SWINDON Robins owner Terry Russell admits he does not yet know if the club will be racing in their proposed new stadium in 2018.

Plans for a new venue next door to the club’s existing Abbey Stadium home were first unveiled in 2015 but the project has been hit by setbacks ever since.

Earlier this year, track owners Gaming International stated that work to build the new facility off-site had been completed but that drainage issues at the current site in Blunsdon meant it could not be installed.

Russell admits the drawn-out nature of the project has become a source of frustration and he remains unsure whether or not the new stadium will be completed in time for the start of the new speedway season in the spring.

However, the Swindon chairman has assured supporters that the club will continue to race in the town while the current Abbey Stadium remains in place.

“Unfortunately I can’t say anything at all. It’s in the hands of the local council and our landlords and until the diggers move into the site, I really can’t say anything,” said Russell.

“I wish I could say whether we’d be in there next season or not, it would help me plan what I am doing. The only thing I am sure of is that we are running and we have a stadium.

“It has been frustrating but now I just see it as a case of what will be will be.

“We are okay where we are, we are right next door, so we will see it happening when it does happen, it won’t be so far away that you need to get a bus to go and find it.

“While the old stadium is there we will be racing in that – that’s the contractual agreement we have.

“We are not in the unfortunate position of some teams like Coventry in the past – we are not losing our stadium, we are just looking forward to a new one at some point.”

Gaming International has not so far responded to the Swindon Advertiser’s requests for an update on the progress of the new stadium at Blunsdon.

In the meantime, the club continue to work to put together their side for the 2018 season as they seek to defend the SGB Premiership title.

Earlier this week, David Bellego became the fifth member of the championship winning roster to agree to return to the Abbey Stadium next year, with team manager Alun Rossiter currently seeking the final two names for his septet.