BELLE Vue will be in their new £6m state of the art stadium next year – but the exact date still awaits confirmation.

That was the message revealed to a packed house of supporters at the Monastery, in Gorton, on Tuesday night when details of the project were put under the microscope.

The meeting, also revealed the formation of an exclusive 500 club, a new logo, a switch to a Friday race night and the decision to hand team manager Jim Lynch a new contract so he can start work now planning the 2012 team.

But the big question fans wanted answering was when will the new National Speedway Stadium be ready for action?

The answers from David Gordon, Managing Director of the Autogate Aces, and Eddie Smith, Chief Executive of the New East Manchester regeneration framework, were 2012 with Gordon taking the more optimistic view.

He said: “I anticipate we will start construction this year and be in the new stadium next year. We will have to stay in our current location until then.

“Our key date, however, is July 2013 because we have to be ready then so we can bring World Cup speedway racing to Manchester.”

Smith took a slightly longer term view, saying: “The more realistic time scale is to start the work is spring next year. If it begins in March we would need to be running a speedway meeting by September. I am confident a six-month building plan can be delivered.

“We still have to go for planning permission and hopefully we can hit the ground running in October. But we cannot assume the planning process.”

Smith also revealed that New East Manchester had forwarded the Belle Vue business plan to top business planners KPMG who had given it their approval.

Gordon stressed the importance of achieving the move as soon as possible as the club are in a loss making situation at their current home in Kirkmanshulme Lane and a long-term future there is ‘unsustainable.’

The move to Friday night racing, from the current Monday, will enable families to attend as children won’t have to go to school the next day. There has been a noticeable pick up in that area since the start of the summer holidays.

However, unlike the current situation, the stadium will be available all the time so there will one or two alternative race nights which will be used when riders are unavailable on Fridays because of Grand Prix and World Cup requirements.

The 500 club drew an immediate response from supporters in a 600 plus audience which Gordon described as ‘fantastic – better than we had ever hoped for.’

The club offers an executive package which includes a named seat in the main stand, reduced price tickets, car parking, a priority fast track entrance, club shop discounts and a brick bearing a member’s name in the wall of the Peter Craven Suite, named in honour of the club’s double World champion.

Club membership costs £500 for five years or £1,000 for life and Gordon added: “We were delighted with the reaction to the idea and with the actual take-up at the meeting.”

Fans also wanted to know details of the race track which will be 372 metres subject to minor fluctuation.

Chris Morton, the club’s Operations Director and former captain, said the club’s old home in Hyde Road was the best ever and figured strongly in his thoughts about the new one.

He said: “We are able to put down a track and build the stadium round it. Usually it is a matter of fitting it into an existing stadium. I am sure Ivan Mauger and I won’t disagree Hyde Road was the best.

“But we have been looking at other top tracks as well to take the best points from them and work them into ours.”

Others points included: the British Speedway Promoters’ Association will have no financial involvement in the project; Ivan Mauger wants to come back from his home in Australian to run a training school and the planned Academy, the project will also cater for hockey, lacrosse, junior football, basketball, martial arts and community events.

Sir Gerald Kaufman, MP for Gorton, said: “I was involved in breathing new life into the Monastery which is an historic institution in my constituency. Now we are breathing new life into Belle Vue speedway, another local historic institution and I am happy to do whatever I can to help.”

Elaine Griffiths, of the Monastery of St Francis and Gorton Trust, which rescued the building in 1996 after it been rated an endangered World monument, said: “The Monastery has had a new beginning and now Belle Vue speedway is having one as well.”