ABS

Was there on Friday watching the Aces and have to confess that I like my visits to Lakeside. It would be great for the sport if, as part of the deal (if there is a deal), Lakeside carried on with a new up-to-date stadium which was marketed well. Before the meeting I spent some time at the Lakeside shops and didn't see any evidence of a speedway meeting that evening being marketed. Lakeside, like Belle Vue, has a large catchment area and both should be getting better crowds than they do.

And history does often repeat itself. With the new stadium and more control of income streams, the phoenix could well rise again.

Just like our old days at MGS!!!

Oh dear - Can't see Aces getting much out of this

Does anyone have any ideas as to who the guest riders are tomorrow? You get more coming out of a Masonic Lodge meeting than you do from either the Lakeside or Belle Vue web sites.

And a quick mention for the much maligned GRA, who honoured their word from last week and made parking available free of charge on production of last weeks ticket.

Don't think Zagar "let" HArris through. Fine ride by Bomber - give credit where it's due.

No co-ordination at all. They were still letting people in to the Car Park after the meeting had been called off. As I objected to paying £2.50 for one minutes parking, I complained. The Showsec employee went to speak to someone from the "GRA Management" and I was told that I could obtain free parking on Monday if I retained my parking ticket and bring it with me, which I will do. Some people were asking me what to do with their admission ticket and hopefully I provided the correct advice. Really feel sorry for the Wolves fans. Rain-offs sadly are part and parcel of the sport, but this one could and should have been called earlier. One more nail in th ecoffin, I'm afraid to say

If Bjarne is the answer, then it's a stupid question.

But where would that leave the likes of Zagar and Vaculik who probably reside at home, where there are weak to non-existent leagues?

Perhaps these are the key words: "I won’t be able to promote speedway in the Elite League or Premier League at Perry Barr next season." Does this leave the door open to Cradley at National League level, I wonder?

I did and no - not a clue!!

Yep, we should leave it all up to Labour, the masters of knowing what's best for us.

Excellent idea - so most probably won't happen. Boris has announced today that he's going to stand for parliament in 2015, so maybe the London slant might not be appropriate, but certainly a good idea to invite someone often pictured on two wheels along to our showcase event.

Now all we need is a team!!!

Used to enjoy watching Bobby Ott & Frede Schott for Belle Vue and used to hate Sam Ermolenko and Ronnie Corrie for the Wolves in heat 15 at Belle Vue - invariably it ended in a 1-5 and a loss for BV

I'd hazard a guess at Scott

He's still the same at Belle Vue.

Many of us pointed out along the way that all that the continuous dilution of the product through reduced points limits was going to achieve was fans voting with their feet. I still go to Belle Vue every Monday, but there are many people who I'd see around who no longer attend. If speedway cannot keep its' fan base, how do the Promoters think we're going to attract new people to our tracks, given the fare on offer? Pick up an Elite Programme from 15 years ago and compare the relative strengths of teams to what we have today and then look at the cost of attendance. Does what we have today for roughly 15 minutes of action represent value for money in comparison to what we once had? I think not. It's hard to compare the UK with Sweden, as many of the tracks come under the Local Community and clubs there will pay a lot less than we do at BV and B'Ham in terms of rent. But our so-called Elite League is a pale shadow of what is used to be and certainly a pale shadow of what constitutes the Elite League in Sweden. We have to somehow look to enhance our product offering and I think that can only be achieved through a major cash injection through corporate sponsorship of our leagues. How one goes about achieving this is something that the BSPA should focus their minds on, otherwise the downward spiral will only continue.

Small steps, but progress is being made. Like many other Aces fans, I have left my comments with the council and would urge all speedway supporters who would like the stadium to see the light of day to do the same. National Speedway Stadium and Academy. We will seek planning permission for a brand-new 6,000-capacity stadium, including a 1,800-seater grandstand, with built-in noise-reduction measures, built to elite-league standard. The Belle Vue Aces (BVA) will use it as they continue their long-standing commitment to the area by establishing a Speedway Academy, coaching young children to adults. Manchester College students will work with BVA on mechanical and engineering training around speedway racing. You can comment on the plans at the below link to the council's website: https://secure.manchester.gov.uk/for...lage_proposals

Their biggest mistake was giving out (unrealistic) dates in the first place. When something, such as this project, is so much out of your influence, let alone control, the last thing you do is set expectation levels that haven't got a prayer of being met, which is what Gordon and Morton did. What they should have done, like any successful business person would, is to set low expectation levels and look to better them. Sadly, this doesn't appear to have been their strategy and as a consequence they have been on the back foot ever since.

Only problem was the audio. Picture was very clear and Wolves -6 was a steal

Ah the good old days of "Rolling" Reg Wilson and Doug "Flyer" Wyer are long gone.

Would love to know Mort's definition of "just ahead of". It implies a degree of immediacy, but the history of this project would suggest otherwise.

I've kept my receipt just in case. I believe that there are two discrete companies for the current operation and the stadium, so I would hope that the brick money is held by the company for the stadium.