NEWPORT Speedway stadium, which closed in February following a failed take over bid, could be demolished.

Sydney and London Properties applied to Newport City Council for permission to knock down the derelict Queensway Meadows track.

A report to the planning committee says the stands and outbuildings would be demolished and the site would be left vacant.

An ecology assessment found it was unlikely any birds or bats living at the site, but advised checks be carried out before anything is dismantled.

The Wasps became the latest sporting victims of the financial downturn when a deal with Trojan International fell through, despite the efforts of promoter Steve Mallett.

The British Premier League club almost closed at the end of the 2011 speedway season because of dwindling crowds, three years after the sport was brought back to the city.

The Trojan International deal would have brought stock car racing to Newport boosting income and helped cover the venue’s rent, but the firm decided to pull out.

Later an unnamed businessman sought to take over the club, but talks collapsed when a financial agreement could not be reached.

Speaking at the time, Mr Mallet said everyone involved with the club was devastated by its closure.

He later spoke of how he felt the place was cursed, when days later the stadium was vandalised and later targeted by arsonists who set the main stand on fire.

Two years ago an “exorcism” was held in an attempt to rid the stadium of an alleged gipsy curse, thought by some to be responsible for bringing ten years of bad luck for several of those associated with Newport Speedway.