THE INVESTOR behind a £25m plan to bring back greyhound racing to Oxford, hopes to open the gates next March.

Kevin Boothby has secured a 10-year lease from Galliard Homes – owners of Oxford Stadium in Littlemore, which closed in 2012.

Negotiations began in October, but the deal for the Sandy Lane venue, was only announced on Wednesday.

Mr Boothby, who says he is 'madly passionate' about the sport, confirmed there was a lot of work to do but that recruitment would start very soon for roles including kennel support and hospitality.

While the prime focus will be on greyhound racing, a dancing studio, speedway and go-karting are also being considered.

Talking about his plans for the stadium, which has sat unused for nearly a decade, he said: "I am delighted to hear the response of the local people and the council.

"I have been really impatient for the announcement to come out.

"The one thing we must sure we do now is deliver a great stadium for the community and create plenty of jobs.

"We have a lot of work to do, especially on the restaurant and kitchens, but we should be ready to reopen in March and we want to deliver a nice venue.

"We are aware not everyone will want to go to greyhound racing, so we want to deliver something for everyone – we want locals to feel proud of the stadium."

Mr Boothby first visited the city nearly 15 years ago and he still fondly remembers visiting the 'high-class' greyhound tracks.

He said that Oxford 'ticks all the right boxes' and insisted he had great support from the local community.

On the possible return of speedway, he said: “If we can get speedway on, if we can get it viable, of course we'll look at it. We've got a speedway track there.

“My mum and dad used to take me to Boston Speedway on a Sunday when I was younger, so I followed speedway for many years.”

He added: "The city has always appealed to me and being here in the last few days I can see how much residents love the city.

"I want to rebuild the high-class facility that it used to be and bring people back.

"For me, it is really nice to know that people will enjoy themselves whatever activities we end up doing there."

The next few months will see a 'big recruitment drive' with dozens of roles opening in a number of sectors.

Mr Boothby and his team are set to arrive at the Cowley site today to begin work, with greyhound racing remaining the main objective.