OXFORD Speedway owner Colin Horton has this afternoon taken the agonising decision to close the club down.
Colin has informed the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA) of his intention to pull the club from the Elite and Conference leagues with immediate effect.
Colin described the decision as the hardest he has ever had to make in his life, but insists it is impossible for the struggling club to continue.
He has already lost thousands since purchasing the club last year and can no longer bankroll it from his own pocket.
The riders of both the Cheetahs and Lions' teams - and all Oxford speedway staff - have been made aware of the closure of the club.
Colin said: "It is with dismay that I have been forced to make the decision to pull the plug on Oxford Speedway.
"I have thought long and hard about this and it really is the toughest thing I have ever had to do.
"If I could see even the smallest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel I would have carried on, but I can't.
"The club is losing several thousand pounds each and every week and that cannot continue.
"It has got to the stage where the club is no longer a viable business. I am not here to make money for one minute, but I do not have an endless supply of cash to keep the club going and I have to put my family first."
Low attendances and a general lack of interest in the area have greatly hampered Colin's ambitions to turn the fortunes of Oxford Speedway around.
Colin added: "Our crowds have been in the region of 400-500 for home meetings and we value greatly the support of every single fan to have come through the door this season.
"But the harsh reality is that we need attendances of double those figures to even stand a chance of breaking even and I just don't envisage that happening here.
"Trust me, telling riders and other staff they are out of jobs is a horrible thing to have to do, but there was no alternative. There are some wonderful people associated with the club and it has hurt me deeply to tell them of the closure.
"I have tried my heart out to make a success of Oxford Speedway but it has not happened."
This will be the only comment the club is making on the subject at the moment.
23/05/13 1930 Swindon v Birmingham (EL) 23/05/13 1930 Ipswich v Plymouth (LC) 23/05/13 1945 Sheffield v Dudley (Ozchem Trophy) 24/05/13 2000 Lakeside v Coventry (EL) 24/05/13 1930 Edinburgh v Scunthorpe (PL) 24/05/13 1915 Plymouth v Leicester (PL) 25/05/13 1930 Eastbourne v Swindon (EL) 25/05/13 1930 Leicester v Plymouth (PL) 25/05/13 1900 Workington v Glasgow (PL) 25/05/13 1900 Stoke v Mildenhall (NT) 26/05/13 1830 Newcastle v Scunthorpe (PL) 26/05/13 1500 Glasgow v Edinburgh (LC) 26/05/13 1600 Rye House v Plymouth (LC) 26/05/13 1630 Mildenhall v Coventry (NLKOC) 26/05/13 1500 Buxton v Kent (NT) 27/05/13 1930 Coventry v Peterborough (EL) 27/05/13 1300 Peterborough v Coventry (EL) 27/05/13 1930 Poole v King's Lynn (EL) 27/05/13 1930 Wolverhampton v Birmingham (EL) 27/05/13 1500 Scunthorpe v Somerset (PL) 27/05/13 1500 Kent v Mildenhall (NT) 27/05/13 1630 Scunthorpe Saints Select v Milton Keynes (Ch) 28/05/13 1930 Dudley v Buxton (NLKOC) 28/05/13 1900 Isle of Wight v Kent (NLKOC) 29/05/13 1930 King's Lynn v Peterborough (EL) 29/05/13 1930 Somerset v Scunthorpe (PL) 30/05/13 1930 Swindon v Poole (EL) 30/05/13 1945 Sheffield v Leicester (PL) 30/05/13 1930 GB v Australia, Ipswich (Test Match) 30/05/13 1930 Redcar v Dudley (Julie Lewis Memorial) 31/05/13 1930 Premier League Pairs, Somerset 31/05/13 2000 Coventry v Stoke (NL) 01/06/13 1700 British Grand Prix, Cardiff 02/06/13 1630 Mildenhall v Kent (NT) 02/06/13 1600 Kauko Nieminen Testimonial, Leicester 03/06/13 1930 Belle Vue v Eastbourne (EL) 03/06/13 1930 Peterborough v Wolverhampton (EL) 03/06/13 1830 Kent v King's Lynn (NL) 04/06/13 1900 Isle of Wight v Stoke (NT) 05/06/13 1930 Birmingham v Belle Vue (EL) 05/06/13 1930 King's Lynn v Buxton (NL)
Berwick 41 )Matthew Wethers 11+1) Newcastle 49 (Richie Worrall 15) Premier League points: Berwick 0 Newcastle 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Dudley 56 (Lewis Blackbird 15) King's Lynn 36 (Lewis Rose 14+1) National League points: Dudley 3 King's Lynn 0
NATIONAL TROPHY
Isle of Wight 58 (Adam Ellis 15) Mildenhall 34 (Stefan Nielsen 13) National Trophy points: Isle of Wight 3 Mildenhall 0
MONDAY MAY 20:
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE Belle Vue 43 (Magnus Zetterstrom 13) Lakeside 50 (Davey Watt 13+1) Elite League points: Belle Vue 0, Lakeside 4
NATIONAL TROPHY Kent v Stoke - OFF
SUNDAY MAY 19:
PREMIER LEAGUE Glasgow 40 – Joe Screen 11+1 Leicester 49 – Magnus Karlsson 14 Premier League points: Glasgow 0 Leicester 4
NATIONAL TROPHY Mildenhall 47 – Jon Armstrong 13+1 Isle of Wight 42 – Adam Ellis 12+2 National Trophy points: Mildenhall 2 Isle of Wight 1 BRONZE HELMET: Tom Perry beat Stefan Nielsen
DAVID HOWE TESTIMONIAL, Scunthorpe 1 Josh Auty (Scunthope/Birmingham) 2 Morten Risager (Ipswich) 3 Ashley Birks (Scunthorpe/Swindon) SATURDAY MAY 18:
PREMIER LEAGUE Leicester 53 – Magnus Karlsson 14+1 Workington 40 – Cameron Heeps 12+2 Premier League points: Leicester 3 Workington 0
Plymouth 42 – Mark Lemon 12+1 Edinburgh 51 – Craig Cook 13+1 Premier League points: Plymouth 0 Edinburgh 4
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2, Rye House 500cc 1 Nathan Greaves 2 Reece Downes 3 Michael Neale 4 Kelsey Dugard
250cc 1 Lewis Whitmore 2 Callum Walker 3 Luke Woodhull 4 Zach Wajknecht
