mikebv

£12k for both matches would equal £12k per meeting in that the home team puts the money up.. Exactly the same outlay.. The difference will be instead of £6k per meeting per team it could be £7k to one and £5k to the other. With the likelihood it swaps when the reverse fixture takes place..

But the money it pays out actually is.. Using Neil's estimates, and he is a man who will know, the Premiership alone will pay out over a Million quid!! Change "points money" to "prize money" and maybe Speedway will look a little bit more "big time".. So much of marketing is smoke and mirrors and staying just the right side of the truth.. Looking at the figs for the Championship that too will pay hundreds of thousands out... So shout out about how much you can win in British Speedway.. The numbers paid out must prick interest from outside the sport if pushed hard enough and often enough and it would also give every meeting something tangible to be raced for.. No point paying out so much and letting it fly under the radar of any publicity.. Use it to promote the Sport...

Still a fair few quid to have as prize money Neil.. Maybe £7k to the winners and £5k to the losers..? With 90 matches a season in the top league, Inc play offs then you could advertise the league as having over a Milllion pound of prize money to be won.... Quite a selling point I would suggest..

A big trick missed for me is how the "prize money" is sold to the general public.. Obviously not being privy to exact figures but reading between the lines (and what Matt Ford say Poole lost overall recently v Ipswich), I would think circa £20k is paid out per meeting to 14 riders in the top league.. A huge amount I would suggest given the very tiny standing of the sport and one which would stop a good many non fans in their tracks if they knew, and might maybe spur them on into taking a closer interest..? Maybe there should be (if the £20k per night for two teams is approx correct) a £20k purse each meeting split £12k to winners and £8k to losers? Most meetings are won by the home team, so home and away should still see a team pick up the average £10k most weeks.. Would also deliver performance pay too, and maybe inspire more efforts away from home to get the higher purse? Which can only be good for the overall entertainment package. It would also deliver a presentation each meeting with an interview with the Captains to discuss the match, one team "delighted" with the money won, one team, "disappointed" etc.. You could even do a rider of the night award where the main sponsor and, if seperate, the meeting sponsor, combine to put up a £'s award. eg if a company puts £10k in per season then over 20 matches that's £500 a match, therefore put that up each week and give them prime time advertising every week, and if you have a meeting sponsored separate at say £500, then add that to it and make £1000 that the ' rider of the night' or 'most entertaining rider' gets. (Or maybe £500 each if you want to run both). You could even get the fans to text in to vote for the awards. The sport pays out literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds every season, yet never uses it to make its product sound "big time"... It needs to start shouting..

I actually think plenty of people have heard of the sport as when you mention it, often you get told "is Speedway still going?" Or, "I used to go and watch Speedway years ago".. Their recollections of the sport though would be of a fairly cheap night out, stood in a decent sized crowd , with plenty of partizan based noise and atmosphere... A world away from what they would encounter today should they ever revisit... Many tracks do try locally to advertise, however, for example, standing in supermarket foyers giving leaflets out isn't going to deliver the kind of impact to make any real tangible difference.. It needs a more joined up national campaign I would suggest, using modern media techniques, where the sport generically is sold with the clubs being covered within that campaign. Get that 'brand recognition' out there for the sport as a whole, and then the work done locally can be backed on to it.. Millions of pounds leave the sport every season nationally in riders salaries, with a total figure that would be truly eye watering given the crowd levels and standing of the sport I would think.. Riders that, the vast majority of whom, will not bring in one extra punter to any track, anywhere, as their names mean nothing outside the sport, yet hardly anything gets spent in advertising the sport nationally as the collectively, exciting, high octane, adrenaline pumping sport it can be.. Maybe all deciding to channel more of what they already spend each season into advertising their sport would deliver better results than just paying it all out to riders? Bringing in just 20000 extra punters across the country per week (in essence a drop in the ocean), would make a massive difference to the sport and everyone then would benefit long term.. Individual tracks, all doing their own thing on a 'small time' basis, will not deliver that increase in numbers across the country.. Maybe a joined up, national, modern media led campaign, would?

I have said before, British Speedway needs to base itself on the BSB model as against Poland being the WSB model... BSB has mainly domestic riders, some of whom have tried the higher level and come back. Some of whom have ridden solely BSB and made a living out of it. And some younger lads who see the BSB as a stepping stone to a higher level.. What they don't try and do is compete with the WSB or let them impact their business and operating model.. British Speedway, like BSB has, needs to find its own niche, and it's own identity, which then delivers a solid fan base.. At whatever level it can afford to be profitable, racing on nights each track deem to be the best for them to attract that solid fan base.. And make it a success.. And then move on from there by organic, structured, annual growth, based on a clear development plan which has learnt from past mistakes....

Some clubs will pay their Number Ones more than that for just one season if the stories from many 'inside the sport' are accurate.. Maybe there needs to be a couple of years plan where clubs don't pay out such money but use this investment to bring their circuits up to the standards that suit the bikes more..? It currently forks out hundreds of thousands to riders every single year, yet often the spectacle is let down by the very 'canvas' these 'artists' have to use.. Get the track right and it could deliver years and years of return on that investment.. A much higher return maybe than the short term outlay to certain riders year on year who don't actually have any real impact, in the main, on crowd levels... Many of whom, given the way the sport is ran, might not even be riding for the same club the year after.. As is seen at certain tracks.. Give these lads the platform on which to perform and they truly do deliver an awesome spectacle.. Maybe time to invest in the infrastructure more rather than the employees? A bit of short term pain for the long term gain..

Part of a wider huge national retail business I am afraid Barry, just one small cog... I have tried to get my company involved locally but unfortunately the lack of media exposure and demographic/volume of fans doesn't make any sponsorship investment appear to have a viable return according to the bean counters... I am sure you already connect locally with retailers on the island directly..? Most national supermarket companies will allow their Managers certain autonomy when it comes to 'supporting the local community' initiatives especially when not in direct competition. (My company once had the Aces doing a roadshow (riders and bikes and video) one Saturday at another local store which was driven by the Store rather than Head Office). So it could well be worth getting into their individual ribs, particularly when so many self catering holiday makers will be using their shops to buy their weekly items.. Nothing like something tangible to look at, touch and feel to make people aware, rather than just giving out leaflets.. As I say, you probably do this already given the pro active way you and the team down there go about things.. Certainly admire your drive and determination and also the way you are prepared to seek every opportunity to grow your business and spread your message,..

Many German teams are ran by fans' committees.. "By the fans, for the fans"... A much different model than over here where the hundreds of millions guaranteed by just one season in the Premier League means greed really is good, and going into a huge amount of debt in a belief you may one day reach that promised land is very much what passes a business plan..

"If you dont like it, then dont come" seldom seems to work... Yet it seems to have been the mantra of quite a few promoters over the years.. "We are right, and you are wrong" being an often pervading view.. A funny way to run a business, by people who seem to (outside Speedway), often run businesses so well they can bank roll the very Speedway team they tell people not to come an watch.. Very strange...

If Cook gets a ban for his actions will he be banned for Kings Lynn too? Or... Could the person doing the hearing deem it 'in the interests of Speedway' for him to continue riding for them..?

In my work life I have ran several shops around the country, and over the past decade or so always joined any local community face book groups that exist. Not in an official capacity, just as me.. The reason being we, as often the biggest supermarket and employer in the town, will often get mentioned... And, as is often the way, we get mentioned in a not too positive way as people will moan publicly often, but praise much less so.. However, for me, it is great (if sometimes uncomfortable) to see such issues as I at least have a chance to correct them.. What I would never do is say "you're wrong" as perception is 100% the truth for that individual making the comments.. What I would do is agree for them to meet me to discuss their gripes and fix them if I can but explain why I can't if that is the outcome.. Listening to your customers (both the good bits, but more importantly, the bad bits) seems to work.. Looks like some should try it..

Been sat here for three quarters of an hour.... It opens at 11.... Going to use Tesco's website next time...

So fans now use this website to determine whether to attend a Speedway meeting? Wow.. Another alternative idea of course could be checking with the staging club whether the meeting is on or not.. And to be fair, whoever posted the wrong information, and ultimately dissuaded people from going, probably now knows what it means to be a promoter as many of them have been dissuading people from going for years... Anyhow.... Anyone know what time my local Tesco is open today?

The NSS.. And a few Polish ones with the best Sweden has to offer.. Add in the 'flagship ones' in Warsaw and Cardiff.. And you have 'the perfect storm'... Magic made a very telling comment. . He said that (in the heat of battle) how much he was enjoying the "crazy racing"... Give these lads the 'playing field' and they will deliver, time and time again...

And wear boot polish black leathers with no sponsors showing. .

But, but, but... The modern machinery doesn't allow for that.. Everyone should ride 2 valve japs.

Just need to get the first GP of the year at the NSS now to set it all off with a bang. ..

Translated.. "I am everythang".....

Bartosz is a split second from disaster time and time again with his moves.. Great to watch, but maybe has a limited shelf life compared to those who take less risks..? What a sport this is when done so well.. Awesome..

When he talks about the 'straightaway' I think you may be right..

That slow mo first turn should be shown as an advert to promote the sport in this country. Awesome..

Bartosz Pendergrass..

Bartosz Pasquale...

I believe Subbuteo donated them circa 1974.. Nigel going full on Partridge.. Aha!!!!!!!!