Humphrey Appleby

The original version of BSI and its associated enterprises didn't appear to be in great financial health by the end, so it was possibly as much a case of needs must. The outline details are provided by BSI themselves in their own accounts. The amounts payable to the FIM are apparently dependent on the number of events staged, but a sum of approximately GBP 1.4 million was stated as due in 2010. It also states that GBP 6 million is due from 2011-2014, and GBP 12.5 million from 2016 until (presumably) 2021. This works out to an approximately similar amount per year, taking into account an inflationary increase. However, the FIM is responsible for the SGP and SWC prize money which presumably comes out of this, and that currently amounts to USD 1,051,500 (just over GBP 644K at current exchange rates) per year. Note though, these figures are according to the minimum number of events according to the agreement, so it's possible the FIM is actually receiving more money than this. It would seem though, that BSI can terminate the agreement if television coverage is insufficient, so much would seem to be in their favour. I've never criticised IMG for it. I entirely blame whoever cut the original deal, and the people who allowed those people to do it. That they missed the opportunity of the SGP and allowed a third party to come in and skim the cream, says it all really. Speedway was relatively late in getting on television, but with a plethora of sports channels crying out for content from the nineties onwards, it seems unlikely that speedway would have been bypassed. If the likes of korfball can get on live television, then there's hope for anything... Well even F1 has it's complexities. I turned on to watch the Aussie GP and wondered why there were only 22 cars on the grid, only to discover the HRT-Cosworths had been excluded under the '107% rule'. How does one explain how a team went all the way to Australia not to race... [bTW - I understand why the rule existed in the old days when just about anyone could front up in a car and attempt to qualify, but teams and drivers have to meet all sorts of criteria to race in F1 these days, so it's just plain daft.] Bear in mind that it was something like an 18-year contract, and I think that was on top of an original 5-year contract. I'd have even said 10 years was acceptable, but to simply sign away the rights for so long without any sort of periodic review (assuming that's indeed the case) would seem to be very poor business indeed. That's even harder to fathom for various reasons, but at least the BSPA have sold something they actually owned in the first place. Plus it would seem GoSpeed essentially underwrites some of the BEL tracks, so the arrangement *may* be more benevolent than it might appear.

It's not really the Rickardssons and Crumps that you need to worry about, or indeed even the lower-order who'll drop out at the end of each season. It's the there or thereabouts middle order who are essential to make the competition interesting, that need to be able to make a go of things. I suspect that if the GP expands and starts impinging on the Polish Leagues (or the Polish Leagues continue to limit the number of GP riders), then you'll start seeing more riders passing over the SGP.

No idea. Success obviously helps, but I suspect it's as much down to the rider, their nationality and which leagues they ride in. Nevertheless, in what other form of employment would you work for less than the cost of getting to work and the provision of tools you need to do the job, and hope someone else comes along to make up your wages. And as one who frequently champions the cause of the working man, it's little surprising that you should be in the camp of the capitalist running dogs...

I think you're mixing me up with Parsnips. Where I have I ever said that I want to see a return of the old World Championship, even if I have fonder memories of it than the SGP? Of course it does, but we've been waiting 15 years for the big money to roll in as promised, and we're yet to see much sign of it. Moreover, the riders' pay has remained the same for years, regardless of how much IMG/BSI takes in television and sponsorship. Considering there wouldn't be a show without them, it doesn't seem very equitable to me. No-one expects IMG/BSI to be a charity, but with the vast majority of sports, the governing bodies and/or leagues contract directly for the television and sponsorship rights, and therefore they receive most or all the money. With the SGP, the rights were sold for a relative pittance by the FIM which is almost completely detached from the day-to-day running of speedway. And as far as anyone can tell, little if any of the money they make from the SGP actually goes back to speedway. It's not that I object to BSI making money as a commercial company, but the system that allows them to do it in the first place. It's very easy to quantity. The riders are paid at a fixed rate that's hardly changed in years, and at a level by which many claim to lose money. The tracks staging GPs might make some money from them, although it would seem many require local authority support to make things pay. Speedway as a whole gets absolutely no money at all, although the FIM would probably argue that some of the money paid by IMG/BSI for the rights helps support the other world championships. Does speedway as a whole though, benefit from the exposure that the SGP brings? Difficult to say, but the declining crowds and income of British speedway would suggest not. Okay, it could be argued that the decline might have been even greater without the SGP, but I don't think there's any evidence either way. I also don't really buy the argument that the SGP got British speedway on television - I think it could have happened regardless. Yes, but that's my point. When all these millions or Chinese are exposed to the sport on televisions, where are they going to watch it? Speedway is only staged in just over 20 countries, and really only half of those countries have an extensive programme of meetings. I wasn't always a speedway fan - I had no introduction to the sport by family or friends, and happened to chance upon it. I managed to work out the main rules of team racing long before I ever went to an individual meeting, so I don't believe it's that hard. If simplicity was the key, no-one would ever watch cricket, but for some people the complex nuances of that game are what makes it interesting. I've never claimed to be a commercial or marketing genius, but there are people around who have got decent financial backing for minority sports, significantly in excess of what IMG and BSI have achieved. I also think the approach of getting sponsorship from fans or mates is ultimately a bit of dead end, although in fairness I do think speedway is not a particularly easy sport to market. Nonetheless, what should have happened is the promoters' and league associations in the major speedway countries should have got to together and formed their own company to run the SGP. That way all the profits (whatever the amount) would have accrued to them, and the competitions that actually provide a living wage to the riders would directly benefit. As things stand, the FIM has gone and signed away the rights until 2021, but the speedway countries should certainly be insisting on a share-out of the FIM cash, and the SGP riders should certainly now be demanding an improvement in prize money.

Fully agreed, but then the Star could take a leaf of World Soccer in so many ways...

I didn't say I didn't believe you, but frankly it would have been better if it had all been an elaborate conspiracy. Having a meeting 'rained-off' in an indoor stadium represents incompetence of the highest calibre, and in speedway there's a lot of competition for that... BTW - there are quite a few domed stadiums around the world, particularly in North America. However, there are at least two in the Netherlands and three in Germany I can think of, as well in Australia which are speedway countries.

I couldn't really care less what sponsors IMG/BSI bring in. No more money goes to the riders, tracks or the sport as whole, and just ends up in the pockets of IMG(UK) to be wasted on the likes of golf courses and Olympic Stadiums. Moreover, the SGP has been running for 15+ years now, with BSI involved for more than 10, and yet we're still to see any of these big name brands come in. No doubt we'll again be told that the current handful of sponsors pay big money to be involved, but they're hardly multinational brands. The same could be said about many sports, but I think speedway's problem is that it really only has limited fanbases in a very small number of countries. I suppose if it's exposed enough on television it might attract a cult following around the world, but in practical terms how much does that really help the sport? Watching ski jumping on Eurosport doesn't suddenly make me want to go to Norway or Finland to stand in the cold to watch it. I do think it's a reasonable approach to try and take the GPs to countries like Oz and NZ where there's already a core fanbase and where the local scene might benefit from the exposure, but they're still small markets and it seems a bit of stretch to think they'll encourage big sponsors to get involved. For me the opposite holds true. I find individual racing to be very one dimensional, and the tactical aspects of team speedway is the appeal for me. I've always thought though, that as with cricket you can watch team speedway at different levels. The basics are easy to grasp for the casual viewer, and it's not really necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of the more complex rules unless you really interested. Would have thought the riders would want to get some practice in before starting racing GPs.

Would have thought a roof was the most effective way of ensuring a GP goes ahead, but this is speedway we're talking about... Strange that Poles were talking about the German GP being moved to Bydgoscsz at least a couple of weeks in the advance of the Gelsenkirchen fiasco, which makes it all a bit of mystery.

If someone came along and offered me half-a-million quid plus per year to work much less than I do now, then of course I'd be likely to take them up on the offer. However, it simply isn't going to happen, and such is the case with the SGP.

Well it's been predicted for at least the last 15 years, and I'm not sure it's any nearer happening now than then. The obvious problem is there are barely 18 countries where speedway is ridden, and only about six of those are professional to any significant level. Okay, the likes of Britain, Poland, Sweden and Denmark could possibly sustain 2 or 3 GPs each, but that would still require 6 or more GPs to be staged in 'smaller' countries and that seems optimistic. Secondly, staging 18 rounds would bring the SGP into conflict with the Polish League as it's really going to be impractical to schedule its fixtures once every two weeks. Staging a GP and round of the Polish League on the same weekend might work for the Polish GPs, but not for further flung GPs. Plus of course, a GP rain-off would cause havoc as the reserve dates are on Sundays. Finally, IMG already have the pick of the riders they want and make a profit on the SGP, so why would they want to take on responsibility for paying the riders full time?

Just a fluff piece to keep the SGP in the news, and nothing new from Olsen. Just where are these 7 extra GPs going to be held? The same old proposed venues trotted out again, even as Mr Rising only days ago discounted a GP being held in Russia.

Something of a missed opportunity I'd have thought. Lelystad and Almere are growing centres of population, and what else is there to do on the Flevopolder...?

Don't know about Belgium, but grasstrack used to be the bigger discipline in the Netherlands with speedway being something of an adjunct to it. Pretty much all taking part in the north-east of the country, and the same set of fans from what I could make out.

Eh..?

It's true that speedway isn't F1 in terms of structure and certainly not in terms of money. However, lessons can still be learned from F1 and other sports as to how speedway can maximise its income from its premier event. Although they seem to have invested in a few turkeys rather than fish in the past couple of years..

Erm... FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH BENFIELD Sports International (BSI), rights holders of the FIM Individual and Team World Speedway Championships, today announced the provisional 2003 calendar. Next year's Speedway Grand Prix Series (SGP) will see the individual speedway world championship competed over eleven rounds, one Grand Prix more than 2002, with the additional event taking place at Westpac Trust Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand. Who was the press officer back in those days...? It doesn't take 20+ years. A 10-year deal would have been more than generous, and periodic re-tendering would determine the market value of the rights once the series was established. Neither did the F1 teams originally, but they realised they and their drivers were the show and insisted on effective control and much larger share of the profits. That's precisely what the BSPA should have done before they ended-up being emasculated, and should have just bypassed the ACU if they got in the way. One wonders if they're really aware of what's being given away.

Nothing could be worse run than British speedway at the moment, but it's all the sum of parts. The SGP needs the professional leagues and grassroots as much as the grassroots and professional leagues need the SGP. I also think the likes of the FIM are neither here nor there if promoters and clubs are well organised and have a degree of vision. Years ago the Formula 1 teams curbed the autocratic power of the FIA and insisted on a much better financial deal, and such should the likes of the BSPA and the equivalent organisations in Poland and Sweden be doing. Agreed that Russia is a logistical nightmare, but I thought I saw an announcement of a Russian GP at Togliatti from 2010 (or maybe 2011) onwards. Then again, a Wellington GP was once announced, only be cancelled a few weeks later, which is the sort of thing the BSPA do...

Think it would be good for the sport in NZ to have a GP, and who knows, it might encourage me to pay another visit to the land of the long white cloud. However, you'll forgive us if we've heard all sorts of speculation about expanding the GP outside of Europe over the years. GPs in the US, the Middle East, Malaysia, Adelaide, Wellington, Tauranga, and the only one that came to fruition was the Sydney GP a few years back which was widely acknowledged to have lost its promoter a fortune. Hopefully something might happen this time, but one would hope there would be some sort of shared risk for a venture like this. BTW - anyone know what happened to the postulated Russian GP?

Avoiding the question about Gorzow then.. However, as you know, the FIM pay the prize money of the SGP and SWC which accounts for a large percentage of the income they receive from IMG/BSI. I think a more pertinent question though, is why did the FIM sign such a long-term (until 2021) and apparently one-sided contract for the rights? Could perhaps understand a favourable concession at the beginning to attract a promoter to come forward, but is the sport benefitting as much as it should from its premier event? PS. Absolutely no problems with BSI making profits as they're a commercial company, but not sure the interests of speedway are being properly served by the authorities.

They're not my sources - it's information published in the public domain. To give you one specific example though, are the disgruntled Gorzow councillors who released the contractual details of their GP agreement to the press in 2009, a reliable source or not? Straightforward question - yes or no? Whilst I'd agree that contractual matters are really none of anyone's business other than the parties concerned, I also do wonder why the main trade magazine has never seen fit to ask why several million pounds are apparently lost to the industry each year...

Mention all you like, but you noticeably never enlighten us with any substantive information on the subject. There's plenty of information around with respect to what BSI demand, from a variety of sources as well.

It's not what IMG/BSI require because they usually don't take the financial risk on GPs. It's the local promoters who have make sure they're not going to take a bath, unless the NZ GP is indeed going to be a jointly promoted event with shared risks. I wish NZ the best of luck, although speedway and optimism are strange bed fellows...

London is a huge city, but it doesn't support a speedway team... I would agree there seems to be a reasonable amount of interest in speedway in New Zealand as a whole (at least in the Kiwi sense of 'speedway'), but Western Springs only has something like a 30,000 capacity and even filling that would be a big ask for a relative minority sport in a small country. I'm assuming the track and stadium would need to be brought up to FIM standards, there would be the cost of shipping in the riders, support teams, officials and dignitaries (can't see anyone paying for a trip to NZ out of the usual prize money), and presumably IMG/BSI would want their franchising fee on top of that. Would think there would need to be significant local sponsorship or government authority support, but the Kiwis don't tend to throw their money around at the best of times, let alone at the moment.

There's never much spare cash floating around down there. NZ normally seems to spend it's money wisely though, which make me wonder how realistic a proposition this this...

Wouldn't mind seeing a NZ and/or Oz GP, but it would obviously take substantial external money to be put in which would be unlikely to see a return for a number of years, if at all. There seems to be more latent interest in speedway in NZ than Oz these days (i.e. you see it in the media and advertised), but would even a GP held in Auckland be able to pay? I'm not sure what these speculative media releases are really in aid of though. We've had a similar thing for Wellington and then Tauranga, and I'd have thought it better not to say anything until a deal was close to completion.