uk_martin

I wonder sometimes why speedway only seems to attract an audience from the lowest social strata. It's hard to grasp why 600-700 people will "struggle" to afford an evening's entertainment where the admission is under £20, when a night at a music concert at a 10,000 capacity venue can easily sell out despite tickets being 5 or 6 times the price. That tells me that there are plenty of people with money in their pockets. So why can't speedway attract them? And to those who say that you get 2 whole hours entertainment for your money for your concert admission compared to 15 minutes for your speedway admission, I'm reminded of the day that 25,000 people paid over £50 each to see Usain Bolt for 10 seconds at Perry Barr's "other" stadium. People have money. Speedway just has to find out how to attract the people who have it.

Sebastian Ulamek II by the sounds of it.

What a commentary on the state of British Speedway...the recycle bin for the rest of the world's rubbish.

That's put to bed the rumours going around that the Brummies were going to revert to their 1977 configuration of two guests and rider replacement to cover the top 3 places in the team, then.

Nobody's suggested Brent Werner yet....

There you go then.... one down, two to go. So, how about Shawn McConnell as the second of the three? Still entertaining the crowds in the USA and a firm favourite of the fans of a certain generation.

Has Ludvig Lindgren completely retired from racing? If not, let's start a rumour...

I wonder how many visits to Manchester one of his main sponsors - Jörg Grohmann - (& his "trophy wife" - Maren Schütt) will make, and will they attract the Eurosport cameras as much in the stands of Belle Vue as they do on the SGP circuit iainb would be most upset

Great News! According to the Birmingham Speedway web site, the Birmingham Bulls will be competing again this year. No mention though of which riders will be in the team though.

I wonder if Nigel Pearson will be reading this...

They stand no chance of fulfilling that desire. If it's set at £15 people will say it's only worth £10. If it's set at £10, people will complain that it isn't worth more than £5. A no-win situation. I think that they are hoping to create a core of viewers who will subscribe to all the meetings being shown and making their money that way, rather than hoping that 10 or 12 people will be interested enough in an away meeting that they will pay-as-they-go. How does this postcode recognition work? Do people who are within a given distance get charged the same price for the stream as they would at the gate to deter the lazy stay-at-homes, and those from a distance away get it cheaper? What technology prevents illegal rebroadcasts per what happens with Polish & Swedish TV streams?

Assuming that your team getting hammered at an away track proves an attractive proposition to a newcomer...??? Only time will tell...fingers crossed it works.

It could be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing...I'm not sure. Anyone remember the Bet365 streaming service from a couple of years ago? That didn't last long did it? I assume this one will be paid for on a pay-per-view basis? So where does the money go? Is there a BSPZzz oligarch who will be trousering 40% of revenues again, like with the Sky Sports deal, or is this genuinely for the benefit of the Championship clubs and they will get a fair share of the revenue? Questions need answering. And how long before the "usual suspects" on BSF start distributing the links to the streams like what happens with Polish and Swedish speedway matches, meaning that all the "genuine fans" belonging to BSF will opt for the "free" links rather than spending their money on the subscriptions that will fund the sport? Suppose for a minute, someone decides to subscribe to a meeting...and invites a gang of his mates around to have a "watch the speedway party"...bring your own food and booze, etc...how will that one subscription compensate for a whole gaggle of people who now won't be paying their admission on the door because they can watch the racing on TV, and not have to pay stadium prices on food and drink, and of course they can download their own race cards off BSF too, so they won't need a/several programmes?

Do you know how much that TV money is? In fact, is there any TV money at all? The last I heard, speedway in the UK is lucky to have any TV coverage at all, let alone get paid for it.

So the BIG question will be... which team will be the first to announce who it's 7 riders are? The Coventry Bees or the Birmingham Brummies?

Are you kidding? SS doing "investigative" journalism??? Yeah, but who? And how did their lives / careers improve as a result? And why the past tense? Is there nobody left on the scheme now?

Update: I walked past this morning, but couldn't get close enough to have a proper look due to the Heras Fencing that surrounds the stadium, due to the road works in the area. From what I could see though is that the safety fence has been disassembled, but the shale on the track looks exactly the same as it did at the end of last season. Maybe someone who's going there today to buy their season ticket (on sale between 10am and 1pm) can let us know?

It's been a fair few years since Poultec started their speedway apprenticeship programme. Can anyone list out the riders who have benefited from it, and which new faces to the sport have been introduced by way of this scheme, that may otherwise not have become speedway riders?

Dunno, will have a look tomorrow. One thing that's progressing very nicely though are the roadworks around the stadium. You can come off the A34 Walsall Road, and swing a right straight into the One Shop Stopping Centre car park now, rather than having to go all the way to the Crown & Cushion roundabout, do a 180 and come back on yourself to gain access the old way. That'll be a major improvement in convenience. You never know, this fact may feature in a new web page on the Brummies site, to give the fans some more good news whilst they are kept waiting for news of more signings.

You can buy the beers in

Great news... The Brummies web site has a new page with a profound quote from Paco Castagna on it... ...should fill in the gap and keep people happy until another signing is announced.

As Fantasy #1's is the order of the day, how about giving Philip Hellström Bängs a spin?

A reaction to the robbery that took place at the stadium entrance a few years ago, maybe?

Obviously a reaction to the BSF Predictions thread that seems to unanimously foresee doom and gloom for the Brummies...and timed to placate fears in advance of the sale of season tickets. What else would you have expected?

Does one of them include "know your market"? Which includes doing research into what people want, what they expect, etc etc? Ever seen a speedway promotion doing market research? And, no, not of the existing fan base, but of people who aren't fans? Finding out what it will take to convert a passer-by into an attendee? Surely to grow the fan base, that's an essential first step. After that, mould the product to what the public are prepared to buy into, and NOT just regurgitate the same product that was offered up in the 1970's on a take it or leave it basis.