1 valve

Could be Polish speedway propaganda being “leaked” in their efforts to remain the “untouchables” of influencing how speedway operates their way.

No. not even even with covers. Simply because the track was perfectly dry as the introduction of the riders was commencing , but then the heavens opened with continuous heavy rain for 90 minutes - such conditions making it simply impossible for any outdoor/permanent speedway track to be raced on. great shame for Dougy & the assembled fans as a fantastic line up went to waste - for now

Sorry. I should have said "the lack of sufficient admission facilities" Four being insufficient hence the 30 minute delay of the start to get folk in. However, credit where credit is due. Four is far more sufficient than the two at Leicester. And to close - it was great that NKI got such a great and well deserved turnout for his testimonial.

Ok, so my journey time was quicker than expected, Yes, I got a program, Yes, I got to stand where I wanted too Yes I appreciate it was a good day for NKI. No, I did not appreciate the 30 minute delay to the start of the meeting due folk turning up late No I did not appreciate the lack of admission facilities which caused the long queues. The point promoters should recognise and act on, is that customers (sporting event or supermarket) do not like unreasonable length of queues to get in or pay for the prodct...Example, last week, went to premier league football match circa 50,000 attendance. Arrived at stadium gate 30 minutes prior to kick off, qued for less than five minutes to gain admission using pre purchased ticket, had a beer, a pie, took my seat 5 minutes before kick off...and guess what, the match started on time!. Surely, speedway can have some willingness to provide a quality product, start to finish instead of relying on the willingness of supporters to accept a poor offering. Which judging by the fall off in spectators over the past decade is the outcome of poor promotion is fast coming home to roost.

Blimey, that was one hell of a queue you were anticipating. But at least you were seen close to the appointed start time 😉

Got to and in the stadium first thing. 4hours 10 minutes later meeting ended. Which of course is far too long. Until promoters learn what is “for the best” there is little chance of speedway attracting & keeping new customers.

Quote from todays NKI benefit meeting. “First meeting of the season, and the start time is pushed back 30 mins. Regrettably, a good chance this will also be the case at Ryan’s meeting unless something is done proactively to provide more capacity for sale of tickets. Be mindful the 30 minute delay today meant that those who turned up early had a wait of two hours before the start of the meeting - almost longer than the actual meeting. Totally unacceptable!

Is this meeting being streamed live for UK audience?

Ok fair enough - albeit any extra cost could have been added on as a "booking fee" at least then folk would have a choice. For the sake of those who will be going I hope "the organisers" arrange for adequate capacity for the sale of admission tickets. FYI this means that as season ticket holders and those who normally buy online will need to join the queue to pay on the day then the normal TWO sales windows should not be regarded as adequate. And as further advice to the organisers, please understand that inadequate capacity to sell tickets on the day will not only mean long queues forming to gain admission, but will also create a delay to the start of the meeting due to folk still waiting to get in...meaning those who did arrive early will need to hang around even longer before the meeting gets under way.....

Very true. Unfortunately Leicester’s two ticket outlets at the stadium are woefully inadequate to deal with a large attendance where everybody has to queue for tickets due to lack of advance ticket sales. Unless ticketing arrangements are changed to include advance sales then I know of at least six folk who will not be going. come on Lions, get real with this issue,

If you have a T.V then you need a license- even if you don’t use the device. Be careful, they’ll be after you!

If you have a T.V then you need a license- even if you don’t use the device. Be careful, they’ll be after you!

No radio or TV? Wi-fi only? your sure are in a very small minority.

So the answer to your original question and title of this thread "Will speedway disappear from TV following Eurosport merger? is no.

I understood the judgment all but put paid to any concept of a housing development on the site being possible. However, developing a commercial site of industrial units and of offices may be seen in a different light by planners given the concept would be to provide places of work rather than places to live. Thus giving Brandon Estates a way forward. similarly any parties interested in bringing motor sports back to Brandon could consider an approach similar to that being proposed at Swindon. (Albeit doubts exist about the genuine intentions of the the folk involved there). Would it be worth exploring with Brandon Estates the possibility of a joint venture to bring both a commercial development and a stadium to the site?

Being mindful of the current proposal regarding a possible new speedway site for Swindon. Did the outcome of the planning refusal/appeal judgment relating to Brandon actually also rule out development of commercial property such as small industrial units and offices on the site?

Well, it could be an argument, as most development in the Green Belt is prohibited, with some exceptions for agriculture and leisure. However, a former landfill site cannot be classed as Green Belt- even if it is currently a "green field".

it was an interesting listen Clearly an opportunity to put a positive Spin on the proposal. But quite easy to see between the lines spoken A few of the concerns I would have. 1. The statement that houses could not be built on the land is wrong. Previous landfill sites require capping and a methane monitoring system to be installed after which house can be built. This extra cost can be prohibitive, hence the lower cost alternative to build commercial properties can be more appealing. 2. The land will still be owned by a third party and the sports operators will need to an annual lease most probably on a monthly basis. Granted, the initial lease could be scaled from initially being very low whilst the facility is developed to the level where income is generated. Although very doubtful income from NDL and training fees would be sufficient. 3. Car parking for 200 cars for a stadium intended to hold 3000 will not pass planning. There will need to be additional parking facilities nearby. Example Leicester where in addition to the stadium car park there is agreement with adjacent shopping center for use of their car park. 4.The restoration of a grade two listed building in a state of dilapidation is costly to complete and such expenditure will be diverted away from the investment into the stadium facility. Interesting that the proposed use would be for offices once the restoration is completed. 5. The inclusion of small industrial units will create revenue for the leaseholders presuming that the ground lease allows for sub-letting of such units. which is certainly a pre-requisite with no limits to the number of units that can be built. Conclusion. Whilst it would be great to see speedway return to the Swindon area and go from strength to strength, A more likely outcome (especially considering who the protagonists are) is that, a) Planning application will be rejected on the ground's of insufficient parking. b) The land will be developed fully for industrial units/ offices - both of which will provide significant income for the leaseholders far greater than what running a speedway stadium ever can do. I hope I am wrong.

Anybody? Would be especially good to hear from the "Swindon speedway group" mentioned in the interview.

What’s the story behind this?

Whilst your point of two teams operating at Birmingham and thus providing greater rental income is understandable, but as you recognise, in reality it the combined income would still be insufficient to support the total running costs of the facility. As for the council broadening the uses at the stadium, what other activities are there that would generate sufficient income to cover the speedway shortfall?

Their involvement is to acquire content for their TV channels and generate income from advertising & sub-licensing. Unfortunately unlike other sports shown on TV such as football/Rugby/Cricket/Darts/Snooker/MotoGP/etc. there is insufficient money involved to actually feed down to grass roots or actually promote & grow the sport to a wider audience.

Unfortunately a none goer from the start as no TV company would see any financial benefit in doing as you suggest. The reason? Besides running stadiums is not their core activity, to buy Brandon, remove the existing derelict building & then build something capable of holding a GP akin to BV would cost in the region of ten million pounds. This type of investment would require a return (profit) of at least one million pounds per year before inflation - which of course is just not feasible.

There was no insider trading simply because it was a deal done between two private companies. One, who had originally acquired the stadium for housing development but had a change of plan plan and one (another developer) who was offered the stadium/land when the incumbent ran out of available capital. What followed from then up to the present day is well known. 🤷‍♂️ One things for sure is that a tv company would not be remotely interested in acquiring Brandon to stage one or two GP meetings.

Maybe the subsidy by from the Welsh tourist board has finished or been dramatically reduced to make the event unviable. Local businesses are going to suffer unless some other event gets booked in. Also it shows the way not to address the problem of declining attendance is to shove the prices up way beyond inflation. BV need to take heed - no guarantee of the meetings being a sell out as both will be on TV & should price tickets to pass on the benefit of their fixed costs now being spread across two meetings instead of just the one intended.