GLASGOW Tigers’ on-track success has now been joined by major off-track recognition.
The speedway club have received a Certificate of Excellence from online tourism giant TripAdvisor after attracting rave reviews from visitors.
A five-star family day out at the team’s multi-million-pound Peugeot Ashfield Stadium comes second only to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on the website and ranks higher than nearly 300 others including Celtic Park, the Riverside Museum, Glasgow Science Centre and the city’s botanic gardens.
Meanwhile, the club also hit 20,000 likes on its Facebook page today, the highest total in Britain and on a par with some of the world’s biggest clubs.
The news comes just 48 hours before the Tigers host Scunthorpe Scorpions on a massive sporting day when the city also plays host to the Scottish Cup final and the Pro14 rugby.
Before then they travel to Edinburgh hoping to secure the two points that will seal their place in the semi-finals of the Championship Shield.
Glasgow boss Cami Brown said: “It’s the most exciting family sport you could ever see – it’s phenomenal.
“The perfect reason to go to speedway is that you see everything. It’s not like F1 where you only see one small part. There’s no other motorsport like it.
“It’s fantastic for families, especially in Scotland, it’s a totally different night out. You get so much entertainment. The kids are involved too, we’ve got kids races here in Glasgow, and it’s a family environment.
“We’ve got fantastic facilities. The stadium has almost been completely rebuilt and no other speedway stadium has the facilities we have here. It’s fantastic, and it’s no surprise Trip Advisor has given us this award.”
The Tigers have had their best start to a season for years – they’re unbeaten at home and have won on the road twice – and Brown says this weekend is their biggest yet.
“If we have the same kind of success we had last weekend when we beat Eastbourne home and away, I’ll be a very happy man,” he said.
“Since the Facenna family took over the club we’ve never gone away from home expecting to lose and that’s going to be the scenario tomorrow at Edinburgh.
“On Saturday people would assume it’s a straightforward match versus Scunthorpe but nothing is straightforward in speedway. Anything can happen in speedway – that’s why we go to watch it.”
Glasgow are also at home on Tuesday night as they host Sheffield in the second leg of their KO Cup tie, with 45 points on the board for each side.
Saturday’s meeting, at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium on Hawthorn Street, starts at 7pm.