Speedway: Sheffield Tigers pull out the stops for 2,000th meet

Tigers face Scunthorpe in a Championship clash and the landmark occasion will see former riders in attendance as guests of the club.

Sean Wilson, the front man in their 1999 and 2002 title wins, has already indicated he will be in attendance and former owner Neil Machin says it will be a night of celebration – whatever the result on track.

“We’ve been working hard tracking down former riders and I’m delighted Sean has accepted because he was a real star for the club.

“That was an era when the club was brought back to life. They were great times. Crowds went up and we started enjoying a bit of success after a barren time.

“Sean was one of the main reasons for that along with Sheffield’s current manager Simon Stead. It was a sound business model and we had some great times.”

Machin is still a regular at Owlerton and is honoured to be asked to help out with the 2000th meeting celebrations.

“I’m more than happy to help out, in fact I’ve enjoyed tracking down the former riders,” said Machin.

“But I don’t want to overshadow the fact that it’s a very important meeting for Sheffield, they need to win on Thursday.

“It’s important for them after losing at home to Lakeside last week and I’ll be cheering them on along with all the supporters.

“I’m enjoying my small involvement with the sport at Leicester and whenever I look back on my 649 meetings with Sheffield I look back with pride knowing I did the very best I could for the club.

“I worked 24/7 and cared passionately about everything I did there, I made some mistakes along the way but I’d also like to think I got some things right over 20-years!”