Bosses at Britain's oldest greyhound racing track, in Gorton, Manchester, have invested £150,000 refurbishing and `revitalising' the suite which it hopes will become the venue of choice for business clients.
A specialist corporate team has also been appointed to help the track raise its game within the corporate market.
The move follows a £600,000 investment programme, concluded last year, which saw a revamp of the venue's restaurant.
In 2007, more than 300,000 people walked through the stadium's turnstiles, resulting in a turnover of over £5.5m.
Clive Feltham, chief executive of GRA, which owns the stadium, said: "Hundreds of thousands of people already know just what a great night out is on offer at Belle Vue Stadium, and we hope that this investment will encourage even more members of the business community to come along.
"The corporate suite at our stadium in Wimbledon, in London, is consistently between 75 per cent and 80pc occupied, and we hope to achieve this for Belle Vue - which at the moment is around 40pc full."
The corporate suite, which can accommodate 150, has the latest flatscreen technology for clients to watch the races.
The new team includes catering manager Gareth Evans, sales manager Sharon Hardy and customer service manager Jane Stopford.
In addition to the Belle Vue and Wimbledon stadiums, GRA operates venues in Birmingham's Perry Barr and Hall Green, Oxford and Portsmouth.
The investment at Belle Vue contrasts starkly with the fate of Walthamstow Greyhound Racing Stadium which shut earlier this month.
Mr Feltham confirmed that GRA had looked at the opportunity to purchase the famous London venue. He added: "Ultimately, the price of London land is such that it made the purchase of the venue as a going concern unviable."
Belle Vue - which was founded in 1927 - has 50 full-time staff and a further 200 part-time.
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The recent British Greyhound Racing Board Annual Statistics show every aspect of the racing industry is in sharp decline, despite the industry’s attempts to boost numbers through increased meetings and races.
Not surprising then, Mr Feltham fails to highlight the GRA were awarded a grant of £1,051,303 from the British Greyhound Racing Fund to prop up this failing stadium stadium.
Funding which should have gone towards ensuring the welfare of greyhounds!
However, Mr Feltham’s more accurate account of the greyhound racing industry can be seen in this interview, given only four months ago.
“The cost and complexity of running greyhound racetracks is ever increasing, and the number of independents closed in recent years is testament to this.”
“We have got the forthcoming Animal Welfare Bill secondary legislation. We know there are people out there who just want to see the sport consigned to the rubbish bin…. It sometimes feels that we are suffering death by a thousand paper cuts.”
“Bit by bit we are being crushed, whether it be by increased administration from the Gambling Commission, increased workload under the Animal Welfare Bill, the erosion of benefits i.e. the tax-free betting status, extended evening opening hours in betting shops, the relentless competition from TV and the internet, whether it be live football matches screened every second of the day or betting opportunities on the internet, all of which provide great challenges.”
Asked to comment on the effects of the economic recession, he said, “Of course it is bad news for greyhound racing as well as the rest of the country. The simple fact of the matter is that in the good old days, the majority of our income was from hardened race-goers, who were looking for a live betting opportunity and therefore they needed to have a fix. It is just not the case any more. We are now a general leisure activity and, as such, if our customers have higher mortgages, less pay, more job uncertainty, falling house prices, it must have an effect on their leisure spending.”
Most telling of all, when asked what advice he would give the promoter of a brand new greyhound track in Britain, he answered, “If he was a multi-millionaire doing it for the love of the sport with no expectation of a return, I would be slapping him on the back, shaking his hand and congratulating him. If they were not, I would be quietly taking him aside and suggesting that it would have been better if he had spoken to me prior to making their investment, as I can think of a multitude of other businesses that can provide a better return and are far easier to manage.”
Whilst punters relax and enjoy a glitzy ‘Night at the Dogs’, behind the scenes, it will be the greyhounds that continue to be perpetually exploited, abused.
The RSPCA reports ‘At least 20 greyhounds a day, either puppies which do not make it to the track, or ‘retired’ dogs aged three or four, simply disappear, presumed killed’.