Thumper

Well, seeing as i am making the effort to pitch up, I am quietly confident that the Potters are going to sneak it! The Stoke crew have had some bad luck this year with a couple of break-ins at the stadium, which must be pretty disheartening. The Northern NL teams are having a bit of a struggle at the mo with the Potters 10th in the table and the Hitmen only a couple of places higher. So the Northern fightback starts now..........be warned

Sorry to seem a bit thick here but does a National League promoter have only one stream of revenue i.e customers coming through the gate? Or do National League setups receive some funding from the governing body in recognition of their function as a breeding ground for future British talent? I'm assuming that tv revenues must add upto a few quid and I'm sure some of that must be filtered down for the benefit of the sport as a whole. To be honest, I would think that any speedway arena would need to be "multi-use" so as to mitigate the total reliance on gate throughput which can so easily be adversely affected by the interesting British climate.

Ah, but reducing the admission fee is only part of the equation. You have to publicize this amazing special offer AND make sure that the new customers that you attract really, really want to come back again. You have to speculate to accumulate and you have to offer a "product" that competes hard for a limited disposable income#

Thanks for that! Yes, I have sat in the grandstand at Peterborough but sadly, there wasn't a speedway meeting on at the time. As I'm living in Cheshire, Peterborough might be just a little too far for me. :D

Hello, I am a returning speedway fan having been a Belle Vue supporter when they raced at the magnificent Hyde Road. In an attempt to rekindle my love of speedway, I decided to go and watch my former team Belle Vue. On two occasions, I arrived at the stadium to find that the meetings had been rained off. There were no signs anywhere to tell me that the meeting was off and I only found out by asking the one or two forlorn souls standing outside the gates what was going on. Perhaps, this is not a great way to encourage your potential customer to try again another time? After this disappointment, I decided that perhaps my support might be more appreciated by one of the lower league teams, so I paid a visit to a National League track. Two of the four toilets were out of order and one of the others had no lock on the door. The PA system was inaudible unless you were stood on the start/finish line. I thought I would be helpful and emailed my observations to the promoter, hoping that they might be able to sort out these problems, as this would obviously encourage younger/female/disabled customers to return for another meeting. I received no reply whatsoever. BUT............the racing was bloody great! So yes, there is negativity around speedway which is a great shame because it can be great entertainment but somehow it has to be dragged into the modern age. I know there is a shortage of money around the sport but how much does it cost to put a sign on a gate saying, "Sorry, meeting cancelled" or to fit a bolt to a toilet door? I'm sure there are great speedway venues around the country. Sadly, I am still to find them. Sorry for droning on!