Nobblytriers

Are there any other sports where the coverage starts halfway through the season. Fishing? Darts? I can't think of any team sport with a league involved where they start showing it well after the season starts. Does anyone know if there's a reason for this and who agreed to it? Maybe we've got this as it's a result of the 'more important meeting' Mick Horton mentioned?

Sorry if this has already been mentioned. I don't anything about this but has anyone looked into crowd funding? It seems to help all sorts of projects with a variety of people willing to chip in to reach a target sum. With the stocks and dogs also homeless, and many fans for those sports worldwide, as well as speedway, (not forgetting the history of the place), maybe this could be a solution?

So that leaves 9 meetings. How many GP's are there?

So we'll be halfway into the season before we see some action then! This all sounds like a take it or leave it offer and the BSPA, or whoever, just took it.

I'm not so sure he did allude to Sky leaving as he said "...and have already heard some good things about the coverage". Now to me, that implies that he's seen or heard about forthcoming productions. Would he get to hear about BT's forthcoming coverage if he's employed by Sky?

Have any tenants moved into the new houses yet? If so, could they be approached and asked what they were told when they bought the houses? Were they told that a stadium would be built, and until it was then the old one would be used, and so there would be some noise from the speedway? Or were they led to believe that the stadium would go and it would just be a housing development? Also, could anyone go along to the sales office, express an interest in buying a property there and then ask questions as to what the plans are for the area regarding the speedway?

So with that statement, as you appear to be connected with Sky and not BT, can we say that speedway stays on Sky?

I think that's interesting. I love most forms of motorsport and I've been to a few tracks to watch two and four wheel action. On TV, the only one that's possibly worse is speedway. Watching live, most action at a circuit goes past you (although the spectacle is great) and you wait a minute or two before you see the action again. On TV, you catch everything on the circuit. With speedway on TV, there's something missing. I think you have to be there to get the best out of it. You are closer to the action, you see all of the race and you get the sense of speed together with the noise ( where did the smell go?) Whilst it's good to see motorsport on TV, I feel speedway is best seen live. Maybe TV exposure has done more harm than good?

From Speedway GP site " 30/01/2014, 08:38 Sky Sports will show exclusive live coverage of the British Elite League after agreeing a deal to televise at least 25 meetings per season for the next five years. The deal with the British Speedway Promoters Association means Sky Sports viewers will be able to follow every Elite League season until at least 2019." So if we have no speedway on Sky this year, what sort of deal has been done to release Sky from the contract?

Just looked on the Lions website and Coventry's fixtures have gone already, as has Coventry on the list of clubs in the Premiership! Did those in charge know this would happen? Seems to have taken place a bit sharpish, it was only announced a couple of hours ago. Edit: Just looked at a few more and no sign of Coventry on any fixtures. Seems odd that all fixture lists have been altered at the same time ... and it's a Sunday! Just to add, to all those who are involved in the demise of Brandon Stadium, hang your heads in shame. Your ambition to be the richest person in the cemetery has moved a step closer.

Yes, this seems to have been announced once the Belle Vue situation was sorted out. If that hadn't gone well then Coventry might well have been allowed to start the season and that would have given the eight teams that the Sky contract needed. Such a shame.

Yes, put the stadium to other uses too to maximise income. Lots of potential for a site that size.

I was thinking that maybe the original offer of 2m+ was a bargain and because he didn't take the offer, the longer he waits the more it's going to cost? I'm not into commercial property/land dealing, maybe you can tell?

The way I read it was that he'd have snapped his hand off at the 2M+ offer so maybe he couldn't afford it now as the price is far higher? A glimmer of hope though as if they are actually willing to sell then a buyer must be found. Maybe a consortium, a group with a bit of vision that could put the stadium to good use with various other activities taking place throughout the year? If the council genuinely want the stadium to survive, could they attract a new owner with reduced rates and relaxed planning? Just a thought.

Hi Glyn, I'd take any extra width of the track you can get. That 1 meter is a bike width and must give another line into the bend 3 now that the corners are in. Great news about all the track work before the new season, looking forward to it!

Can the fence go back another meter along the straights? If so, along with bringing the bends in, this would give the much needed wider entry into the corners to give the varied racing lines. If that's the plan, well done Damien Bates!!

You could look at this another way. If there is no other coverage of anything else other than, say, football, then all the readers are going to know is football. For me, growing up, all I knew was football. All the males in my family followed it, it was in all the papers, the comics I read, on the telly, it was everywhere. I didn't know speedway existed but I'm glad I found it. I cannot stand the so called 'beautiful game' now and find it dominates far to much. If other minor sports were given some coverage then maybe they wouldn't be so minor?

The new season for the Lions is becoming to look very exciting. We have a new owner who appears to want to entertain the fans, and he's putting his plans into place pretty sharpish! The web site is more informative and appealing, the riders he's put together are racers, he's kept the price of entry down and now he's getting turns 1&2 sorted. Hopefully his enthusiasm will continue and we can see the crowds return to BP. Well done Damien Bates.

Cookie round the boards, what a sight, what a crowd pleaser! When you do, can you also get him onto the centre green please so we can all see him and applaud him? Failing that, just drag him over to turn two so we can shake his hand. Ta.

Blimey, what a mess! So if Horton and Sandhu hadn't fallen out (which led to the stadium being stripped) then we wouldn't be in the state we are today? I take it that neither Horton or Sandhu are the lease holders now then? Sorry for all the Q's and lack or understanding but I have totally lost the plot on this one. It seems to me that all of the chicanery and dealing has backfired for someone along the line. The real losers, again, will be the fans and speedway in general. I hope this sorry saga gets resolved ASAP and the Bees get their home back.

Didn't Sandhu say that he will restore the facilities at Brandon at his expense? He seemed to imply that after the council mediator got involved that all would be put back together and all was well again. He and Horton were 'friends' again and Coventry was safe. I can't understand why there is no activity at Brandon with so little time left before the start of the season.

If everything is OK to go then why is it taking so long make it possible to race at Brandon? If the people involved are being honest then why aren't the lights being installed at the track, shale being delivered and the electrics to the ref's box all being put back right now? As far as I've read so far, that's all that would be needed to allow the Bees to go racing at home again. Forget the seats, the only ones needed are on the riders' bikes! I feel that there is more to this saga than we are being told and that a certain person isn't being honest and sincere.

Can you say what the other serious issues are Flagrag? Is the sport in more trouble than we think?

It seems that there are only five definite teams declared to run so far this coming season, with Coventry, Leicester, Swindon and Belle Vue still not 100% confirmed, and there's only a few weeks to go before tapes up. I was wondering how this sits with Sky. From what I could understand, they always wanted at least eight teams running to confirm coverage during the season. Does anyone know what happening with Sky TV this year? Thanks.

OK, thanks.