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A friend recently went to the "Freston" Boot for a standard pub meal for 2. Nothing special , just a burger and chips, apple pie and 2 drinks. When the bill came it was £75, needless to say she wont be going back. Same will happen with speedway, once the novelty of "going out" has worn off the numbers will fall off. Something can be £100 and value for money , whilst something could be £20 and poor value. Speedway is currently the latter.

Absolutely agree.Pretty much everything has gone up in price.Bloody hell i only use to pay £6 for a haircut now it's £8 increase 33%.My Labrador cost me £650 3 years ago,a friend has just got one for £3,000.My garlic bread from F&b's has gone up 50p from 2 weeks ago and increase of 14%.Goods from the supermarkets has gone up,petrol is going back to where it was before,building materials up 30%.So yes whilst the league is slightly weaker the costs would have still gone up.Ultimately the customer pays in the end,but they have a choice.Bloody hell almost forgot got 2 bunches of asparagus from the local farm shop Sunday £7-50 no wonder they didn't have a price on it.The thing that mostly inflates prices is the cost oil/petrol/transport.King's Lynn have now raised their prices by £2 in 6 years that isn't bad at all compared to many other things.

not sure how £20 admission means the sport is a disgrace!. If you run any sort of business like I do you would know that costs are going through the roof. An example of my business is that imported furniture trade prices have gone up 30% since January. why would speedway costs not have gone up along with everything else and unlike my business speedway teams have had very little government help. Just wait until early next year when inflation will be running at very high levels.. I for one can not wait for the season to start again but if you don't want to pay £20 quid, simple don't go. fed up with all the negatives on here. Looking forward to my annual trip to King's Lynn on Monday. Hopefully a good crowd to watch the witches take the 1st win of the season

Thats exactly what the speedway fans of the past 10-20 years did and here we are in the present day when the value for money and entertainment issues haven't been adressed in anyway to tempt back paying customers , now its looking like the whole thing is still dying a big death even further the only thing they can think of again is to raise the admission and so the cycle continues with even more people prepared to sit at home .

yes I see your point and tbf the last time I was at King's Lynn the track was appalling. Made for rubbish racing. But also having the top riders on show does not guarantee good racing. I have seen more rubbish grand prix meetings than good ones over the years. The bottom line is though do we want to have an evening out again or all sit in our living rooms as per the last 14 months and slowly stagnate? I know the cost of admission is an issue for some and I fully understand it but as with everything in life if you feel its not value for money save your pennies and sit at home.

Just seen the prices for this season & I'm absolutely stunned. There is clear profiteering from the few remaining gullible fans there is left. £20 admission £2 grandstand £3 programme This sport is an absolute disaster & disgrace. When will the owners of this sport ever learn

We have 33% capacity of 3000 So about 1000. But they have opened up the 3rd and 4th bend which is another 300 tickets So I expect about 1200 - 1300 which isn't to bad

Spot on, it’s that air of unprofessionalism and lack of customer care. And the annoying thing is that its so preventable.

Lynn News 1-0 EDP

I’d already read on Facebook that Riss has a meeting in Denmark this week and that he has no equipment in the UK until he drives it over so that’s why he wasn’t there yesterday and it seemed pretty clear he would be coming over at the end of this week ready for next Monday.....however Chris Lakey has worded the EDP article quite badly and it makes it unclear which Monday they are talking about. I wonder if his articles get proof read properly as his Linnets stuff in the EDP often has errors in it too.

I had been aware of disabled parking situation for some days but could not make it public till official announcement!!

I can see you point of view but consider this, these are the top eight averaging riders from the 2019 season in order; Doyle Batchelor Fricke Jensen Lambert Cook Bjerre Iversen Only two of those will be riding over here this year, the other six have essentially been replaced with junior riders. The pros and cons of that will become apparent as the season progresses but you must be able to see why people are miffed at having to pay more money for a weaker product? That extra two quid will make quite a difference to me, the absence of Robert Lambert takes some of the appeal away immediately but I may have been tempted to go more with a price freeze, bumping it up to £20 just seems like a mickey take to me. Especially if the racing is as timid as it has been in recent years. If they sort the shale out and the AFA suddenly turns into the NSS I’ll eat my words of course

I suspect people will ask for a refund and be ignored

Theres nothing like taking a small quote out of context is there. The full article gives a much more positive view on the current situation with commitment to all the away fixtures even if there is a delay in the first home meeting! All the team except Zane - who arrives Friday - are here and raring to go. More details later this week............

Some people moan at me for being negative on here but sadly what’s happened today with tickets sales and total lack of professionalism from the club sums up British speedway in a nutshell. Fans taken for granted yet again .

It’s these sort of things that do the sport no good. Tell the public that tickets go on sale at 9am Tuesday then 10am Tuesday announce they’ll be on sale tomorrow.

We have won the case. Disabled parking reverting to previous arrangements. Perseverance has paid off.

Am I the only one surprised that there seems no info on this meeting with tickets on sale tomorrow?

And just a side note. If the admission is £20 remember 20% of that goes to good old Richie sunak as VAT ,so actually the money the promoters get is less than £17. A side point I know but please people don't think the promoters are getting the full £20 in their pockets

That’s the crux of it right there.

Polish junior teams DMPJ Czestochowa Tuesday May 11th

Fair call... if the current crop of riders per team are getting the same money as previous teams which included GP riders then that would be ridiculous.. It will cost me and my student lad £37 to stand and watch the Aces if we go along this year... If we could get in for say £25 then there would be several more visits than there would be at £37, giving the Aces more money overall... Surprised they have gone for increases considering the team levels and TV money...

It may or not be overpriced but what are we comparing it to? a pub meal and a pint is 15 quid but watching Ipswich football club( before lockdown) was over £30 . At the end of the day it's all about what we all feel is value for money. I guess time will tell on what crowd levels will be this year hey?

That's fair enough. I must admit I stopped going to watch Ipswich Town Football club years ago as it was then £32 for a match day ticket and the entertainment level was appalling. I hate to think what football costs to watch now. So it's all about what people think is a fair price for what is offered. I go to Foxhall every meeting not just for the speedway but also the company and social interaction with mates which makes it a good evening out and breaks up the working week .

I’d agree with whoever said fifteen quid for the standard on offer in 2021 (Haza I think) I’d go every week I possibly could at that price. As I said earlier if it was retained at £18 I’d go occasionally but at twenty I will go two or three times I suspect at the most. My other half is a Manchester lass and if we lived up there instead of down here I’d go to Belle Vue every week at £20, it’s that good. The only place I would though!

It won’t be sitting at home though, it’ll be finding something else to do which feels like value for the money paid to do it!

Careful stu pragmatism doesn’t go down well on the bsf hahaha completely agree pal, and if over the season an extra £2 off roughly 1-2000 fans a meeting makes the difference of the speedway clubs surviving i’m all for it!

Whatever the price of imported furniture has to do with speedway admisson prices is lost on me stu19. The clubs all made no losses in 2020, which must have been the first time for a long time , that is if we believe that they all run at a loss as they always claim ? Once again the speedway public have been taken for mugs, cost cutting by signing lower standard riders, (in the case of Kings Lynn no Rob Lambert) Once upon a time I was told that riders wages made up 80% of the costs of runnign a speedway team. Depsite the huge savings that clearly have been made the PL teams have taken the P and increased admission. If this were a temporary surcharge for PPE and other Covid 19 related precautions, then it would be understandable, and be removed once we have got past June . Chances are that there will be no hand soap or sanitiser in the toilets , which will be as filthy as ever. Yes the answer will be don't go if you dont want to shell out £20 per person plus £3 programme plus a £2 seat . Wise advice, stu 19.

Have to say that I fully agree having read the last two or three pages of this thread. You really couldn't make a better job of creating a shambles if you set out to do so. Is he going to ride or is he not going to ride? Are the tickets on sale or are they not on sale? Was it a misprint or not? And so it goes on! Is there no regard at all for the supporters (aka customers), the people who pay their money?

Its good for a TV match.... The first few weeks should see 'house full' signs at most tracks I would think given the reduction in capacity.. Lets hope it's not just a 'dead cat bounce' and can be built on... Shouting about the meetings being 'full houses' may be something worth considering? Doesnt need the details, just the headlines... Might stimulate a bit of interest from those locally who 'used to go'....

Trouble is some seem to equate winning directly with entertainment. You can have a cracking race with all four riders going hell for leather and still be on the wrong end of a 5-1. Surely that's entertaining? Alternatively you can have 12 gate and go 4-2s win by 20-odd points but not see a pass all meeting. Victory but entertained? Some argue that some of the best speedway at Berwick in recent years was 2017 - others said they wouldn't watch again because they were getting beaten every week. Opinions - well you know what they say about them. As for double headers against stand-alone NDL. Again you pays your money and takes your choice but, in addition to the obvious VFM of one rent, one set of medical cover, insurance etc I'm not sure (without actually totting it up) that we would have enough Saturdays to stage standalone NDLs bearing in mind that ours and the opposition reserves may very well have other commitments ... and midweek speedway tends to be pretty disastrous in terms of crowds at Berwick, even when it's been a British Final. Time will tell.

See adult admission is now £20,that will get the tongues wagging again.I will pay that as everything else has gone up.At least it hasn't doubled like some things.

How magnificent it is to see the words 'Belle Vue v Sheffield' after all this time. Can anyone confirm the last time this happened? Always seemed crazy that as speedway struggled, two big name clubs less than an hours drive from each other were in different leagues thus depriving fans of long cherished derby matches and presumably bumper attendances.

King's Lynn have put it out there that he will be there.It's only one person that may have worded things wrongly that makes it seem differently.Lynn shouldn't have to put things out there every time someone says something different,they could be very busy in that department if that was the case,especially if they read the forum This is taken from the Lynn news as Trees said On Riss, Allitt said: “No smoke and mirrors. Erik will be based in the UK and could have been here. The problem is the cost. Erik has got meetings tomorrow (Tuesday) and later in the week. “To get him here, to get a PCR test, book a flight, which is so expensive now... I said it’s not ideal, but he’s going to be here for the 17th. To get him in and out of the country and back again would cost £800 - and don’t forget he hasn’t earned anything in that amount of time.”

Taken off the Lynn News article: Riss not being able to attend press day due to continental commitments, but Allitt stressed the German ace will be back in time to face the Witches for their Premiership curtain-raiser.

still Saddlebow Road though - just happens to have sold the naming rights to Adrian Flux

Thank goodness sense has prevailed. It means that when my wife feels well enough, which sadly isn't very often anymore, at least she'll be able to see some racing at a track she enjoys. Thanks to those who pushed for this, and the management for doing a u-turn.

After reading the piece in today’s EDP , I think Riss won’t be riding for the Stars next Monday. If that is the case , surely he will be banned for 28 days for withholding his services. Or have I read it wrong?

Well let’s hope he is there for Monday I really do and it would be handy if the club could clear this doubt up straight away on social media .

It's what was said on the KL twitter that he would be there for Ipswich,although the piece in the EDP can be read both ways really so can see the doubt it puts in peoples minds.Including mine to start with.Maybe i'm reading it differently to others

If Riss isn’t going to be there Monday I’ve read again and it could be taken either way - I’d definitely have signed Lawson yes lowering standards but nothing puts fans of more than riders being unavailable riders . A full 1-7 is what fans want to see

You're talking like Belle Vue sell out every week. The numbers watching Belle Vue are no greater than most other clubs. Again, you peove my point that British Speedway is dead As above, no matter how good the stadium is, the sport just isn't attractive

I expect the issue people have is that we are paying more for a weaker product....no Lambert, Doyle, Fricke, Thorsell, Tungate etc compared to last time but more to get in. Pubs won’t be serving weaker beer or hotels offering less comfortable beds you’d imagine!

Don’t know your job but with the pandemic things have changed massively and put your self in Jakes position he come over in 2019 and was basically stuck here on no pay and no racing so he stated he wouldn’t be coming over . Things then changed for the better and he was left without a team spot and Redcar supporters will have been devastated when Erik Riss decided he wouldn’t be coming over but look at there side now they are one of the favourites ,we all know it’s easy to support a winning side but for me 2021 is about getting back and watching speedway live I’m fairly confident we will avoid the wooden spoon and admire Rob Godfrey for his loyalty Hope the 2nd strings At Scunny reward him with some decent performances . In 2018 we put together the best team I’ve seen in years and that was blown apart by injuries. Enjoy your speedway and admire the riders who risk life and limbs for our entertainment are the EWR raceway and all our tracks

Totally agree. Watching young riders progress is most interesting. I remember seeing Peter Collins at a training school at Hyde road before he rode for Belle Vue.... He stood out a mile Also 23 races at hyde road with an interval and you were out before 9 pm with a 7 pm start. Some promoters can take 2 hours giving you 15 races nowadays

Come on Shrimmy, what has Allen done bar changing his mind. Last summer he stopped in Britain, not earning a penny & no one knew how this pandemic would turn out. It has been Britain's mass vaccination programme that has put us in a better position than other countries in Europe. Germany, Italy & Poland are still having high levels of covid. We know over the past few years Rob has shown a lot of loyalty to his riders, sometimes too much, when we think changes should have been made & he has done the same again. The 2 news snippets at the end of Jan showed us how quick decisions are made. One minute we announce the same team then 4 days later, we have to announce Jake has changed his mind. Rob had probably got Josh Macdonald signed but not confirmed to the public well before Jake's change of mind, which is frustrating, but we have to abide by it & wish Jake & Josh all the best in 2021 & just get to see some racing at the EWR. The vaccination programme had started back in January but we did not know how it would evolve to give us the low levels of deaths & confirmed cases we have now.

To me, I believe the results do matter for us.... yes, development is important but teams are also in this to win it. We’ve taken the plunge in going into NDL... for it to be viable, particularly the 2 standalone NDL meetings, it’s better that we have a team capable of winning. We’ve seen how fickle fans can be in the championship when we ain’t doing well.. I don’t wanna see a struggle/ empty stadiums for the NDL team!

I backed them at -4 at the start, then got them at -0.5 after heat 4, before then increasing my stake to get them -7.5 later on in the meeting too! After the first match where Miskowiak and Janowski got me out of jail, Gorzow seen me end the day about £80 up so happy days!

Zmarslik worth the admission money alone (if you were allowed in!) Fans in high places too Big Fan 1 Big Fan 2

NICE to hear. We will be producing a 64-page pre-season special next week and have also taken the plunge and increased the paper quality which we previously changed to keep us afloat.