mikebv

At least Arthur And Del understood how to sell their products to the public...... There is a new Speedway track opening this year... I believe.... Or so I have read and heard.... Obviously it might be just a rumour... But, it might not... But, then again, it might be...

Running on a Saturday and not a Tuesday is a major improvement..... Plenty of young kids (and obviously those who pay for them), now in attendance that wouldn't be there on a Tuesday... When they are there you can engage them so they pester their parents and guardians to return... Difficult to do that when they are at home getting ready for school/nursery on Wednesday morning... I presume Stox don't run on normal Mondays and Thursdays for a reason...? Around a quarter of a million people live in and around Northampton so a pretty big target market for a completely new venture to try and attract... Getting around "1 in 200" (0.5%), or so, to attend regularly will be the aim I would imagine, with visitors from surrounding tracks, and ex tracks, an hour or so away being some added extra income to chase.... Surprised tbough at the secrecy to be honest given, ordinarily in business, you would want "the world to know" who you are, what you are doing, and when you will be open.. Difficult to build hype when no one knows about you... (Just like can be said for the sport in general isn't it?)... Best of Luck to All involved..

I suppose so much of that will depend on how well the owners promote it... Maybe they are excellent at marketing and presenting, and the "match day experience" persuades many to becomes regulars.... Let's be honest, the bar is set pretty low when it comes to that so maybe they can be a stand out performer?... The sport needs a success story, so let's hope Northampton can be it... It may also encourage others to follow suit if what they deliver is successful....

Not many meetings to fit in so they could start sometime in May... Only initially doing Away meetings will mean a fair few quid in reserves is required with no money coming in though...

At last three, and probably more, riders get to "Double Up"... The key reason for two leagues...

Good idea.... If that doesn't pack 'em in, I really don't know what will...

Absolutely.... Then add in a less than authentic operating model which means that so important emotional attachment to "Your Team" becomes a tenuous one at best, (you almost have to collude along with a promoter that a UK Speedway meeting has relevance given the lack of any major tangible rewards), and you do have some serious obstacles to overcome... A big challenge, but hopefully those involved have the skill set to deliver a successful venture..

Yer buy 10, Yer get none free!!!

I would imagine £26 will be there or thereabouts for the top tier this season... A hard sell if so.... Maybe some strong promotion will take place across the country if no TV deal to fall back on?

Birmingham, with Cradley, Coventry and Wolverhampton, (and even Stoke), within reasonable commutable distance, certainly would back up that opinion... Getting a new track should be something to celebrate, but you do feel that there is a certain amount of desperation with this venture, with allowing riders to double up (as we know how important that is), being the main reason for another top tier team... Let's hope whoever takes over can truly promote a high octane, adrenaline fuelled, exciting and dangerous sport, which brings in plenty of fans who then become regulars... If they can, then maybe it can become a template for others to do the same...?

It will be tough sell, just as the rest of the teams find... Particularly in areas with plenty of other established sports... The days of attending several professional sports in the local town are long gone for many given modern livings stretch on disposable income... In the mid 90's I could go to Old Trafford, Kirky Lane, and watch Wigan Warriors, several times a month out of my salary, and still pay a mortgage and "live".... Not a chance of visiting United, The Aces and The Warriors nowadays, several times a month, and that is without a mortgage to pay... One promoter once told me that you lose half of an opening night crowd the next meeting, (novelty factor brings in plenty of other fans), and then half that again over the season... Let's hope, if still true, they get five or six thousand to that first meeting... The standard of racing will be a key factor I would think, and, I presume, they will be racing on a Thursday due to the Stox meetings at weekends will require plenty of track maintenance? Will that mean only the Aces run on a Monday? Best of Luck to whoever takes over...

At the rate they are going, Manchester City will be found guilty before the fixtures are out...

Such rules are usually suggested by someone who has lined up a rider who would benefit fhe most by its inception... The promoter convinces their peers that it is good for the sport and then pulls the rabbit from the hat.. Der Derrrrrrrrr....

There must be a few riders retiring if the sixth team doesn't manifest itself.....

In the Speedway Star a couple of years ago, in a pre season interview with Phillip Hellstrom Bangs, he said he had spent well over €100,000 on his machinery And that this is the kind of money you have to lay out to "compete"..... Yes. THAT Philip Helstrom Bangs... Number ??? In the world.....

Supplemtary Reg 32... After the first set of offical averages are published, any Polish rider who hasnt rode in either of the top two leagues "for a few years", (keep that ambiguity), and has two Z's in his surname name, can come in on a 4.50 average...

I was an Area Manager covering Bradford for one of the UK's biggest businesses... And one of my stores had, (using loyalty card info), a 95% Asian customer base.. Hence, the range of products I put in was very much tailored for sub continent customers... The store in question had 30,000 visits per week... Definelty not a city with enough of a demographic to follow Speedway I would suggest... ..

When is the sliding roof going to be in place? Maybe Speedway will relaunch there then?

Supplementary Reg 31. (as of Feb 01/26).... Any Swedish rider, who hasnt ridden in either of fhe UK two top leagues for a "few" years, (let's keep it ambiguous), and whose surname has two lots of consecutive consonants in it, comes in at an average of 4.50...

Come the end of May, we will all be pining, and reminiscing, for "the good old days" of November 25 to March 26...

I think we can almost guarantee it... In the Speedway Star, Matt Ford mentions how those previous generation of promoters basically left a very poor legacy, and when the going was good, they didn't invest money back into the sport, and today's promoters get all the blame and stick from fans for the current malaise... Ford is someone I do have a lot of respect for but the previous promoters haven't watched over the last ten to fifteen years or so worth of unchecked decline have they? They didn't make "DU'ing" so fundamentally important, nor run Guestfests after Guestfests, nor indeed just pick and choose what league to race in whenever the moment came along to suit themelves.. And. Instead of "going it alone" when the GP's and Poland took over, they instead pandered to others and let their own operating model become defined by these outside influences... The result? Team Speedway in the UK simply isn't an authentic product to sell, which then hugely impacts its relevance, and therefore fan engagement. . This winter's goings on is just a "new way" of making the sport look the way it does, no doubt there will be other ways to keep the same reputation in the future...

Good luck with that.... I think someone with a better grasp of the rules may explain why it SHOULDN'T happen!!!... The official answer of course is that... "This is UK Speedway"...

Cowboy Cook? He could maybe DU with the "Young Stars"...

Just like the Rising Star criteria when it was launched......

Lifeboats that the Premiership teams have subsidised...