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I would suggest they are very fortunate to be getting even the same money considering most tracks will have seen a big reduction in fan base during this time... If riders are getting the same money, given the fan base drop, it can only be down to the inflation busting admission cost increases dealt to those who still do attend... That wonderful vicious circle British Speedway has put itself in... ie Attendances drop due to ridiculous operating model being followed. So they put up the price of admission to those who still attend. Meaning attendances then drop further, so they put up the price of admission again to those who still attend. Meaning attendances then drop further so they put up the price of admission again to those etc etc etc... Any business person with even a shred of acumen would always find a way of reducing their costs before taking the decision to pass on cost increases to their customers through increased prices.. My company has paid out an extra 10% in payroll over the past 18 months to meet its legal obligations on earnings. I didn't suddenly get an extra 10% of customers to pay for it.... Therefore costs had to be reduced elsewhere in the business and a reduction in workforce achieved through a review of its operating model to deliver better productivity.... I am amazed that Speedway still pays out 14 salaries per meeting when it cannot afford to do so, yet never changes the team number or the amount of heats they pay out for.. I am even more amazed that they put out big money to GP stars who put hardly one person on the gate. The sport is down to the die hards now who will go anyway and no disrespect to any rider, but long gone are the days of 'real Stars' like Collins, Mauger, Olsen, Penhall etc who would tangibly put extra 'bums on seats' when they visited your home track.. Hope the AGM goes well. I presume the first thing on the agenda will be how much admissions costs will increase by this year...? Thats as long as they don't have to discuss first up which biscuits to have. Let's hope that's been settled well in advance of the meeting...

I have said this before but when riding for Coventry ~ which covers a number of years ~ Chris used to spend months trying to get the right set ups on his machines at the beginning of the season and then by July he would be flying until the end of the season. So why was it necessary to then get rid of these and start again the next season on new equipment , which meant another frustrating session of trying to get the right set-ups. Seems a crazy waste of money to me.

Because the tail wags the dog

All the things suggested one big league wage caps standardised equipment will work if you don't have one promoter who tries to get round it, and that's the problem, promoters looking after themselves and not the greater good I am afraid there is no solution to the basic problem so there cant be a solution to the other problems

Common Sense comments.. However, I do really believe that what is done now cannot be undone.. We have gone too far and it is not possible to get the Sport where it needs be in this country.. I am convinced the Promoters know full well the stand out reasons for the Sport's ever hastening demise (there has never been so much feedback available), but they simply havent the resource, or possibly the capability too, to sort the self inflicted mess out.. We all know that there is huge potential in the Sport as many of us just on here used to go regularly, and around the country I would suggest EVERY track has at least 2000 people living locally who no longer go but used to go and keep a passing interest in the local Speedway team.. It just appears that Promoters feel there is zero chance of enticing them back so no point in trying.. A shame, but it is what it is..

That is the worry cr as they do not seem to be taking much notice of the fans, more who now seem to be picking and choosing which meetings they go to, or understand why those who have stopped going no longer go. One thing that would have helped would have been for every club to have given a questionnaire out to the fans part way through the season and see what issues the fans have. If there are one or two major issues mentioned by many then maybe they can be changed for the following season. Some of the clubs seen to forget that without the fans some of the clubs will die.

There is an obvious solution to this bit it would just be facetious. Realistically British Speedway ought bite the bullet now whilst the European leagues carry on until their sponsorship, civic grants, sports association funding, tv rights and intellectual property rights dry up. Poland is already working behind the scenes on standardised equipment and hopefully they'll make a better fist of it than the BSPA. At one time this country was working on the development of rev limiters that would only have reduced the hammer on the engines at the starts, some riders refused to test them in after meeting rides and some promoters had no belief in them whatsoever. The guys who were developing them got binned by the BSPA who 2 years later threw six figure sums to launch the Gerhardt project! Rev limiters would have cost about £180 a bike less for some depending on the ignition system already in use, £40,000 would have got every rider 2 each instead of hundreds of thousands on new engines at £4500 + vat. The BSPA could have committed itself to a development budget of less than £20k and an ongoing subsidy for 2 years of 50% of the cost of replacements for existing and new riders. The argument "why should the UK be different" has been used against carburetors, tyres, silencers and upright engines over the years so we have the same equipment as the rest of the world with significantly (in most cases) less revenue to support it's introduction and maintenance. A bit like the Concorde, magnificent engineering and technology but a revolutionary disaster.

If you think that Chris Harris wasn`t on over £100 per point at Rye house then you are living in cloud cuckoo land !!!!!

Danny Phillips (or any other young rider) signed at reserve don’t deserve all this crap he’s getting.The lad rocks up with good equipment and keen to learn.running last places isn’t his plan I’m sure.trouble is when the so called “good lads” don’t score, the 2 point riders get the blame .the way this sport is going they won’t be one soon .give the lads a break or maybe even ask if you can borrow there kit and show em what there doing wrong......

If it saves the club from dying then why not. I’d love to have Ipswich and Peterborough both in the top league battling it out with us, Leicester too. That’s half the league as rivals

I read a few comments recently by Chris Harris. It does seem the sport owes him a living. Let's look back. It made him leave school without qualifications, he hasn't done a job apart from speedway in the 20 or so years since (it paid so well, even allowing for a winter rest) and says nowadays what little he earns from racing goes straight back into helping him carry on racing. The lad must be using foodbanks. Me, personally, I feel if the sport is now set up purely to benefit riders having enough meetings for various clubs so they can earn a decent living. And by catering for the riders this way it is alienating the fans, who are no longer attracted by the team ethic of the sport. Obviously, there are other matters to resolve, but this is one of them.

Just the most important people then.... Chris Harris' comments this week absolutely epitomise how far removed from reality most riders are - their selfish approach is a huge factor in the mess UK speedway finds itself in. I am one of the long-term fans who has been disillusioned by so many things (particularly the way the sport is run for everyone but the fans) that I'm not sure I have anything vaguely resembling enthusiasm to give a toss if/when they are fixed.

I’ll tell you exactly what I was on if it is of such importance, it’s no secret, £60 per point, 15pence per mile and £1000 sign on fee which was split into two parts, now I don’t know exactly the amount of points I scored so let’s say 300 max and I’m being nice to myself 300 x 60=£18000, great wages, Now let’s take out the 10k it cost me to race so that’s 8k from April until mid August, not bad but not great wages BUT I have a job, I don’t expect speedway to pay 24/7 anymore, anyone who thinks that the majority of speedway riders are earning loads are deluded. Now please, don’t get me misconstrued I get that riders cannot demand what isn’t there but please, please don’t think riders are on mega bucks because it simply isn’t true

Unless riders accept the realty it’s going to be a 100% reduction, when I listen to today’s riders talk its like they think they have invented the wheel and before their career riders didn’t exsist, had a long chat with a former manager/mechanic of a world champion a few weeks ago and he was saying riders of today don’t realise how easy they have it , he said they did twice as many meetings as today’s riders and they had to drive all over Europe in a transit ,not flying like today with bikes and mechanics already there and then wash and prep the bikes and run a business too., before doubling up reared it’s ugly head riders would do around 50 british meetings a year and most had a job too , when I was at Berwick our no1 was a postman

Full details of the meeting content:- THE Save Coventry Speedway & Stox Campaign Group held a hugely successful Public Meeting at the Mercure Brandon Hall Hotel on Tuesday. Over 300 speedway and stock car fans, and local residents, packed in to hear the latest updates on the battle against the plans to demolish the iconic Brandon Stadium and replace it with a housing estate – with no provision for any replacement. The meeting was also supported by speedway riders including former British Champions Chris Harris and Danny King, stock car drivers and as many as five local Councillors. There was live coverage on BBC Midlands Today in their early-evening programme and a further follow-up in the late bulletin, as well as coverage and interviews on local radio stations BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and Touch FM/Rugby FM. The meeting opened with brief speeches from the leader of Rugby Borough Council, Michael Stokes, and the MP for Rugby, Mark Pawsey. Cllr Stokes, whilst naturally having to declare impartiality in the case of an ongoing planning application, did confirm that in all of his time on the Council – over a decade – there has been no other local issue which has provoked a reaction on this scale. Following our submission earlier in the day of our reaction to the Framptons ‘Needs Analysis’ document – seeking to make the case that Brandon Stadium is surplus to requirements in line with National Planning Policy, as other ‘alternative’ stadiums exist in the Midlands – Cllr Stokes was able to deliver an encouraging update. He stated that due to the volume of material and the clear discrepancies between the submissions of the developers and ourselves, the Council will appoint an independent party to fully scrutinise both and seek expert advice in order to provide an informed conclusion to the Planning Officer. We welcome this news, and having subsequently heard our assessment of the Turley (viability) and Framptons (needs assessment) documents, we are sure all those present at the meeting will share that opinion. Cllr Stokes also confirmed the Planning Application will not be heard until after the Local Plan is finalised. Mr Pawsey grew up in Binley Woods so has a full affinity with the area and the stadium itself, and he has always offered ongoing support to the Campaign. He spoke as passionately as ever on the issues and his continued engagement, both locally and in Westminster, is of huge value to us. The meeting presentation took the form of a descriptive slideshow which first briefly summarised events leading up to the previous Public Meeting in October 2016. We then updated the events of the last year, including the further inadequacies of security at the stadium prior to the settlement of the Council’s Community Protection Order, the submission of planning documents and public reaction, the Local Plan hearings, media coverage, and other events/meetings attended. There was then a discussion of the Local Plan process, why we sought to strengthen it in terms of protecting facilities such as Brandon, and what the Government-appointed inspector said following the hearings. We then provided a selection of material produced either by or on behalf of the developers seeking to prove the stadium was disused and unviable with no interest forthcoming for re-opening – and then their subsequent, recent submissions stating there was no ongoing need for Brandon due to an apparent range of ‘alternative’ venues elsewhere in the Midlands. Whereas much of the developers’ information was based on misinformation and untruths, we were able to provide clear, indisputable evidence to disprove their claims. We also discussed the ongoing Brandon & Bretford Neighbourhood Plan, and following a brief Q&A session we ended with the following conclusions and recommendations: This meeting: 1. Endorses the ongoing activities of the Save Coventry & Stox Campaign Group including its representations on the Rugby Local Plan, Brandon Estates’ planning application for residential redevelopment on the site of Brandon Stadium, and the Brandon & Bretford Neighbourhood Plan; 2. Calls on Rugby Borough Council to a) reject Brandon Estates’ Planning Application and b) support reinstatement of Brandon Stadium for Speedway and Stock Car Racing at the earliest opportunity. 3. Confirms that the Coventry/Brandon Bees should race in the Rugby/Coventry area and that the relocation of the team to Leicester Speedway is not a realistic solution. But the most important part of the evening was the reaction and turnout from the sporting and local communities. To fill a room with over 300 people on a midweek evening was further proof of just what this issue means to everyone, even though there has been no racing for over two years – something the developers will never understand. Campaign Group Spokesman Jeff Davies said: “From our perspective, the meeting could not have gone better. The media coverage with local radio stations and BBC Midlands Today present throughout was brilliant and the messages of support, both directly and via a massive social media response is incredible. “People who attended the meeting are now better informed about the situation, understand what the issues are and why the process is taking so long. “We have put an immense amount of time and effort into this fight and to see so many passionate people supporting the campaign makes all that effort worthwhile. “Speaking on behalf of all the members of the Campaign Group, I promise speedway fans, stock car fans and local residents, we will fight this to the very end and will not give up. “Despite being up against wealthy developers, with their PR people, their solicitors and their consultants, it's a battle we've always believed we can win and eventually bring the sports 'home' for future generations to enjoy.” *WE have had various requests to make the slides from the presentation available to view online. We have respectfully decided that would not be appropriate, due to the fact that taken in isolation they could cause confusion – we ran the meeting with the slides complementing the narration, and they by no means provide a full record of what was said. However, we are more than willing to engage with anyone who contacts the Campaign Group, and are happy to take them through any of the issues discussed in as much detail as they wish.

Well, can you not give a freind your money and get them to pay you in ?

Count me out on that £10-12 is not a realistic or feasible price for entrance to any professional sport

Top flight racing at the showground on a week night is a recipe for disaster. It never worked before, when the sport was in a lot healthier state.

Yes but you will also cut the revs as you wouldn’t be able to get the same power and also the obvious thing is 2 less valves, springs and guides so you save £150 straight away

This is already a thread in the News and discussion section

People seem to be missing what I'm saying. I'm not asking for standardisation, the equipment they have already would be ok to continue with. What I'm saying is pay the rider's less and they're less likely to be servicing with PJR and equivalent. They'll stop buying expensive frames etc every year and run equipment 2-3 years instead etc. Pay the rider's substantially less, if a rider brings the best equipment possible and scores maximum after maximum they'll still lose money. Eventually they'll have to find better sponsors, get a 2nd job, ride a different country or quit all together. The wages HAVE TO BE SLASHED.

Change, a rider believes somehow that someone would be getting an advantage and they are not thinking about the future of the sport , the old argument about what would happen to all the current engines if we brought in some sort of standardized or different engine is about to be tested , GM has just brought out a new engine that looks completely different to current model, now the top guys will buy it and if it proves to be a winner then every one will have one within months and the GMs we use now will become obsolete , so what’s the difference ?the only difference is one way is enforced and the other is choice but either way it’s the same end result of the current engine being made obsolete except one way is good for the future of the sport and the other pushes up costs

Thanks for informed reply, does it mean you now understand or not?

Grant Henderson Tankers sponsor several riders northern based and not specifically at Glasgow. They are major sponsors at Glasgow but also Berwick , young Kyle could do a lot worse than them and will be well looked after, There will be nothing else in it , i have no doubt young Kyle will line up for the Comets next season with his Grant Henderson Tankers sonsorship on board.

Surely this has to be done across the board in world speedway or it will never work and is there a call in other countries for such a move? If we have a different type of bike in the UK it won't help much.Foreign riders will need a new bike for the UK and they will most probably ask the cub to cough up for the funding,when they sign.Plus you put young British riders at a disadvantage when they ride abroad.Established riders can afford numerous bikes,but a young rider going to Eurpe for an international meeting riding his 'cheap' british model will be out of his depth.I mean if a bike can be cheaply produced and still have the same performance of an expensive one,then a manufacturer is missing a trick big time in undercutting rivals and taking a large chunk of the market....... We will also end up with people asking why foreign riders are getting supplied with a new bike and not young Brits.A self made problem,yet again

I wondered why The White Knight had disappeared.

Yes there have. Crowds have been crap for years - Sky money has been bailing the sport out. Most races at most tracks are over by the back straight, if not the first bend. There is next to no racing - the reason for this is that most tracks are not conducive to proper racing/passing due to their size, shape, preparation, etc. In short, it's boring that's why nobody goes.

Really proud to tell you all that Martin and I, on behalf of everyone who believed in us, volunteers, our fans, visiting fans, sponsors and riders, won the 2018 Isle of Wight Radio Local Hero Awards for Sporting Achiever. This is absolutely great to be honored up against every other sport, sports club, sports person who represents or is on the Isle of Wight and is voted for by the community. We are both, as should everyone associated with the club, very proud today. Thank you

Why would stadiums be empty on GP nights? I watch very few things “live” at transmission time and much prefer to record and watch on delay. This allows me to skip past Adverts , replays and endless studio chats. I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way

I've noticed amongst fans on here that everybody has differing opinions on structure etc. what ever happens there will be a very vocal majority who disagree. its almost as polarised as brexit. i don't see an answer. i have my own view but others have it and have been argued against. same with each other opinion too. every answer will have negatives. its sad to think about really so to say they don't listen to the fans is a very broad statement.

I was pretty sure they were.

He did point out those things and the costs were considerably more than half.

Sounds like rider control;, which is how things used to be

In a way that causes another problem though.Say one or two teams produce their own talent and are forced year after year to release one of their own good youngsters.The promoter and fans are p’d off with that situation..... The sport has got itself in such a situation where sorting one problem generally only starts another

I don’t believe Ipswich are contemplating going “up” Chris louis will do what’s best financially for the club as it’s his living. He won’t gamble going into the premiership quite rightly imo. Publicaly he has said he looks at the possibility every year which I’m sure he does. Probably for a second and then settles for being a very competitive team in the best run league.

Of course, fans would like to see more teams visiting and a bigger league. For one, the stay at home ones (like me) would love the chance of seeing different teams on television than we have had the last decade or so, with the league dwindling to seven. In 1995 and 1996 when one big league was tried, it wasn't really given much of a chance. But we were in a better position then than we are now. I recall the strong team unwilling to let their riders go. I'd say, never mind the unwillingness, they must be forced to release riders. Back in 1995 I remember the likes of Middlesbrough crying out for help. But the top teams were holding on to their talent because nobody had the balls to act. A big league would work. But we need a firm hand to make it work.

Well done every one at the Iow ,,The rest of the promoters in this country could learn a lot about how to run Speedway for the community...

Congratulations Barry... Its obvious from the comments on here from those who attend your meetings that you and the team constantly strive to exceed your customer's expectations.... I presume as an NL Promoter you won't be at the AGM? A shame if so, as your clearly driven customer focus could do with being shared around your fellow 'Custodians of the Sport'.. I see you are also not resting on your laurels and pro actively seeking feedback as to how you could improve even further, through modern social media outlets? Maybe if you could attend the AGM you could have shared that idea with others, some of whom seem to struggle with the concept of running a business through listening to their customer's comments on what they like/dislike... Although maybe being more realistic, you would possibly have had to lead them out on a 'quest for fire' first..! One small step at a time/Rome wasn't built in a day etc etc etc... Well done and best of luck for next year too...

Probably average 2 meetings a week so that’s £900 per week and like I said not bad wages, BUT if you read my first post I am willing to work 8 months of the year, the days where riders can live off speedway are gone atm. So if you divide that 8k by 52 weeks that’s £152 per week, can you live on that? I can’t and I don’t expect to and that’s why I drive lorries

To be honest dean I have no idea how many or how many points I scored, that isn’t the point I am trying to make, and no I didn’t double up. The point I am trying to make here is that riders are not on what “some” people think there are. now if we get to the real crux of the argument it’s different, riders cannot demand what isn’t there and this me,me, me attitude can’t be sustained. We need to work together, riders, promoters and fans to get this great sport back on track. i am lucky I didn’t work from 1998-2014, now I never had any real money but bloody hell I had a good life, I gave up my job for 5 months knowing I could go back, not for the money but for the life but as soon as it was over I was back at work, it’s the only way I could race

That pretty much sums everything up. , Forgetting about the last line of the list, but the rest could be set in stone as the direction that this sport intends to go... Nobody expects miracles and Rome wasn't built in a day, but we need to start somewhere and there no time like the present...…… I have often asked the question about tyres, and who is the main benefactor of the contract of supplying every match with 14 tyres . Howe touch on it in his column and spoke of the added costs to promoters, like he said if riders were responsible they would more often than not use them for 2 meetings. Why not have harder compound that last longer. It appears to me the tyre supplier is holding all the aces, making a pretty penny out of a sport that can ill afford such elaborate ideas... Cant believe a sport, so desperate to make ends meet , would agree to such an expensive operation …. The mine boggles......

If a single league is on offer, a lot of teams will drop out due to anticipated rising costs, and we will be left with a single league but reduced in numbers.

One league of 18 team would give 34 league matches + play off +koc or any other competition + any challenges , that’s around 50 meetings 25 home 25 away , season is only 26 weeks long , that pretty much 2 aWeek , how many do they need ? , I like bomber but his interview was selfish and at odds with what the sport needs to do to move forward

One big league wouldn't deliver anywhere near the number of meetings that doubling-up currently does.

I hope that the AGM does not take too much notice of the opinions of Bomber Harris. If that is how the majority of British riders feel then speedway has no chance of rebuilding itself. "Can't go on" without doubling up. "Not worth the risk" without doubling up. Bomber is a terrific speedway racer but outside of his own backyard no-one in the outside world has heard of him and many of the 25,000 UK fans of speedway do not want doubling up. He needs to talk to more of them. If there were 250,000 UK fans prepared to pay to get in and were baying for Chris Harris then he might get the rewards he deserves for his racing skills. What he did or didn't do at school is not the responsibility of supporters and he needs to really think about the day which comes to all riders ( except it seems Greg Hancock ) when they have to retire ( or want to retire or no-one wants to employ them ) life after speedway for all riders needs careful preparation and thinking about at a deep personal level.

Long time observer, never posted... until now.... Seriously - Mondays? Thursdays? Wake up. The sport is on it's arse in this country. If they don't run at weekends, it's gone pretty soon as a team sport. Stuff the GP's, just don't sign GP riders! Not saying every team should have a weekend race night, but in Belle Vue's case I think it's imperative to get Friday or Saturday, regardless of who is in the team. Attracting new or casual people through the gates does not mean they need GP 'Stars' (I use that term loosely these days), they need the whole experience to be decent. If the racing is good, then I wouldn't care what the 1-7 is, but I'd agree some continuity between seasons would be good, so the long-term 'fan' can relate. Sack the fixed race nights & clubs should run on any night when it's most viable for them. The tail has been wagging the dog for far too long.

Spot on

And the rest. Truth is, if people have zero interest in something they aren't even going to go if it's free.

Nobody is going to pay £10 to see something they have zero interest in, either.

Without a doubt, it will be watered down. Weaken the product and increase the admission price. A recipe for disaster.