cityrebel

All promoters must have a nervous disposition!

I knew Dave for donkeys years. I first met him on the TeeMill tours in the early 1980's. Apart from speedway he was a massive Wolves football fan and one of the top ground hoppers in the country. He'd seen both sports all over the world. He was a larger than life character and a bit of a wide boy, but i liked him a lot.

It wasn't much better when BMR took over. It was like watching speedway in a building site. I attended the last ever amateur meeting at Rye in December 2019. I was shocked to see the grandstand partly demolished.

What else is there?

Eastbourne had 3k for stock cars last weekend. It would take at least 4 speedway meetings to match that attendance. It's easy money compared to running the bikes.

Eastbourne and Kent are about 45 miles each way for me. Living close to the M25 helps.

It might be a heat of the moment statement, but who can blame him. There is no money in this game.

I would expect the rest to follow. How can the away wages be paid with no income. Fingers crossed for a lottery winner, with a few quid to spare!

Absolutely, I'm an Arlington regular!

Riders or fans!

Is there no one overseeing the promoters and making sure they play by the financial rules. They seem more concerned with Connor Coles riding on the IOW. Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

I can't comment on the food, because I've not bought it once in over 100 visits to Central Park. The announcer is a newbie, last night was only his 2nd meeting. He reminds me of Derek Jacobs on radio 2!

The crowds are certainly not better. My first British final at West Ham in 1970 pulled in over 20,000 punters on a Tuesday night. How times have changed.

It was, i went to the meeting.

I think that post was meant as a joke. It just sailed over your head!

The break even figure in 2019 was around the 900 mark.

The crowds at Arlington have crashed post lockdown. I would imagine apart from the first 2 meetings, they are probably 300 down. If you multiply this x £18, it's a small fortune to lose on a weekly basis. Add on the payments for away meetings and it's easy to see that the sums don't add up.

The promoters went into this season blind, with no idea on what their crowd levels would be. It's a recipe for disaster, setting a budget for the unknown!

The majority of clubs can't afford to pay 'full time' riders anymore. Soon there won't be a shortage of riders, they'll be a shortage of tracks.

They'll have to get a job, like riders used to do, in the good old days.

I know I'm in the minority, but i support all of my local tracks, regardless of what level they race at. I've also been to amateur meetings this season at Lydd, Iwade and the Isle of Wight. I realise this does not appeal to majority of fans.

The Arlington fanbase being spread far an wide doesent help, neither does the stadiums rural location. Tickets for this Saturdays meeting are still on sale, so i presume it will run.

Yes they do.

Keep an eye on eBay, they turn up from time to time.

Merlin couldn't reinvent this sport!