mikebv

Great meeting... Great atmosphere.... Away fans going mental and riders celebrating just as mentally with them... There really is no comparison from what you have in the UK is there? Apart from Jack Holder was riding obviously,.. Its exactly the same sport, but it isn't really is it? "Proper Speedway Nige"...

And the "best part of £50" is needed by promoters for you to pay it three or four times a month.. Paying out £150 to £200 to watch no more than an hours Speedway in total simply isn't going to happen is it? The missed opportunity is that if they charged say £20 for a pair of adults they would much more likely get regular continuous visits, hence four matches equalling £80... Meaning more fans, resulting in more atmosphere, more money, and a far better overall impression of the sports popularity given the crowd numbers.... A virtuous circle that would help the sports future... When you pay out circa £50 for one visit then that will more than likely be your one visit per month or maybe even your one visit per season, given spending £50 you will have high expectations of what you should see for your money. And if it doesn't match it then you could be loath to pay it again.. Which means less fans so less atmosphere, less money, and an almost brand damaging impression of the sports popularity given the crowd numbers.. A vicious circle that can never hope to help the sports future. .

And add 5% for home meetings..

The World Champ...

And away fans too... All stood together, not scattered around the track.... Celebrating together... Adding to the atmosphere..

The sort of atmosphere that elevates the racing to far more than it actually is.... And means you will be desperate to attend the next match.... Those were the days eh?

Massive crowd in Gorzow...

Only problem with opening up the "other side" at several tracks is that the crowd would then look very sparse... Wouldnt generate much (any?) atmosphere either which standing together can at least help to improve..

Used to be great... But was always a bit narrow for such a big track.. The air fence narrowed it even further as the riders used to go as wide as they could up against the fence, especially on turn two... Now the inside just keeps the grip and there doesn't seem to be the drive wide that there used to be.. Similar to the match I went to against the Aces... Fast, but not much entertainment...

Bomber rolling back the years......

There's still time for them to replace it with indoor Kabaddi...

The joys of being allowed to DU... One injury means two teams are short of riders... Mind you.. Not always the case I suppose... Sometimes seemingly one injury only impacts one of the two teams involved but not the other, meaning a rider is unfit to ride for one of his teams, but perfectly ok to ride for the other one.. Double Upping... All very strange...

Must admit I have enjoyed the differing opinions on this thread.. Makes the forum what it should be.. Open and honest debate.. And having read so much of what has been said and discussed around what a nightmare Rob Grant found himself in, then I really hope the fans of Newcastle all turn out to support the club this weekend.. It would be great if all those 'flouting fans' who go now and again, but still closely follow the club, all made the deliberate effort to all attend this weekend.. Be a good boost for the Promotion I would think... NB. As an aside, I do think that the 'pay at the gate', 'stand where you want' message needs to pushed massively by all the tracks on their social media pages. Still lots of confusion out there from lots of people as to "the covid rules", so Speedway should be 100% hammering home that message..

Oh Gleb.... Glad he managed to get up from that..

Who is the cameraman? Marty Feldman?

You would have to make some big decisions for the good of the sport.. Crowd levels should dictate structure in Speedway.. Not the whim of the promoters.. The sport (any sport), needs a stand out level to aspire to... For me, Glasgow and Poole look natural "top league" teams, with Swindon also if they ever come back (no smirking at the back there)... Maybe a phased approach will be needed , next season 8 teams then 10 etc? That would mean plenty of "decent" riders to cover absences.. The five year plan (another one), should end with one major "Elite" league and one around NDL+ to provide organic development growth to get into the top level..

You could still have a mean average per team meaning no team could pay out silly money to entice the best in every grade... And averages alone simply don't work... If they did then the top team wouldn't end up 40 to 50 points ahead of the bottom team which happens virtually every season. .. I still think the 12 teams, five men per team, made up of the current Preniership standard heat leaders, second strings/best reserves, is something that would tick so many boxes that the sport needs to fill.. 44 matches and six rides a night gives the riders plenty of money making opportunities and the fans some variety of teams as well as 10 riders on show of fairly similar standard. (No make weights to reach an average), so the racing should be competitive... It will also give the league some credibilty as those (no disrespect), journeymen riders (who make up the vast majority of riders) without jobs, can replace off form or injured riders.. A £5k a night salary cap means a 45 point average score would give each rider £811 a night at an average of £111 per point. Obviously the reality will be No1 gets circa £130 and No5 around £90... That £5k (which is £10k for both meetings), would mean 667 punters at £18 to cover the VAT as well.. 850 punters would deliver £15.3k and 1000 obviously £18k... Those who pay rent may need nearer the 1000 than those who don't to cover all costs, but they will still have their usual sponsorship to assist with this too Surely with a credible offering, racing on nights when you can get your best crowds, with 15 hears of riders of pretty similar capabilty, (and credibility), that at least 12 tracks could deliver 850 each as a mimumum? The Second tier could then be what it really ought to be and that is riders covering expenses and gaining experience, with those with capability, looking to progress to the top league... A No1 heat leader earning £130 a point, scoring 12 a night from his six rides, 44 times a season,would earn just over £68k. Not a fortune, but he will only be working seven months a year....

Got your broadband fixed then Geoff I see... Not a great service though to be honest... Went off last Thursday evening didn't it?

Oh he/she/they is/are here... Seemingly not too sure as to who to identify as though... The modern way I believe......

Which also means it becomes a 'plaything' that doesn't have to be sustainable in its own right.. Which can never be a good thing for collective organic growth... "Don't include Glasgow" was a comment re salaries further up the thread... Well you have to... The inference was I presume that they pay more, therefore, by doing so, they bring "heat" to the pay scales which then filters down to the rest, as riders expectations grow as the "going rate" increases.. Collectively the tracks spend literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds which is subsidised to a certain amount by hundreds and hundreds of thousands of income.. All to have a sport hardly anyone in the country knows about... Explain that one...

"Bland"... Truly a word that should never be allowed to be associated with something so high octane, fast and adrenaline fuelled, as Speedway racing... Yet your use of it resonates as very apt when describing what gets offered up on far too many occasions.. Speedway should be perpetually delivered in "colour" yet, sadly, varying degrees of "grey" seems to be its chosen hue..

Is that because they get 5% added to their score when guesting for someone at home?..

With Hans Christian Andersen as company rather than the Speedway rider...

It was the top league that I was basing my figures on not the 2nd Division, hence the 1200 crowd level requirement, and the average pound per point guesstimate. And on your numbers it looks like it could be more £100 a point on average in the top tier? Which lowers their spend.. Your figures which I am sure will be accurate, mean circa £60 average per point in the 2nd Division which means less than just £6k needs taking in to pay for two matches.. Wow, what a state the sport is in when at around £17 to watch a 2nd level match, it still struggles.. 'Happiness' used to be 40-38. Nowadays 'Happiness' would appear to be winning every match at home 46-44 in a last heat decider, and losing away 75-15... The positive for the sport is that at quite a few tracks, crowds during the pandemic have reached the restricted figure allowed (some being 600 or so in the 2nd Div), so maybe now the restrictions are lifted the crowd levels could become more sustainable..

Really? They must be paying out well under £5k a night if that is the case... One top league promoter mentioned circa £10k a night was the going rate, however that was a few years ago when a few of the major stars still rode here.. If they are paying out so little nowadays (must be much less than £10k for two meetings), then how come are they are losing so much? I would think though that if you want riders to ride in one league only, then you would have to pay them a reasonable amount, and if a track cannot afford to pay circa £11k from its home meeting to pay for the two it needs to, then there probably isn't any hope for the sport.. 1200 paying £18 generates over £20k a night which surely must be affordable?