mikebv

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...

Riders have to double up... It's the law....

A good, informative, interview (again), in the Speedway Star with Matt Ford and he mentions Vaculik and his injury inducing, short lived, stint at Leicester, which cost him thousands as he had to pay back his signing on money to his Polish team... A big risk for riders to come over here when you are talking high five, and sometimes six, figure signing on fees that have a "pay back clause" if injured riding in other leagues...

See.... Now you've got it....

Maybe with potentially less meetings the rent has needed to be renegotiated?

Winners always find a way.....

It needs to be on free to air mainstream TV, which then (might), engage some of the old followers to attend, and ignite some interest from the millions, within 45 mins of many tracks, who literally don't know the sport exists... And free to air mainstream TV may also get some "new money" sponsors into the sport, rather than "in house" sponsorship which doesn't move the sport forward... However. Some "proper cash injection" would need to be met with an agreement to run the sport authentically from a team aspect though, and, given so many "hobbyists" are involved, that may be a big barrier to overcome...

They couldn't afford less Prem teams as then there would be too many riders not able to DU.... At thst time. With Ipswich being possibly not running, and Northampton still a twinkle in some promoters' eye, they simply couldn't afford another Prem team to drop... With only four Prem teams you would pretty much be at the point when one league would be the only realistic outcome, as those four surely couldn't go it alone... And one league means DU'ing is dead....

Too many promotions want too many different things from the sport.. For a good number, what we have today is perfection... Affordable subsidising of their hobby either through another business they run, or money they take in renting out their track... Many get to use and see pkenty of PL Heat Leaders, but don't need to pay them the same as their PL teams do... And, those in the 2nd tier in can run at weekends if they want to, when, generally in the entertainment game, it delivers the best crowds, and just swap and change riders with each other, as and when some riders have inevitable clashes with Polish and FIM events.... Promoters can also decide to ride in whatever league can make them the most profit, given the lack of any decent prize money or publicity for winning either, so, once again, are quire content to keep things as they are... In summary... For many, the current structure ticks lots of their required boxes, therefore change isn't going to happen unless someone comes out with a huge sponsorship package, which would mean UK Speedway could then become relevant and authentic as a Team Sport... However, given the often clearly demonstrated skill sets of so many within the "UK Speedway Bubble Echo Chamber", nothing will change, because it cannot...