National Speedway Stadium: £8m venue in opening night cancellation

Belle Vue Aces have moved out of their old stadium at Kirkmanshulme Lane

Belle Vue Aces cancelled the opening meeting at their new £8m stadium in embarrassing circumstances on Saturday.

An hour after Manchester's Lord Mayor opened the National Speedway Stadium in front of a capacity 5,000 crowd, riders said the track was unsafe and the Peter Craven Memorial meeting was scrapped.

"The winter weather played a major part," a Belle Vue statement read.

"With safety being our number one priority there was no other conclusion but to abandon the meeting,"

The next scheduled meeting at the venue is against Wolverhampton Wolves on 25 March (13:00 GMT).