THE frosty mist of a Glasgow Monday morning seems designed to cloak all bright, hopeful vistas with a dose of Caledonian reality.

 

There is a plan, even ambition on this patch of the north side of the city but it remains partially hidden in the fog and disguised by a scene that is in that crucial moment when one does not know if this is a site of demolition or creation.

The hard fact is that the home of Ashfield Juniors football club and Glasgow Tigers speedway club is being upgraded in a deal that will stretch into seven figures. Both clubs have been saved. The vision is for a vibrant football team and a speedway venue that will attract thousands.

There is warming sentiment behind the move but cold business sense, too. Michael and Gerry Facenna, the saviours of the stadium and the rescuers of two clubs, have bought the Tigers and have moved in the construction vehicles and moved out more than 300,000 tons of dirt and rubble.

They seek to usher in a new era of modern facilities, with verandahs overlooking the finishing line, floodlights illuminating the action and bars and car parks catering to not only the devoted fan but to the corporate and family audience that the Facennas see as crucial to building a viable concern.

The Facennas will put every penny that is raised back into the Tigers. As owners of Allied Vehicles Ltd, which employs more than 500 people on a site just up the road from Ashfield, the brothers know how to run a business that makes profits in the millions.

But the re-building at Ashfield is personal, not purely business. Both are speedway fans and their father, Carlo, introduced them to the sport back when the Facenna business was Ashfield Motors in Possil.

Gerry Facenna admits openly there is a personal pull towards Ashfield and the Tigers but adds: "There is a hard-nosed business plan to this. I have always believed speedway at Ashfield suffered from two main drawbacks. First, there was little marketing so there are people who do not know what we have here, what an exciting sport is on offer.

"Secondly, the facilities, frankly, were poor. We have to bring that up to standard so that corporate hospitality can flourish but also to enable the modern family to come along, have good food, refreshment, clean toilets, a place to park."

The brothers believe that the sports can bring in crowds in the thousands. They intend to have the refurbished stadium open for business in March.

"We have suffered in the last few seasons because we have not had a good team," says Gerry. "We have a good team now."

One place has to be filled for this season but Richard Lawson, Nick Morris, Kozza Smith, Dmitri Berge, Victor Palovaara and James Sarjeant have been enlisted. The Facennas do not expect to win the Premier League - at least not in the first season - but they expect the team to be competitive and entertaining.

They want, too, to bring something exciting and positive to an area that is on their personal and professional doorstep. They have been delighted with the co-operation from Glasgow City Council and have had talks with the police authority over how to address problems in the area.

"We want to start a training school for young riders," says Gerry. "You drive through Possil at 10pm and see you see the kids hanging around with nothing to do. We would like to give them a chance to make something of their lives: enjoy a sport that could bring them a living."

Michael Facenna points out that the youths would be given the opportunity to work on the bikes before riding them. "We would want to see signs of a commitment. We would want them to understand the machines and work on them before riding them," he says. "If they got into any trouble when working here, then we would not allow them to ride. It has to be about commitment."

The first part of the development at Hawthorn Street will include a new stand, improved terraces, entrance, club shop, toilets and car park. A hospitality suite will also be built.

The rescuing of the speedway has, in turn, ensured that Ashfield Juniors will continue to stretch a history that began in 1886.

"We would have been down the tubes; it's as simple as that," says Tom Robertson, secretary of the football club. "These guys have saved us," he says, nodding towards the Facennas.

The brothers have cleared the debts of the Tigers, having bought the club for an undisclosed sum, and the ownership of the Ashfield stadium will result in the football team playing rent-free.

"Everyone saw how Glasgow responded to sport during the Commonwealth Games," says Michael Facenna. "There were stadiums across the city packed out with fans. We believe speedway on a Sunday can become part of the sporting scene in this city."

This is a hope. It is, though, supported by hard work. Volunteers have helped to prepare the site for the improvements and diggers rumble over iced puddles as the Facennas outline their plans in a workman's hut.

Michael Facenna looks out on the chaos that will become order by spring. "This is a jewel in the crown of the city," he says. It is strange and wonderful what a man can see in the fog.