vcmazz

I've been thinking exactly the same thing Bryn. Especially in view of Wightlink's own problems at present. Desperately sad situation. We will of course cling on to every last hope, but I think you'll agree that deep down, we know don't we?

Well I don't know if any of the other shareholders would actually have the kind of money required to risk, so it might be a little harsh to say they are prepared to risk his money but not their own - but overall I pretty much agree with what you say. If I were a wealthy man I would personally fund the club and wouldn't see it as a risk, nor an investment because it would be neither. It would simply be spending money for the love of the club because it's never going to be a money spinner. Therein lies the problem. The Islanders need a benefactor as opposed to an investor. Those are few and far between and unless there is an extremely wealthy person amoungst the 120 diehards, non existent. Because nobody would be prepared to do this unless they had a real love for the club.

Six days and counting. Divine intervention required. Prayers being uttered on an hourly basis at Mazz Towers.

It's not just Speedway. I find that the island is an apathetic place in general which is a real shame - it could be so much more. The population actually tops 140,000 but what you have to bear in mind is that this figure isn't comparable to 140,000 elsewhere. A very large proportion of the population are elderly - indeed care, is the biggest industry on the island. Then you have another chunk of people living very remotely with very limited transport links. A real shame, but it's a much smaller target audience than the population figures might suggest. That said, I still feel there is scope to improve attendances to a degree, but nobody seems to have the answers as to how to go about it.

I may be wrong, but my impression of the Chairman is that there is nothing he would like more than to go to Speedway on a Tuesday night without the financial pressure and stress that goes with it. He has made it perfectly clear that he will not walk away and leave his money behind - fair enough, I doubt many people would. But I would suggest it would certainly be worth talking to him with regards to shares.

The figure is an estimate on what I heard last night and £80k is exactly what I have calculated in for Mr Chairman. You may have missed it, but there was what appeared to be a slip of the tounge towards the end of the meeting when the Chairman quoted £80k as the sum owed to him - despite denying knowledge of the amount earlier in the evening. Are you the non-shareholder who spoke and said he wished he was a shareholder so that he could say more? If so I was sitting to your right and thought you spoke very well.

Perfectly apparent to me. This is an opinion by the way and by no means a statement of fact (so no need to sue me for my £2.74p. Took me ages to save that ). The Chairman and (to a slightly lesser extent) two directors have between them stumped up well in excess of £100k in loans, which it appears to me they would rather like back at some stage. By not staging Speedway, the profits from other revenue streams at Smallbrook will give them a chance of recouping their money. Run Speedway? They're not going to see it and indeed would end up putting more money in. As Brendan Johnson has tweeted, "One man got his wish". But, sad and disappointing as it is, it's their money and they're entitled to it back so who are we to criticise?

Indeed. It's all over I'm afraid. Well for this year anyway. The question I have been asking has been answered tonight - the other revenue streams at Smallbrook are not sufficient to cover the Speedway losses and the money simply isn't there to make racing viable this year. It is to be requested that the licence be put on hold and the situation with regards to next year will be reviewed in October. Chins up and let's start an "Isle of "Wight 2015" thread.

So this coming Tuesday really is D-Day for the islanders. Interestingly, going by the 4th paragraph of this latest press release http://www.iowislanders.co/news%2016.01.14.html, the point I was trying to make on the "Isle of Wight 2014" thread appears to have been picked up on. As a new supporter and non-shareholder, it's not my place to get involved on the night but I can only hope that the shareholders (owners) establish whether or not the other revenue streams of Island Speedway (IOW) Ltd are sufficient to fund Speedway without the company making an overall loss. Because if this is the case, I am in little doubt that they would vote more or less unanimously to save Speedway and fund it this way.

I am a new supporter and not a shareholder - therefore as shareholder meetings go I was an interested outsider and onlooker. But the impression I came away with (and forgive me if I'm wrong), is that the club owners (the shareholders) were, on the whole, as clear as mud as to the full picture. They seem to me to be a bunch of Speedway fans who, if given the option "all those in favour of funding Speedway from the other revenue streams the club generates", would have done so pretty much unanimously. The only option they appeared to have had in front of them was coughing up a large some of cash between them there and then (which no doubt most were not in a position to do), or suspend Speedway for three years. This is why I am intrigued to know if the other revenue streams create enough income to make supporting Speedway an option because I've little doubt that the shareholders (owners) would have voted for that. They seem to me to be interested in Speedway, not business or shares dividends.

Indeed. Unless of course the money losing shop is there for the love of it and the other three profitable shops are used to fund it? The key to my point is the name of the company "Isle of Wight Speedway Ltd" which is not closing down and it was stated that it makes a profit. A Speedway company without a Speedway team? My point however is indeed irrelevant if the Speedway losses are causing the company to lose money overall, which is why I would be interested to know.

Hi Bryn, It was said at this meeting that Isle of Wight Speedway Ltd, as a company makes a profit and that it is just the Speedway side of the operation that is losing money. Do you know off hand if the profit made from other activities outweighs the Speedway loses?

Hi all, I was at the last meeting in December - not as a shareholder but as a (new) supporter having moved to the island in May last year and being reunited with Speedway after many years absence - I was a Wimbledon Dons follower back in the 70's/early 80's. I really enjoyed rediscovering Speedway and was looking forward to getting more involved with the Islanders next year. Not financially - I haven't got a proverbial pot, but by joining the supporters club, season ticket etc. Such a shame that my new found love appears to be so short lived. What hasn't been mentioned is that at the last shareholders meeting, the vote was already taken and it was decided to suspend Speedway for a minimum of 3 years. It was only AFTER this vote that somebody stepped forward with the name of an interested party and so it was agreed to defer the decision until this party had made/been contacted. It would therefore seem that the outcome of the forthcoming meeting is a forgone conclusion - such a shame.