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http://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.38762 Terribly sad news, my thoughts are with his family.

Could be worse. You could be paying £100, just like the F1 GP at Silverstone, to watch follow the leader there.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee Donkey. £20 to get into Saddlebow for Speedway. The World’s gone mad. I wonder how long it will be before the ‘use it or lose it’ cry will go out.

Like I and others have pointed out. Maybe look back at your last couple of posts and see they don’t really make sense unless we have a promoter who is willing to live in a fantasy world and has money to burn

Like others I am both saddened and shocked. Together with Stuart Douglas they brought Lakeside back from the brink of closure for 12 years. Not everybody’s cup of tea and his outspokenness upset some but he undoubtedly had the sport at heart and I will always remember my years at Lakeside with great affection. Behind the scenes he was very much a riders man, and as team manager he had great rapport with them. Away from meetings, at club social functions he was very funny with a very dry wit. A great loss. Condolences to his family.

Such sad news. Condolences to family + friends. An opinionated + passionate Promoter for speedway across the South. RIP Jon Cook

Agree entirely. I have been to many speedway meetings over the years and have never felt short changed. Some great matches and some not so good ones but that's just like any other sport. It's always the anticipation of thinking it's going to be a great meeting. In the grand scheme of things I don't think people should moan about having to pay £15 to £18 per meeting.

It’s all about VFM though......how often is a night out at speedway in this country worth 15-20 sheets?

I don't know what the fuss is about 15 to 20 quid is not unreasonable imo,especially compared to other motorsports

I just think Twitter is a farce. There is so much abuse on their, mostly posted by unidentifiable people, and this abuse then gets posted as a story in Daily Newspapers. (Fans unhappy about... etc) I'm pretty convinced that most if this stuff is posted by journalists with fake accounts so that they can then criticise people and report on it as if it is a balanced report with quotes when they are merely quoting themselves. As for a 4 day boycott by the sporting world, big deal. Nobody will even hardly notice. If people are genuinely fed up with the abuse they get on Social Media, the answer is simple. Don't go on it.

Don't make any apologies for having an opinion mate. The social media "blackout" is just token bandwagon jumping. Some things do get very personal on here I agree and the perpetrators are a small minority of keyboard warriors. Criticism is a good thing as long as it's constructive. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but it is becoming the norm now that you are not allowed to have one unless it is the correct one and on the approved playlist. Unfortunately everything now has to be this sugar coated world of unicorns and rainbows.

It’s back! So build a team upto 35.00 points and the highest end of the season average wins! Same rules apply as previous years and as apply to the promoters. Only 2 riders from each club are allowed in your team. Previous results were: 2019: 1st Iand, 2nd Flipper11 & 3rd DJC. 2018: 1st Hunters, 2nd SKJ & 3rd CUFC_Brummie.  2017: 1st Eagles69, 2nd Islander15 & 3rd SKJ. 2016: 1st Halifax Tiger, 2nd John Leslie, 3rd Turn Two.

Shame you never discovered meat

Wasn't there some idea that Odsal was going to become the new 'Wembley' of British Speedway, and that staging elite league speedway in such a venue would pull the crowds? The reality is that speedway thrived in some odd places (e.g. King's Lynn), and failed in some places that should in theory have much bigger catchments.

You have to remember presenting and commentating are pretty hard things to do, nevermind having a clear voice and knowledge of what you're talking about.. Try and make a 90 second speech without hesitating or umming and ahhing, while someone is garbling away in your ear about this and that.

i think it will be nigel kelvin and steve brandon

Let’s not forget all those poor strikers who have not seen the light of day all season as they have been kept in Grant Hanleys pocket.

Disgraceful comment. Spurs Son nearly lost his life with a flick on the cheek 2 weeks ago

A sad loss to Speedway, I always found him well worth listening to when he came on the mic whenever Eastbourne or Arena were in town and he always told it as he saw it even if he didn't always get it right (mano a mano). Always had the best interests of his clubs at heart and probably a shame he never took the top job

I reckon same as last season, with maybe a 50p booking fee.

I understand there will be some good news shortly on this matter.

You pays ya money and takes your choice. Your money, your choice.

F1 GP let the drivers practice for 3 days then put the fastest at the front and call it racing

Before the stands were built thats where i used to stand. Must have liked warm beer.... but if you 15 then any beer would do i suppose! Then there was the "food outlet" that had 2 queues, one for chips and the other for "potatoes" . I remember the times when the chips queue was huge but the other was empty, so used to go to the potato queue and ask for chips, after all what are chips made from ?

Interesting article. It was actually sent to me by a long time friend who had previously no interest in speedway however knew that I was a fan. he found it really interesting and is now talking to me about attending a meeting when we can....

Bradford Dukes won the first Elite League in 1997 with an awesome team featuring Havelock, Loram and Screen yet most of the crowds were below 1000 even some I believe were below 500. British speedway crowds in 1997 were bigger than crowd figures from 2019. Probably the biggest game changer in West Yorkshire speedway was when League speedway finished at the Shay Grounds, Halifax at the end of 1985. I know there was circumstances there with having to move floodlight pylons in order to comply with new regulations and then being offered Odsal rent free, but Halifax Dukes speedway were an institution in the Town and had a decent hardcore support, indeed the speedway was the Towns best supported sport. Apparently Halifax averaged 3000 in 85 at the Shay while Bradford averaged 1000 in 86 at Odsal. I'm sure if speedway could have stayed at the Shay after 1985 then maybe the ground changes that took place there in the 1990's wouldn't have happened and the sport would still be staged there up to present times. I'm sure that speedway in Halifax would likely still be attracting some of the best crowds in Britsh speedway. If only Odsal could be transported over to Halifax. To summarise staging League speedway at Odsal would almost certainly not attract viable crowds but certainly with the shale track in place it could be viable for one off events, while a track in Halifax is the best hope for League racing in that part of the World.

Good start for the Bullets. At this level it is all about track time. If extra rides in the National League lead to Flint and Bickley getting the confidence to beat their opposite numbers in the Championship then it's working. It's about giving the likes of Watson and Douglas more competitive races, to bring them on. But what I like is you have Flint, Watson, Douglas and Blair, all young lads who live within a few miles of the town. Young local kids will relate to them, local businesses are more likely to support local riders. A positive start so far.

THEY aren't dropping at Cardiff ... have remained around 40,000 which considering how many people in the UK regularly attend speedway is impressive. One of the most popular SGPs for fans from outside the staging country is Prague. Why? The racing isn't fantastic. They are drawn by the city and all it has to offer.

You see I dont view any meeting as "Mickey Mouse", although I admit some maybe more attractive than others. However we put on a show, week in, week out... and this is what people want to see now. It's true to say in my view we risk having a sport where the only entertainment is whether your team gets the league points or not and not the "show" on the track. For me, it's showtime every time. All the best

That's exactly my point - that relying on greyhound racing will only help to close the stadium down. Despite your rudeness to me, we seem to be in agreement on that point! Not sure why you refer to our group as 'nutters'. They are nice people who don't want to see dogs killed or injured. Says a lot about you that you consider them to be nutters. Most people in Swindon want the speedway team to have a site and to be successful. We could have all worked together which is why I came on this forum. Most people on this forum also seem pessimistic that GI Ltd will ever redevelop the site and I agree with everyone on that. I won't bother replying to you again. Very telling that you like replying to me on here. I've had some nice, supportive replies from people on here and you come on to reply to me and are extremely rude. A touch of misogyny, I suspect.

Ant and Dec presenting the football then

As one enlightened promoter once remarked what is the point in increasing admission fees if it results in a significant number of fans no longer attending.

Whilst the money does have to come from somewhere why does it always have to be found by adding onto the admission price? Those antics are always a gamble as it can just as easily put people off from going. Take 1000 fans for example you could easily argue that 100 people would be put off by another price hike. That 100 missing paying £18 is the same as the other 900 paying £2 more except that you have 100 fans staying away.

Honestly Geoff, just STFU you are getting worse and im embarrassed to be associated with you at belle vue whats strange is your actually a decent guy so not sure what makes you turn into a right little weasle on a forum. can you remember the last time we won a league trophy........... 1993, yes 1993 so we are the last bunch of fans that should be revelling in another clubs troubles so pipe down and become the man you are that we see at the track

Financial suicide if it is £20 absolute madness- we shall have to see when it’s officially announced . But to expect fans to pay more for a much weaker product doesn’t make much sense to me.

It was his mum's funeral the day before the meeting, I think it's safe to say that his head was somewhere else on Friday

The redevelopment was by the council and they offered the speedway (by then at Odsal) a place in it, they refused so no track was included.