Oxford Cheetahs
| Oxford Cheetahs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track address |
Oxford Stadium Sandy Lane Cowley Oxford |
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| Country | England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1949 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Supporters Club Website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Colours | Blue and Yellow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track size | 297 metres (325 yd) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Oxford Cheetahs were a British speedway team based in Oxford, England. From 1972 to 1975, they were known as Oxford Rebels, which was the name the team took to White City in 1976 as White City Rebels. The new Oxford team, in the National League, took back the name of Cheetahs. Until 30 May 2007, they rode in the National League in 1976 Elite League and operated a junior side known as the Oxford Lions which competed in the Conference League.
From 2003 to 2005, they were known as Oxford Silver Machine before reverting once more to Oxford Cheetahs in 2006.
In a statement issued by the British Speedway Promoters Association on 31 May 2007, their owner Colin Horton closed the club as a result of only 400–500 regular supporters attending home fixtures, and losing several thousand pounds every week.
In June 2007, businessman Allen Trump invested in the club (also sponsoring the club via LCD Publishing) to secure the lease on the track and the Cheetahs completed the 2007 season in the Conference League, replacing the Lions.
After the 2007 season, owner Allen Trump planned to bring the Cheetahs back into the Premier League for 2008. However, Trump was unable to secure a deal with landlords, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) to continue speedway racing at the Cowley stadium and handed the promotion back to the BSPA.
During the summer of 2008 Nick Andrews was granted permission to organise Conference League challenge fixtures featuring a touring side of ex-Oxford riders with a view to entering the team in the Premier League in 2009. Unfortunately, negotiations with the GRA were again unsuccessful and speedway did not return to Oxford.
Despite having no league speedway, there are still a number of committed fans keen to see the return of speedway to Oxford. Two supporters groups, the Oxford Speedway Supporters Club (OSSC) and Save Oxford Speedway (SOS) hold regular events and trips for Oxford fans and actively campaign for the return of speedway to Oxford.
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