waytogo28

As far as we know - false dawn was there yesterday and it was unattended an looking more derelict. Unless someone buys it from Brandon Estates ( and are they really Sandhu's family? ) I can't see it ever being put back into use as a sports stadium for speedway or stox. The sport needs a lottery winner to do that!

Billy Bales must have been one of the shortest riders of all time? Definitely had lowered frames. Still going strong now - not quite 100. So let's plan a Big Party ( or join in if one is already underway)

The Aces are riding in 2017 and so that is a reason to believe that happy days are around the corner. But if these new promoters are anything like suggested here i.e. " they will not be walked over" how well are they going to get on with the BSPA, now that they are members? Is change really going to come from within at last? Several others have tried including those with business acumen and they have failed.

So, pretty much what most people on here thought was the situation. No chance of a Brandon return this season - even if somebody put up the £100,000 to "refurbish" the stadium and taking action to do it now. Unless Leicester extend their offer of track sharing for the rest of the season where does that leave the Bees? Track sharing elsewhere? And how much will this news affect Coventry attendances at B.P.? Back in the many questions - few answers Sargasso Sea of speedway!

Just as speedway promoters don't have the divine right to endless streams of supporters, queuing patiently with their cash in their hands. As they don't have nowadays. Promoters have to sell what the supporters want to buy and if they get it wrong, as they have this century - it's very likely downhill all the way.

Robert Lambert is the rider who is worth the entrance money at KL. And his is no slouch at "having a go" anywhere else either!

Don't worry it's not even March 1st yet is it? Any minute now all will be revealed about the Aces in 2017. Lots of riders say that they are riding there even if we don't know who is employing them, I hope they have got it in writing! If so many riders are often owed money in speedway what use are the contracts that we are so often shown held up in congratulatory photos? IOUs?

The problem with any good ideas and I have forwarded collective ideas from current supporters to the "powers that be". That inc my local promoter who had been asking for them, only to receive - not even an acknowledgement. I was not expecting fulsome praise but a "thanks" email would been a thought ( and not too expensive ) Some of our ideas were similar to many other fans on the forum. But it seems the BSPA is set on it's way under the current leadership ( league name change, Gerhard engines, the about to be launched marketing campaign etc ) and do not want to listen or consider any other ideas ( which might or might not have been helpful ). If there is a change of regime leadership in a year to two at the BSPA they will then - if this policy push is not attracting new fans - be launching another "let's try this way now" and that may genuinely be too late.

That is quite possibly how Coventry will limp through the season - at Leicester and then Peterborough before sadly fading from the scene altogether. Which is what the person who authorised the Brandon destruction wanted all along. Once major items such as the lights went , what hope was there.

It's not so much about "when" the decline in speedway started. It's now more about what point the decline is at as we start another season. With question marks or serious concerns over at least four Premiership clubs - Coventry, Leicester, Belle Vue and Swindon we could consider how much this is the "tip of the iceberg"? How many clubs in all three leagues are also on the financial edge and who would be dragged down if attendances continue to fall? It's no good always "looking on the bright side" when the emptying terraces say something else. Fingers crossed that speedway - the sport I love most - does reach it's 2028 Centenary in rude good health.

It's possible that the would be new owners can't forge a deal that is acceptable to them and that any delay may still be due to the ironing out of details. It may not be MCC who are the sticking point. Like everyone else concerned I am sure they are hoping for a successful 2017 at the NSS.

The strange thing to me, seems to be that TV live broadcasts present speedway in the best possible light, in theory whetting people's appetite to go and have a look at a local track. But that does not seem to be the case judging by falling attendances at many stadiums. I think the Sky matches should be £5 ( or even free ) and get the stadium full and hopefully more enticing to armchair fans. Several of the Sky matches last year showed that, apparently, speedway at the match - in the flesh - is not of interest to many people. In some cases it was "spot the fan". I am a big fan of speedway on TV and the excellent Sky and GP coverage does show the sport in it's best light. The why of how it does not pull in possible new fans is the puzzling part of things.

We should know before much longer how many riders have been tempted to make the switch and how many of the "in stock" G engines remain "in stock". Carl Wilkinson explained his position and how difficult it can be financially, to make the switch - even if you want to. Catch 22?

Fred Flange clearly does not know the meaning or irony. I was using all my later 'clearlys" merely to bait you Fred. Get it now?

Making it easier and cheap to make the return trip is essential part of keeping up fan interest and morale ( so that they feel valued once again instead of on the periphery of it all ) will pickups be at convenient points e.g. including the stadium with free parking there? Throwing in a programme is very good idea.

Sheer magic and this encapsulates ALL that is the thrilling excitement of speedway racing at it's best. The reason why I still go after more than 60 years. Always lusting for a few more like this! If only we could show this on every TV or direct every thill seeking armchair sportista to watch it on YouTube it would help in the trawl for more bums on seats ( or however you perch at your track ) Too old now to get up to the NSS in person but I will be watching on TV whenever possible.

The riders themselves need to be just as involved in finding the answer to drastically falling attendances on the terraces and they have a big role in ensuring that meetings flow smoothly and heats are run crisply without long unneccessary delays, which are one major factor in turning off fans ( if what we read on here and in the SS is true ). They need to be involved via their own association and by team managers and referees. Another 25% of fans going permanently AWOL is going to hit the riders most of all.

Dear Fred Flange ( if you are not FF you may prefer to skip this post as I have been assured the exchange between FF and myself is boring ) So Fred you do occupy a privileged place in the matter of the NSS 2016 debacle. You wrote "I haven't compared the document on facebook to the one I have, I do know that the version I have is the one which formed the basis of the ss article. That is why I was keen to clarify why, according to your post, the ss article was so different." So clearly a third version of this evidence does exist! Rather like versions of the truth! You also wrote " Had the ss article included those three paragraphs then you would have been able to better understand the nature of the agreement and in particular why no rent was demanded or due or, and this is the crucial bit 'no licence fee or service fee during our occupation of the stadium.'" And what seems to tell us clearly is that the SS was very selective in their choice of documents that they possess or chose to print. Smoke and mirrors journalism at it's best. If you could tell me how to get sight of the missing document " a licence agreement to operate monthly" I would happily be bothered to hunt it down and publish on here. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. Sincerely. I don't feel that I need to approach Buster Chapman / the BSPA or MCC as there is clearly a reason why they have not offered comments so far. The revoking of the DG /CM promoting licence says all they need to say . Has DG taken legal action with that decision or is it because he could not prove himself competent in order to refute their decision. As for MCC they also clearly, as indicated by their inaction, believe that they have no case to defend as the onus is on DG / CM to win their legal case against MCC. Only time will tell if I need to pay my bets to the Riders Benevolent Fund and I am happy to wait for the eventual outcome, assuming that DG does not withdraw from his legal actions.

I suspect that we are boring other posters here Fred Flange with what seems to have become exactly what I think is the worst aspect of this forum. Your's is the fixed opinion that I am referring to. You said that you have not even read the SS article ( which seems to want to exonerate DG ). If you have not read it I am surprised that you could even form an opinion on any part of the issue - unless your view is what you "clearly" believe. Or are you DG himself? If you read the document from which the article was supposedly formed ( is that the one on Facebook?) then I can see where your rant over the word "clearly" comes from because very little in that was clear. You may be very close to the inner circle of the ex BV promotion but I have formed my opinion from what I have read about it in the SS and what other posters have said on here. Joined up thinking. Just as you have ( of course without reading the SS article ). We have a here, clearly, a perfect example of polarised points of view over an issue of public interest. You ask for clarification on the "agreement" ( which I did mistakenly refer to as a Monthly Lease to Rent and for which I apologise ) In the SS article ( that you have not yet read ) DG himself calls it - and I quote " It was agreed with MCC that the stadium would be occupied by BVA under a licence agreement that was renewed monthly" From the horses mouth that Fred - perhaps it was missing form the document you read and was popped in to the SS article at the last moment? I have not seen that document " the monthly licence agreement " but I bet another £100 that it includes something very clear about the renumeration MCC expected for granting the licence. If you have a copy of that "monthly licence agreement" please do publish it to satisfy the interested speedway fans nationwide. Or please ask DG or CM or Philip Rising and in the interests of truth it can be brought into the public arena.

The most surprising thing about some posters such as Fred Flange is that THEY clearly KNOW what other posters meant in their posts. Such talented folks should be doing important jobs such as running the country or at least running BV speedway in a professional manner. I clearly know what I meant in that DG apparently defaulted on the month by month agreement he and others made for the use of the NSS in 2016. I clearly meant that this style of business was completely unappreciated by the BSPA and they told him so in the only way they could " your licence as a promoter is revoked". I believe that clearly most people posting on here understand that "polarisation" when referring to opinions means widely varied and probably holding opposite views. Is that "daft" the use of what used to be called "O" level English. The factual points in my posts refer to facts as stated by DG in the SS article ( if they are true ). My credibility is supported by the facts DG offered to the world via the SS. What is daft is holding a fixed opinion on something you have not even read - now that is beyond daft.

Is it my first clearly which annoys you or the subsequent ones?. Lets call them a) & c). As I began with clearly a) how can that be something I made up? There are polarised views within speedway about whose fault this mess is over the use of the NSSS for speedway e.g. Yourself and me FF. I am firmly in the camp that believes DG and CM shot themselves in the foot or should that be feet. In clearly DG did use the NSS to put on speedway matches - a matter of fact and not something I made up. And everyone knows you have to pay rent of some kind unless you own the property. In clearly c) DG himself in the SSS article said he 'lost it" ( he used the words "often confrontational" ) so I did not make that up unless in his way of doing business, when things got "stressful" DG has also become confused about who said what to whom and about what things. DG also said " they (MCC ) lost faith in us and we lost trust in them". Game over at finding a workable compromise I would say. It will be years before the dust is finally settled and I may be dead by then but I am prepared to bet £100 ( to be donated to the Riders Benevolent Fund ) if DG ever receives substantial compensation ( let's call "substantial " more than £1 ).

The BBC definitely does not offer fair, even and unbiased news coverage or sports coverage. I used to believe it does but it has increasingly failed over several issues. The National Press are in the main disinterested because there are so few of us ( supporters ), few clubs & riders ( ludicrous levels of doubling up ) The rules and the way speedway is run make it barely credible and there is almost total disinterest in speedway from from fans of other sports. Sadly that is nearer the truth.

Polarisation is clearly the factor that governs on here wether posters are able to contain themselves to a sensible debate ( where opinions naturally vary enormously ) to a personalised slanging match where rational thought goes out of the window. Clearly DG was liable to be paying something for his use of the NSS ( he did use it to run speedway matches ) and must have known that withholding agreed rent was not going to be accepted either by MCC or the BSPA ( bringing the BSPA into disrepute ). He clearly "lost it" with MCC when his target for litigation should have been ISG and not MCC. Withholding operational payments was never going to solve the problem in the short term. I applaud the BSPA's efforts to get 2017 operational speedway ( and beyond). I remain concerned that as yet we seem nowhere near to having the new promotion confirmed as signing a new lease to make that happen.

My earlier comment was prior to reading the SS. However in that SS copy DG said that the then promotion accepted a monthly Lease to Rent which included clauses and demands they knew they could not manage to cope with. Never a good idea. DG also says they never received an invoice or request for rent - but that must have formed part of the Rental Lease, otherwise there was no contract of any kind. At least DG admitted that they made a number of mistakes and poor decisions which contributed to the collapse of the promotion. All of the long list of other things ( except for turns 3/4 ) are almost irrelevant because any new build property is going to have such a list of minor problems. Why has CM chosen not to stand by the facts DG is putting forward? Does he have another version of what happened? I don't think - on the information that we have before us now - that the DG claim against MCC has any chance of succeeding.

DG/CM have said themselves that they accepted the handing over of the NSS against their own legal advice. That was always going to mean that having signed a contract to accept the stadium as it was at that point, means that you have to accept any defects ( seen or unseen ). You are committed at that point and your money is at risk as the contract proffered from the MCC side was no doubt legally watertight. Yes, walking away would have seemed totally unpalatable but DG /CM but the time to negotiate and tweak any contract is before you sign it. Any later appeal process of any perceived rights for wrongs is a separate and likely lengthy process ( as is now happening we are led to believe ). The law is applied in a formal manner and the moral rights and wrongs do not have much influence over the outcome. We now seem to be in a similar situation re the new promoters negotiating those finer points of who is responsible for what costwise BEFORE they sign up and then become responsible for being responsible for fulfilling the terms of the lease. If that is being done in a businesslike manner we may still see a helpful outcome and racing this season around the NSS track. If a new agreement is not reached there will be no roar of bikes there.