MattB

https://twitter.com/eastbournespeed/status/1428263872197238785?s=19

They could all live in the stadium car park. If they're paying riders beyond their means, then it's the same outcome.

Absolutely. It really does feel as though the promoters thought the sport could just pick up where it left off at the end of 2019. Typical short-sightedness

BIRMINGHAM co-owner David Mason has warned next Wednesday’s Perry Barr clash is make-or-break for the future of the club. Mason has revealed the club are on the brink after a series of shocking attendances since the relaunch of the sport in May. They have been suffering heavy financial losses and if fans don’t return in bigger numbers it will spell the end of the club unless any financial help comes forward. He said: “If the fans don’t turn out next Wednesday, we may have to shut the doors! “The restrictions have dramatically effected the finances of the business and we are losing significant amounts money every time we open our doors. “Next Wednesday is one last chance for the people of Birmingham and surrounding areas to show they want speedway at Perry Barr. “Kent include the legendary Scott Nicholls and there are suggestions of a new signing heading their way too. “We thank our hardcore supporters who have turned out every week to support the club but we need you to get behind us and even if that means bringing relatives or friends next week. “My focus will be more on whether we can sustain this business rather than the performance of the team which is very good. We now have cash admission on the night back for fans and there really is no excuse from here.”

Good to see some progress being made at Cowley, though still a lot of work to do. It doesn't look in too bad a state considering it's not been used for ten years. Arguably looks in a better state than Brandon, though Oxford seems to have avoided the arsonists. https://twitter.com/OxfordSpeedway?s=09

Does anybody in this sport know what the hell they're doing?!

Less said about the rest of them the better. Too many heads dropped for my liking

Some great racing, but Peterborough have had far too solid all the way through. We've been poor apart from Becker and Douglas.

Birmingham have now put their season on hold until July 1st. They won't be the first, and I expect Wolves to follow suit shortly.

You have to take into account fans in the lower bar and restaurant as well. I believe the figure is around 780 that can be allowed in

Suspect that may be CVS's intention to try and put pressure on the council. He's right too. We cannot run on the crowds we have for much longer.

Worrying, but hardly surprising. WOLVERHAMPTON owner Chris Van Straaten has revealed how the club are suffering ‘severe losses’ operating under strict reduced audience numbers. Van Straaten says it’s vital the roadmap remains on course for social distancing to be reduced or ruled out completely in order for the club to continue racing. Parrys International Wolves are next at home on June 21, the day step four of the roadmap out of lockdown is due to begin. Van Straaten warned: “It’s a dire situation for us, we are suffering severe losses every time we stage a home meeting because we simply cannot get any more supporters in due to the restrictions. “It’s vital for us that Boris Johnson stays firm and sticks to the relaxing of social distancing to enable us to get more people on the terraces in the open air. “We cannot be the only business struggling due to these restrictions which we have to adhere to after working with Wolverhampton City Council officials to get us reopened after 20 months. “We’ve stuck to the book and done everything properly and I understand some fans have been frustrated, particularly in the warm weather. We’ve had every space taken on the terraces so people who have indoor tickets couldn’t leave indoors and go outside, but they are the rules and I understand the frustration. “We are not trying to belittle the awful consequences of the covid virus which has affected so many people. “I believe the vaccination rollout has been a massive success and that’s one box ticked, along with the fact that hospitalisations and death figures remain relatively low. “The vast majority of adults have now had at least one vaccine and we have to unlock to allow the economy to recover. “I would be heartbroken if Wolverhampton Speedway became one of those businesses to close down as a consequence of ongoing restrictions – but that is a possibility I cannot rule out at this stage because we simply cannot continue to sustain losses.” Wolves head to Peterborough on Monday, the day of the announcement regarding June 21 and how much further lockdown will be eased.

Believe its new shale that has been put down this season which was churned up by the rain. I think they gambled that it would be OK, but it backfired badly. Given the restrictions on crowd levels, I would say the promoters are anxious about the June 21st opening being pushed back. There's a real risk of clubs not completing the season if Johnson moves the goalposts again. Last night was the last thing Wolves needed

I work over in Birmingham and I was convinced when I finished at 5 that I would find out the meeting was going to off, so was astonished when I arrived at Monmore to find brilliant sunshine. Nice to catch up with people I hadn't seen in almost 18 months, but such a shame that they couldn't get through it. In truth the track looked horrendous when I got there, and even after a hour of work it looked no better. Gutted for CVS, who sounded absolutely crestfallen when he made the announcement, but with the benefit of hindsight, calling it off before would have been the sensible option.

I've been to loads of meetings where the advertised start time is 7.30, yet at 7.35 they've only just started to wheel the bikes out for the parade. I think there has been some improvement in recent years in terms of getting meetings run to time without messing about, but it's not always down to the promoters. As most of them rent the stadium, they're landlords want delays because they want them to spend money in the bars and burger vans.

Yes. I said I was uncomfortable with it on another and got told to grow up

Looks like they've deleted it from twitter and Facebook now.

A poor idea which has been badly put together

Yes. It's why I say self interest won at the end of the day. The riders saw pound signs and the promoters did not stand up to them. While clearly a portion of the money had to go to the riders, part should have been set aside to lay some foundations in place for long term reward. So many other sports reaped the benefits of TV money because they had vision over a 5-10 year period. Speedway was happy to hop on the gravy train until the novelty (and the cash) ran dry.

We do. And it's fantastic. But it's a case of slamming the stable door shut after the horse has bolted. I've watched some meetings from that 1999-2000 period over the last year. The buzz and the atmosphere around the sport then was huge. Big crowds, terrific action. It was a perfect base on which the sport could have kicked on. A bit of vision and joined up thinking by the promoters? Nope, just go for the quick fix and short term boom.

The biggest missed opportunity British Speedway had was when Sky got involved in 1999. They had the perfect opportunity to put together a proper business plan to invest the money into a proper structure to give it a solid foundation to build on and take the sport forward. But sadly, self interest got in the way.

I can't escape the feeling that a portion of this is driven by jealousy of what the IOW have been doing in terms of promoting "outside the box" as it were.

Definitely at Dudley Wood. We used to call the 3rd bend at Cradley "Sam's Bend", he used to come off there that often.

Am a big fan of Tom Bacon. Very professional and immaculate in the way he presents himself, his setup , and how he talks to people - definitely a CVS type of rider. That said, I would say his chance of kicking on to a higher level has probably passed now.

All well and good, as long as they don't go down the "rip it up and start again" route at the first moment someone moans about it not suiting they're club.