NEW Swindon Robins co-owner Mike Bowden believes that his club could learn a thing or two from the Swindon Wildcats as they look to get as many people as possible catching the speedway bug.

Former Swindon Town director Bowden, who fronts the Downers Racing group, is hoping to make the Abbey Stadium outfit an increasingly attractive draw after their local consortium were announced as the new co-owners of the Robins today.

To that end, Bowden, who has been appointed the CEO of Swindon’s new board of directors, thinks that his club should heed the example set by their compatriots at the Wildcats ice hockey team when it comes to commercial strategy.

“I used to go to the Wildcats and the arena was half-full. Now, you go along and, with a great marketing and commercial effort, it’s just about full-up every Saturday,” said Bowden.

“They’ve done fantastically well and there’s clearly an overlap of spectators.

“We wish them the very best of luck and anybody that enjoys ice hockey in the winter and wants an outdoor sport that’s equally exciting; come and give speedway a go.

“Our job, fundamentally, is to bring more sponsorship money in and market the club more inclusively.

“We want to respect all of the people that have been coming for years but we want to get a new and younger audience.

"To the people that say: ‘You know what, Mike? We used to go to the speedway.’ I say: ‘Why don’t you go now? Give us another go’.”

Bowden, who is also the chairman of the Friends of Lydiard Park independent conservation charity, says that the new Robins board won’t be meddling in on-track affairs and also believes that now is a perfect time to get involved in British speedway.

He said: “Only very stupid people would try and turn their backs on people like Terry Russell (chairman and co-owner), Colin Pratt (co-promoter) and Alun Rossiter (team manager).

“We’re fully respectful of everything Terry Russell has done for this club. Without Terry Russell, there would not be a Swindon speedway club.

“I’m looking to learn as much from him as I possibly can and if I live to 150, I might learn half of what he knows.

“There are some exciting signs (in British speedway). If you look at Glasgow, there are new owners there and some serious money going in.

“There’s also Rye House and there are incredible things going on there, and they’ve got ambitions to go into the Elite League.

“It is an exciting time because, fundamentally, it is a fantastic sport and I think if anyone comes along and gives it a try, I think the conversion rate from one-off to regular supporter will be very good because it is exciting.”