THE DEAN MACHINE

Whatever the current situation is the fact remains crowd numbers are not enough, there are of course other incomes like track hiring, flat track, even talk of car boot sales there and things like the comets lager which all generate income and the previous mentioned sponsorship but ultimately the club should be able to support itself from gate money, Workington for me is the role model for all tracks/set up for our sport especially any potential new one and if cradley ever get planning this will be their model too but the sport seems to be letting it down

This is imo the actual problem with British domestic speedway, the team concept only really exists in the name not in the practice and therefor the team fan can’t relate to their team and so has no emotional attachment and so doesn’t feel the need to support it, when riding I always felt different to other riders, I really brought into the team I rode for, when I rode for Berwick I felt like they were my fans and I was their rider, it felt like home and when I left I was genuinely upset and I still have good friends there today, i didnt live there but stayed with the Meldrums quite a lot and was often on the beach or in the town at weekends but I knew other riders didnt feel the same and were there for the money and it was the same at other teams, one conversation I always remember was with Barry Evans, I was at lakeside for a meeting and leaning over the fence before the meeting talking about the GP that week, and he said I don’t know why you watch the GPs or any speedway really on tv it’s boring I only do it cause I get paid to do it and I can remember thinking I wonder how the crowd would feel if they knew that ? Perhaps subconsciously they did feel it,As a fan I felt like the emotional attachment to teams ended around the mid 90s, there was always a surge of emotion around the play offs but in general it’s not like it used to be or should be for a team event, how do we get it back or can we get it back ? That’s the question

You know what I’ve been saying for a few years now British speedway is run by the riders for the riders

Well yes we can and it’s not difficult or expensive but and here is the problem, how do you police it, a classic example is the GT140 grasstrack which has become very popular, a standard engine costs around £450 and was seen as a bit of fun and entry level to bigger things but now as it’s popularity has grown riders are buying heads for these engines that cost more than double the cost of the engine, all for that little edge, one tuner has been banned because he was putting all sorts of trick stuff in the engines, it can be policed but it is hard

Be careful saying things like this will have Richie worral getting his head out of his bag of coke to slate you and inform you how wrong you are while being cheered on by the likes of Mike lemon

While I agree with this post, even Ian Thomas would struggle today, the financial world is collapsing, businesses are going to the wall at an alarming rate and even the multinational companies are seeing a downturn in business, people are starting to really feel it and questioning their free time expenditure, speedway is easy pickings because that’s where your post comes into play,up to this point speedway itself is 90% to blame for the state it is in but this year the crowds have plummeted at quite a few tracks, with a few doing ok and some doing ok when it’s an attractive fixture,there is no easy fix for this and it’s easy to blame the promoters but this time it’s not them

I’m told it was 250 but yes that could of excluded season ticket holders

Picking and choosing meetings, Sheffield v liecester localish derby, attractive fixture ?

That’s rose tinted glasses I’m afraid

Because they put off by price when times are tough and once they out of the habit they tend to stay out

Maybe sat 3pm is a factor, lack of continuity but overall the biggest factor is price and it’s happening everywhere

It was 450 the meeting before but I’m told it was 250 v Plymouth but either crowd isn’t enough

If northside training track ltd were the promotion and has been wound up the bspl/scb and all the relevant authorities would of known and the meeting wouldn’t of took place, so either they are not the promotion or a new company has been formed in place of it and the necessary change of paperwork to facilitate hasn’t been completed for the visas, whatever the reason the overriding factor in all this is money and when you get a crowd of 250 that’s when alarm bells ring out, I’m not privi to the finances of Workington or any track but from what I see there and hear from the horses mouth if you can’t make Workington work where can you make it work ?

Life doesn’t revolve around what ifs, the fact is last Saturday took place and nothing happened and the fact that the short track is happening today says all the insurance and relevant paperwork is still in place, it’s just foreign riders can’t earn a living there

They don’t ride for any other team in uk do they ?

If it is a visa issue the surely Tate Zischke won’t be riding for belle vue on Monday ?

Gorzow’s inability to ride the kerb cost them the meeting

Think that’s the lowest crowd I’ve seen at Gorzów for an extraleague meeting

and it seems to be working

Birmingham win by 2 with or without Kvech

Hope so, I love worky, shame I live 200 miles away

While I agree, I feel the runaway wins are more to do with the track being awful and away teams not liking it

This is more than speedway, I’ve said this on the Birmingham thread, the financial crisis is hitting and people are starting to feel it and are picking and choosing where they spend their money, it’s not just speedway

Crowd numbers have been concerning in recent weeks, I feared this when I was up there a few weeks back and 3 away matches in a week without a home match to raise some revenue may be a factor, whatever the issue I hope it sorted

Few empty seats at Lublin