It was our privilege to host family and friends of the late, great, Oxford United legend Joey Beauchamp at Oxford Stadium in July and officially open our downstairs bar in his honour.
Joey was a much-loved character who is dearly missed by all who knew him.
His love for greyhound racing and an evening at Oxford Stadium in the company of those closest to him made dedicating a bar to his memory a fitting move.
Everyone at the stadium is so grateful to Joey’s family and it proved an emotional occasion when the ribbon was cut and the first pint poured.
Since then, thousands of you have entered The Joey Beauchamp Bar and enjoyed a drink in honour of one of Oxford’s footballing legends.
‘Creating Sporting Memories’ is the strapline printed on our logo when it was published last autumn. Whether it’s on the greyhound or speedway track, in our Savana Bar and Restaurant or within the Frank Bruno Foundation’s wellbeing centre, we want Oxford Stadium to deliver the best possible experiences and memories to our visitors.
This week, our regeneration project will take another step towards its completion when we launch the Jolly Poachers Bar and Stadium Café, serving drinks, food and snacks.
Both spaces will be open to the public for the first time on Friday, August 12, from 5.30pm when Oxford Speedway proudly hosts the Championship Pairs.
Tonight, boxing legend Frank Bruno MBE makes a public appearance to sign copies of his latest book ’60 Years A Fighter’.
TICKETS: Frank Bruno book signing at Oxford Stadium
For those of you on social media, you would’ve seen first hand just how supportive Frank has been of our regeneration project. We welcomed Frank and his team for an exclusive viewing of the stadium towards the end of last year, I am sure he will just as blown away as everyone else has been when he sees the progress that has been made.
The Frank Bruno Foundation centre is progressing nicely and will soon be open multiple days per week delivering life-changing health and wellbeing programmes for individuals experiencing ill mental health.
Meanwhile, Blackbird Leys ABC continues to thrive in its new, bespoke, gym and we were pleased to welcome scores of the club’s younger members to a speedway meeting in June. None of our guests had attended speedway before and hopefully we’ll see them back trackside again very soon!
We’ve been delighted with attendances for Oxford Cheetahs and Oxford Chargers fixtures, and the best is yet to come concerning footfall as we welcome an international audience for Friday’s highly anticipated Championship Pairs.
Hosting the league’s prestigious pairs event on the eve of the British Speedway GP in Cardiff underlines exactly what we are trying to achieve with Oxford Speedway. It’s our goal to deliver regular world-class events in a fun, inclusive, family-friendly environment.
That vision applies away from the track too. Next month, we’re pleased to host award-winning OX Gins for an evening of gin tasting in our grandstand restaurant. Full details and tickets are available on our website now!
Greyhound racing is the next project on our extensive ‘to do’ list and we are confident to receive our GBGB race license on Thursday (August 11) when inspectors visit. We understand frustration for those who booked in advance for our initial launch night on August 26.
It’s been an extraordinary and at times challenging process to restore the stadium to the facility you see today. It’s essential every aspect of greyhound racing has been tried and thoroughly tested before we welcome the public through our doors and we appreciate everyone’s ongoing patience.
As ever, if you’d like to be involved in the restoration of Oxford Stadium please contact our friendly team via commercial@oxford-stadium.co.uk. And thank you to everyone for your ongoing support!
Lisa Hust, Commercial Operations Manager.
