Coventry Bees will not race in 2017 as BSPA withdraws licence

Coventry Bees finished seventh out of eight teams in the 2016 Elite League

Coventry Bees will not be allowed to race in 2017, the British Speedway Promoters' Association has announced.

The Bees were due to ride in the Premiership, the top flight of British speedway, but have been unable to agree a deal to stay at their Brandon home.

Although an agreement was in place to stage some meetings in Leicester, the BSPA say they are not satisfied that Coventry could fulfil a full season.

"Their licence has been put on ice," said a BSPA statement.

"Due to well-documented issues with their former Brandon Stadium home, the Bees only have an agreement in place to run a handful of meetings at Leicester.

"The club, therefore, are not in a position to satisfy the Association that they can fulfil a full season of league racing with no guarantee of returning to Brandon.

"In addition, there have been developments in the past 10 days where financial support for the Coventry promotion has changed, again meaning the Association are not satisfied they can fulfil a full season.

"We feel extremely sad for the Bees riders, fans and officials but we believe this decision has been made in the best interests of the sport.

"We sincerely hope circumstances can improve for Coventry during the course of this year which will enable them to return to the track in the 2018 season."