Ullevi ties up new deal

The Swedish Grand Prix will be staged at the historic Ullevi Stadium until 2013.

BSI Speedway, rights holders to the FIM Speedway World Championship Grand Prix Series, have signed a new five-year contract with GotEvent, who operate the venue in Gothenburg.

The deal replaces the existing agreement, which was scheduled to expire in 2010.

Paul Bellamy, managing director of BSI Speedway, said: "We are very proud to be associated with a stadium that has an international reputation as a world-class sporting venue, and this agreement ensures the legacy of World Championship speedway at the Ullevi Stadium continues.

"The new contract, and the emergence of young Swedish riders already proving their ability to compete at the top level, demonstrates the Grand Prix Series will go from strength to strength in Sweden."   

The 43,000-seat Gothenburg stadium, opened in 1958, first hosted the individual world championship - in the days of a one-off final - in 1964, when legendary New Zealander Barry Briggs scored a 15-point maximum to take the crown for a third time.