them is evenly shared. Similar efforts with the South Stand will not commence until ISG are satisfied with the condition of the Main Grandstand. Elsewhere on the site, the larger 3G all-weather pitch continues to evolve rapidly. As one of the “simpler” elements of the development, ISG are confident this pitch will be completed and operational by May.

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The crew from Belle Vue Speedway and ISG were mesmerised by this morning's Solar Eclipse over Manchester. Were you watching Aces Fans? ♣️

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♣️ NSS BUILD, WEEK 9 - MISSION COMPLETE! ♣️ Manchester may have been thrashed by torrential rain over the past few days but the unsavoury weather has not hampered ISG’s quest to ensure the piling effort was completed on time. On Friday afternoon news filtered through that the piling rig had finished its tasks on the South Stand, and had completed its overall mission on site. The frustration of a machine malfunction after the installation of the final pile was brushed off and by lunchtime it was being dismantled ahead of its removal on Monday morning. Now the next stage of the groundwork will begin and ISG have wasted no time in starting to carve out the trenches in which will eventually sit the skeleton of the Main Grandstand. A large section of the area has already been caged off from the rest of the site, and as the deep excavations took shape a handful of the reinforced concrete piles came into play. Having dug down into the earth the cylindrical, concrete columns encasing the reinforcement cage were revealed and the layer of concrete removed to expose the top of the steel anchors. This delicate process will be repeated across the entire area of both the Main Grandstand and the South Stand over the next few weeks. Elsewhere on the site, progress on the larger of the two 3G all-weather pitches is really coming together. The limestone modification process, which aimed to stabilise the clay-like soil, was completed earlier this week and now work has begun on creating the base on which the new astroturf will lie.

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♣️ NSS BUILD EFFORT - WEEK 7 ♣️ It’s been an eventful week on the site of the National Speedway Stadium, home of the Belle Vue Aces, as progress on the build continues to pick up. Despite being battered the elements, ISG have kept things on site running smoothly and announced on Friday afternoon that the piling effort on the Main Grandstand had been completed. Two weeks of drilling has resulted in the installation of nearly 160 reinforced concrete piles extending roughly 16 metres underground. Focus will now shift to the South Stand, which requires over 70 slightly wider piles at a more shallow depth, and it’s anticipated this will take a week to complete. Elsewhere, efforts with one of the two 3G all-weather pitches are becoming more visual as the process of limestone modification commences. Deposits of limestone will be mixed into the ground to solidify and stabilise the earth ahead of the next stage of construction. Local media descend on Belle Vue in droves on Wednesday morning for Manchester City Council’s “First Look” event at the site, which also attracted high numbers of special guests. Kicking off in the foyer of the Leisure Centre, guests were greeted by members of the Gorton Visual Arts Group who are working to restore the beautiful Belle Vue Mosaic. Created in 2008, the piece will be permanently installed in the main concourse of the National Speedway Stadium upon its completion in 2016. The event brought together representatives from nearly all the major parties involved in the development, including Manchester City Council, Sport England, ISG and Belle Vue Speedway. Aces CEO David Gordon said: "The National Speedway Stadium is a new chapter in the Belle Vue Aces' history and we are absolutely delighted to see the builders now hard at work on the site. “The enthusiasm and commitment of all parties involved have brought the project to where it is today and we're thrilled to be a part of such a significant development in East Manchester.” Danny Murray, ISG’s Northern regional managing director, added: “This highly-anticipated development marks a major investment by the council into outstanding new sporting facilities in East Manchester. “ISG is committed to providing community skills and training legacy, as well as fully utilising the expertise of the regional supply chain to deliver this keynote regeneration project.” Cllr Jeff Smith, the Council’s executive member for Housing and Regeneration, concluded: “It’s always a thrill to visit a project at the beginning of construction, especially when it’s as significant a development as this. “East Manchester is already an internationally recognised destination for sport and leisure and the Belle Vue Sports Village will only add that reputation, but it will also stand out on its own and help to transform this part of the city.” As the season continues to edge closer, several members of the 2015 Rentruck Aces have begun trickling into Manchester and club No.1 Matej Žagar was the latest to drop in and check up on site progress. The Slovenian ace jetted into the UK on Wednesday for the fans’ forum and joined Chris Morton and project manager Paul McKenna for a private tour of the site on Thursday morning.

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♣️ ISG BUILD EFFORT - WEEK 7 ♣️ As we go into week seven, work continues with the piling rig on the main grandstand, while areas of land for the pits, car park, 3G pitch and maintenance yard are marked out. In order to stabilise the ground for the 3G pitch ISG will use limestone to solidify the soft earth. Meanwhile, the piling mat for the South Stand continues to be prepared!

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♣️ ISG BUILD EFFORT - WEEK 6 ♣️ Team manager Mark Lemon and Aussie hotshot Max Fricke became the first members of Belle Vue’s 2015 squad to visit the site of the National Speedway Stadium, home of the Belle Vue Aces, on Friday. The duo arrived early at the club’s information centre on Pink Bank Lane and took the opportunity to don their hard hats for a more close-up view of the progress being made. Despite some unsavoury weather, contractors ISG have made good time during the sixth week of the build effort with the majority of the site activity focused around the main grandstand. Following its installation last week the piling rig has begun working on the deep foundation of the ultramodern structure, driving the reinforced concrete piles into the earth. Due to the clay-like nature of the area, over 150 piles will be driven into the ground beneath the grandstand in order to provide the building with extra strength and stability. As of Friday afternoon, roughly 84 of these were in place. In a similar fashion the deep foundation of the south stand, which features the state-of-the-art acoustic barrier, will comprise of just over 70 piles. Work on this is expected to begin within a week or so and ISG have begun preparing a ‘piling mat’ in preparation, and it’s anticipated the piling rig will complete its task within the next fortnight.