mikebv

I've mentioned about my local football team Stockport County. They went into non league and even dropped a league in that .. They were in the cart, non league, and two of the biggest football teams in the country on their doorstep, meaning local young fans would be more inclined to follow either of those teams.. So, they put together a Community Team.. And have said since that this team was the most important one put together.. School visits to the ground were organised and structured, both during match day and not.. And free tickets for kids and for their parents and guardians were distributed... However, they followed this up by more free tickets for the kids, and with heavily reduced admission for parents and guardians, plus discounted vouchers for merchandise.. Many kids therefore became regulars and, as they got used to going, wore the team colours, and mithered their parents and guardians to keep returning... Every club should have a "Community Team" whose role it is to get the brand out into the local area, be a force for good, and attract people to the club (especially U11 kids)... Hardly one player was known at County in their non league days, but the Community Team were known by a great many...

Cheers Tom, replied...

100%... And the vast majority of 80 million people have never heard of the sport, never mind any rider... What an opportunity for a reset... 5 rider teams, and play with the heat system so the disparate levels of ability, from one to five, race more against each other of the sane level.. Or six rider teams with both reserves very much "junior level"... Drop the level, drop the price... If a track does a "special" the crowds rise significantly, with those extra people being fans who no longer rgularly attend, but come back for one night only, thus suggesting twenty five quid per visit isn't seen as worth paying... But (insert price here), is....... Reduce costs, and invest the money in price reduction.. And start UK Speedway again, from scratch... But don't do the same thing you do now because it clearly isn't fit for purpose....

100% Emil had an impact... In his first season.. However, like anytime a rider absent for several years comes back, eg Tai, after a while, the novelty simply wears off.... The sport crucified itself over here in two specific areas when pretty much all the big names rode in the UK.. Financially, by pretty much giving them all the TV money... And, running many, many, guestfest meetings, due to these lads missing, down to their ever growing, individual commitments... Which, ultimately went a long way to destroying the credibility of what was on offer, which then, naturally, disillusioned thousands of fans who still haven't come back, but still follow the sport....

100%... The Aces are a perfect example where money could be saved and reinvested in price... My old company had a name for it... "Save to Invest"... Basically remove all non profit making sections of the business, and then use that money to lower the price points of products..... The Aces have two genuine world class riders, if neither were there, crowds "may" dip, but certainly not by much, if the standard was around tier two level... If one of the world class riders was there, crowds, would, I suggest, be the same as if both were... No rider has an "aura" like yesteryear where world class talent turning up was an "event", hence several hundred extra would rock up to watch... Therefore, one world class rider per team should be the target, (if they want to maintain the current level) (Which clearly isn't working, but I digress)... Two HL's, two SS"s, and two reserves being the set up of each team... That would free up several hundred thousand across the top league to invest in promoting the clubs and sport...

They could afford cheaper admission if they didn't pay around £200k for three heat leaders... Maybe have only two of them, run six rider teams, and use the money saved to have a budget of £75k or so, to target some "special offers" prices, on certain nights...

Is it Plymouth who have utilised local students to build their website and advertising? Young, creative thinkers and innovators, is exactly what the sport needs... And I would imagine, and hope, that their line of attack is a bit more than.. "0-60 faster than an F1 car"... "No brakes"... "It's a family sport".. Etc, etc, etc... All clichéd, unsuccessful, decades old, sound bites... Glasgow with the distribution of free tickets to existing fans to share around with family, friends, workmates etc is a great idea and seems to be working... Those who can actually promote and market Speedway do seem to do "quite well" even in today's world where so many are chasing disposable income..

All they need now are some riders and they've cracked it..

Far too old..... However, if they need a consultant I am quite reasonable cost wise nowadays as I am retired.... It is about awakening or re-engaging people to the existence of the sport... Fast, punchy, quick sound bites, a few controversial comments from riders, managers, fans, "this track is sh*t" etc, film the mechanics, pit staff, fans, reaction to races as they unfurl, and the end of the race, with a wrap up at the end advertising the next meeting and an invite to subscribe... Most tracks will have a college or uni nearby with media courses, where "young people", all wanting a career in audio/visual productions, could be brought in to do the filming, interviewing and editing.. And all potentially using the college/uni equipment with just a cost for expenses... "If you don't ask"... Polish TV do a very good magazine programme using similar techniques, where riders get asked two or three questions max pre meeting, races are filmed from the pits and usually all you see are long shots of first bends, and bikes whizzing past the pit crew who are on the fence, and then the bikes returning to the pits with the rider either shouting with joy, or swearing!! And then they show a few seconds of the mechanics working furiously on the bike ready for the next race whilst the rider points out what he wants.. All no more than 30 seconds spent on any moment.. Reflecting the attention span of most who watch visual media these days...

The custodians of this sport are truly unwaveringly poor at what they do aren't they? I don't know what the opposite of the "Midas Touch" is... But they always seem to have it.

United do... U16 - £190 (a tenner a match) 16/17 - £275 (under £15 a match) 18/20 - £413 (under £22 a match)... 21 and over pay adult prices, cheapest is £29 a match.. And that has risen with "Glazernomics".. Still good value though fo encourage the younger sections of society to attend...

Too formal, too long, too slow.... It should be 20min max, with the "bantz" between the lads as they arrive and get changed getting covered... The managers team talk and then several 5 second snippets of on track action covering the speed and closeness of the racing, with verbal and physical reactions from fans, Manager and team members as the racing happens.. With a voice over letting the viewer know of the score as the action progresses, and the names of those getting filmed, with the aim being you identify the riders, who, hopefully become recognised.. Throw in the odd 20 second soundbite from the manager, riders and a few fans, (young ones not fogey's).. "We are sh*t tonight", "He needs to sort himself out" etc, etc.. Music playing in the background . Then, post meeting quick sound bites from riders, management and fans... With an advert for the next meeting, with a request to like and subscribe... It isn't about listening to in depth interviews, and the racing snippets are just that, (quick), keeping the whole 15-20 mins short and snappy to meet the attention span of the demographic the sport so desperately needs to attract... There are dozens of examples on YT of how teams have been ultra successful in getting subscribers (and money), from their Vlogs... Speedway, given its lack of awareness from so many thousands of people in every town and city a team runs in, is perfect for such an inexpensive medium...

And Richard Lawson.... Edit. And obviously Scott if no TV duties come about...

Northampton could have seven different hand picked guests every week... Win the league and find a buyer!!!

Who will head up the venture? A promoter can't run two tracks can they? Presume they will need a figurehead? Chris Louis maybe???

The opportunity for growth is truly massive Dean.. Given its ultra low starting point base. Millions don't know about the sport because they grew up with no one in their family attending the sport... When the sport was "booming" in the 70's, crowds were still nowhere near "Manchester United" levels, with very few running to five figures each week, but ITV's World Of Sport kept Speedway firmly in the public eye of millions.. A big prize fund should be the aim of all the promoters... Darts and Snooker have shown that getting some big sponsors increases interest massively... The games of Darts and Snooker are exactly the same if you are playing for £1000 or £1,000,000... The competition with the big money on offer will sell out, whilst the smaller one will have "one man and his dog' in attendance... How they get those big sponsors with such an operating model, and a lack of marketing savvy people in charge, is the million pound question though..

2500 or so will turn up at the NSS for the PCMT... 14,000 will turn up at the GP's at the NSS... 2500 - 3000 will turn up at the PO Final if the Aces get there... Proving there still is a reasonable demand if the product has some decent levels of relevance, jeopardy, consequence and authenticity.... The issue is that the vast majority of meetings have very little of the above.... That is what needs sorting...

It has had over half a million views.... It just doesnt do anything for the domestic leagues though... A team Vlog would link the algorithm to other sporting clubs in the area.. eg anyone watching any United or City YT coverage would, due to the sports team geography algorithm, get a recommended on YT should the Aces do their own programme on there... Those huge sporting clubs, local to Speedway tracks, with millions of subscribers, could be piggy backed onto on YT... And. If clubs had already done their own Vlogs, then over half a million viewers of the 2025 BF would have been recommended them... How many of that half million viewers are living within 45 mins of a Speedway team, but just don't know it?

Possibly all of them given the need for doubling up to keep both leagues affording the same riders... And the optics of a new track opening make the sport look progressive, which can only help with trying to bring tracks back, or defend further potential closures ...

Might be worth a few quid on Northampton being Champions.... That should mean a successful season and a buyer!!

They surely won't run any other meetings that night would they?

Every team should run its own matchday Vlog... 20 mins max and put it on YouTube... The Sunday League and Non League teams (who also earn a fair few quid from their YT channels), started out with just a decent iPhone and a laptop to edit their programmes... A few snippets of racing with rider and fan reactions, showing riders arriving, track walk, in meeting and post meeting reflections , etc etc is what should be covered, with making the riders known being the ultimate aim, and the chance to advertise your next meeting... Most clubs doing this would get a large proportion of the total generic UK Speedway fanbase viewing this, including many overseas followers, as well as many fans of the sport who are not regulars, which could add up to a fair few thousand of subscribers... And for very little cost...

Was it Buster who someone quoted as saying that promoters would have to "put their hands in their pockets" for a sixth team?...

One of the better ones...

£15 and All kids free was for the Colts.. Men and Motors was the local channel with around 652 viewers... There hasnt been an advert on local radio for around 20 years that I have heard.. The MEN don't cover Speedway anymore but the Tameside "Whatever" does.. Tremendous reach in Tameside... Not seen 100's of kids from any school on an organised visit once, but do remember "Junior Vue" which seemed to be quite popular in the 90's, maybe that could get started sgain? Never seen any billboards used other than for GPs and SON... Never seen any bikes in city centre Manchester... And as for flyers, fairs, etc, etc etc, its 2026... TV watching is the lowest it has ever been so going out on local TV news won't make much (any) difference... One of the Sunday League teams I mentioned who got over 1000 watching them has their own YouTube Vlog which has over 5000 subscribers... Another Sunday League team has a YouTube Vlog with over 152,000 subscribers, and got 4,000 to a Sunday League final a couple of years ago.. An easy, cheap, 2026, way for Speedway Clubs to promote themselves, with riders' personalities being shown... My local football team Stockport County, when in their non league days, did pretty much what it looks like the Aces has tried, but they did it with a "County in the Community" team dedicated to visiting schools, organising visits to the ground, both on match days and not, and then doing follow ups with the schools to keep that communication going... And doing things like painting local eyesores, organising litter picks etc, making a difference to the local community, but, more importantly, showing fhe local community they still existed... They gave out thousands of free tickets to schools and community projects, as they may as well fill the empty seats and spaces in the terraces, (and earn more in the food and drink outlets), but ensured it wasnt a one off and followed up with the attendees to encourage more repeat visits.. They also dropped ticket prices from their league two days as they knew crowds would drop if they didn't... They reduced their wage bill, so reduced fhe admission fee.. Speedway would benefit hugely from that I would think, would one less HL and SS make any difference to the spectacle? And then use that money to drop prices... Running the Aces for £20, on a Saturday, with all kids in for free, would deliver a much larger crowd than paying £27, and whatever a kids fee is in the grandstand, on a Monday night... Dan and Brady wouldn't be there but fhe DU'ers would, so a decent level.. There is still a reasonable following for Speedway, as the play offs often show, its just getting these numbers to attend regularly being the challenge.. Laying out not far off £30, and on a Monday night, won't meet that challenge...