Work is set to start on Leicester's new £4.5m speedway stadium next month.

It should mean the long-awaited return of Leicester Lions in time for the start of the new season in March.

Two "international class" bikers are in discussions with Leicester Speedway Limited about signing for the team, with names expected to be announced within weeks.

The city council last month formally approved plans for the sports complex, in Beaumont Leys, which will incorporate the new track as well as a cycling velodrome, BMX track and 12 five-a-side football pitches.

It followed years of campaigning from speedway fans to bring the sport back to Leicester.

Once formal agreements about the leasing of the land have been signed, builders should be moving on to the Bennion Road site by mid-October, Beaumont Sports Complex said.

A promoter, who would be responsible for running of the seven-man speedway team, is expected to be appointed within weeks.

If Leicester Lions are to compete in the next season – which runs from March to October – the team would need to register with the British Speedway Promoters' Association by November 1.

Leicester Speedway Supporters Club has been campaigning for the return of the sport since the old Blackbird Road stadium closed in 1983. It is now working with developers to attract sponsorship for the new site.

Secretary Steve Chilton said: "It will be a race against time to be ready for March but we are a determined bunch.

"We've had a lot of contact from speedway fans all across the country. The expectancy level is massive. We have been waiting for this for 26 years."

The stadium will be within a community, sports and education centre.

An education centre for people with learning disabilities will also be built on site.

If building work goes to plan the football pitches and speedway track should be completed by the start of March, with the other facilities finished next autumn.

BSC director David Hemsley said: "Subject to final council ratification of the lease agreement we are hoping to be in a position to start work on the site by the middle of next month.

"That should leave just enough time to achieve our aim of being able to run speedway there by next March."

Speedway was popular in Leicester for much of the 20th century but by the late-1950s its popularity had begun to wane. In 1983, the owners of the stadium in Blackbird Road sold the site to house builders.

Councillor Andy Connelly, the council's culture spokesman, said the return of speedway would be a boost not just to the Beaumont Leys but the whole city. He said: "I think people will relish having speedway back again and, of course, the development will be bringing benefits to the whole local area."