{"id":361017,"date":"2026-04-02T23:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/361017\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:20:14","slug":"speedway-family-feels-shut-out-of-western-springs-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/361017\/","title":{"rendered":"Speedway family feels shut out of Western Springs decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fourth-generation Speedway family says Auckland Council\u2019s decision to create a Western Springs ‘bowl’ is not just about losing a venue, but about being shut out of the process.<\/p>\n

By Taelegalolo’u Mary Afemata, Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

For Susanne \u201cSusie\u201d Davis, the vote to shift the stadium<\/a> toward a concert-focused future has hit close to home.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I’m] from a fourth-generation Speedway family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Three generations of her family were at the governing body meeting when councillors backed the \u201cWestern Springs Bowl\u201d concept.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge. It\u2019s devastating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Davis said the decision raises questions about whether community voices are being heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tell them what we want, and they just do what they want to do anyway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Auckland Council\u2019s governing body voted to progress a new vision for Western Springs, centred on concerts and major events, alongside continued use by Ponsonby Rugby<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cWestern Springs Bowl\u201d concept includes a semi-permanent stage and aims to attract crowds between 10,000 and 30,000.<\/p>\n

Auckland Council says the proposal will make better use of the venue and improve its ability to host events.<\/p>\n

\"General<\/p>\n

General view of fans, crowd and supporters at the Western Springs Legends Night at Western Springs Speedway, Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday 22 March 2025. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

Mayor Wayne Brown described the plan as a \u201cpractical and affordable way\u201d to support more events.<\/p>\n

Max Hardy, Director Group Strategy and Chief Executive\u2019s Office at Auckland Council, told councillors the decision \u201creflects an assessment of the public input and the other range of factors”.<\/p>\n

T\u0101taki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill said it was \u201ca practical step forward\u201d to get more value out of the venue.<\/p>\n

Concert promoter Brent Eccles said the venue could attract international acts too large for indoor arenas but not viable at Eden Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a whole market there. Those acts could not play Eden Park. It\u2019s not viable. They would lose money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ponsonby Rugby backed the proposal, saying it would support the club\u2019s long-term future and expand community use.<\/p>\n

Long-time representative Peter Thorpe said the model relies on removing Speedway<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe objectives which I\u2019ve set out of this joint club-promoter concept simply cannot be achieved with Speedway to return to the stadium,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A sprint car racing at the Western Springs Legends Night at Western Springs Speedway, Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday 22 March 2025. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

The motion passed 15\u20136, with councillors Christine Fletcher, John Gillon, Mike Lee, Greg Sayers, Ken Turner, and John Watson voting against it.<\/p>\n

Speedway supporters say the issue is not just the outcome, but how the decision was made.<\/p>\n

Jason Jones, spokesperson for the Western Springs Speedway Association, said the group felt excluded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been completely blocked out of the process and had no input into the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a motion put forth to follow a good process and to revisit it, essentially, and obviously, that\u2019s been declined, it\u2019s been outvoted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA bigger issue than this is how council is following their decision-making process, if you call it that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The group plan to continue legal action through an ongoing judicial review.<\/p>\n

Davis said Western Springs has long been a place where families gather, with traditions passed down across generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d go down at 10 o\u2019clock in the morning, put our seats down and then leave at sort of midnight when things are all over with. It\u2019s a huge part of our lives, and our children have been brought up exactly the same as we were,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Even now, her family still visits the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go down to the Speedway and sit there in silence and just appreciate the environment. We still go down there because we\u2019ve got such a huge connection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing quite like it. We\u2019ve seen heaps of tracks around the world, and there\u2019s nothing like Western Springs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future of Western Springs is not fully settled.<\/p>\n

The judicial review could challenge the process behind the decision, while any physical changes may face further scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Council will move ahead with planning for the concert-led model, while Speedway activity continues elsewhere.<\/p>\n

But Davis and other supporters say the fight is not over.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeedway stays. We\u2019re not giving up. It\u2019s not over yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fourth-generation Speedway family says Auckland Council\u2019s decision to create a Western Springs ‘bowl’ is not just about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[51,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-361017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-auckland","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}