British Speedway Crowds

[Lejon]

Being a Swedish speedway supporter and not finding any attendance figures is quite frustrating.

As i have understand it the crowd figures were reported in the first years after the war.I´ve got a couple of the Stenners so i can find out how fantastic it must have been.

Later on I´ve got information about certain clubs certain seasons or matches.But is there any records or can you give me any examples of past years crowd figures.

 

How is it today? in the PL,EL or CL league? Is it the same trend as in Sweden with figures going up every season?

 

I would be happy for any reply!

 

Lejon

[shazzybird]

Would of thought it all comes down to the tax man if they give an accurate figure then there's a humongous tax bill by the end of the season. Some tracks do give out attendance figures but too be honest probably a lot lower than are actually there.

 

I was at Iwade on Sunday and throughout the season they averaged 80!!!! yes just 80 per meeting................. this season we hope to double that ok so it only makes 160 but it's a start and if everyone pitches in with Steve, Graham & Sheeeeeeeeeep's ideas it could work.

 

I must add though it is an excellent afternoon out and everyone is more than welcome to join us.

Edited March 1, 2005 by shazzybird

[Khabiboulin]

I find it very annoying that attendences aren't published as well. Needless to say they're on the decline though.

I asked Jon Cook what Eastbourne's average was and he said it was about 1000. Not great for one of the biggest clubs in the country

[rabbit]

Well I guess Poole are luckier than most with crowds. Reckon we get on average approx 2000 with the larger meetings like the play-offs etc getting 4-5,000 maybe. Certain teams as opposition in the summer months do attract huge attendances down here - around 3,000 possibly.

 

I know that the figures mentioned in the press are a little on the generous side for sure.

 

Having said that, before M&M took over in '99 we were down to under 1,000. Not that I can remember...even I stopped in 1998 we were so bad!! Part -time supporters...shocking!

[Dave67]

Well I guess Poole are luckier than most with crowds. Reckon we get on average approx 2000 with the larger meetings like the play-offs etc getting 4-5,000 maybe. Certain teams as opposition in the summer months do attract huge attendances down here - around 3,000 possibly.

 

I know that the figures mentioned in the press are a little on the generous side for sure.

 

Having said that, before M&M took over in '99 we were down to under 1,000. Not that I can remember...even I stopped in 1998 we were so bad!!  Part -time supporters...shocking!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Pooh Pirates Crap You will be dragged throught the streest tied to the back of a horse & publiclly flogged for daring to utter such herasay you vile meloderous creature..................

[SCB]

I seem to remember back in the early 90's attendance figures were quoted in the Speedway Star. Also, in the early 00's (how do you say that?) Oxford publiched figures on their website.

 

Generally speaking, I think crowds are dropping, despite promoters saying that te sport is getting bigger. They're always trying to cut costs, if the sport is getting bigger why cut costs?

 

In Newports case (Premier League, 2nd division), our promoter used to claim we had 2000+ fans, that was back in our first 3 years 1997-1999) but last season, during a meeting that was held up for rain vs Reading, I counted 300 people but that was low. Other times when I was bored I counted anything between 350 and 500. So Newports average attendance is about 450 but thats a fans estimate/rough count. Newport is now one of the poorer supported clubs.

 

Berwick quoted a few figures in the Speedway Star at the end of last season, I can't remember the exact figures so I might be wrong, they said there average attendance was less than 400 and once had a crowd of less than 250.

[Lejon]

I thank you for your details on the clubs you mentioned.

But if any have more information about other clubs in the EL/PL/CL i would be more than happy.

At my "hometrack" 115 km from home the crowds for Lejonen in the Swedich "PL" gets crowds between 296 to 697 with an average of about 500 a match.

[shazzybird]

Blimey Lejon thats worse than my home track mileage Kev Hammonds has loads of mileage as well for his home track, although he WILL be converted to travelling to sunny (but bloody cold) Iwade this season

[paulboy]

Would of thought it all comes down to the tax man  if they give an accurate figure then there's a humongous tax bill by the end of the season.  Some tracks do give out attendance figures but too be honest probably a lot lower than are actually there. 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Crikey Shazzybird you've just accused speedway promoters of tax evasion, a criminal offence (with imprisonment as a potential penalty). Are you really allowed to say such things?

[Khabiboulin]

Also, in the early 00's (how do you say that?) Oxford publiched figures on their website.

 

Yeah, Steve Purchase used to publish the Oxford attendances.

[arnieg]

Long Eaton published their crowds in the programme for a couple of years in the mid ninties - average figure was 8-900 which I would say was accurate (John Turner wasn't the kind of promoter to diddle the taxman)

 

Coincidentially I'm currently reading the history of Ipswich speedway (Barber & Feakes) which quotes crowds in 1954 of:

 

19,029 v Glasgow White City

and

19,184 v Norwich

 

and this was a division 2 track at a time of decline in speedway!

[rabbit]

Don't necessarily think it's always just to do with the taxman. If Poole are anything to go by, their rent for the stadium apparently increases if they go over a certain crowd number...strange but true. So on the one hand, they've said that when the local paper says they've had say 4,000+ through the gate (the local reporter's take a figure, double it, take off the last figure you thought of type calculation) it's great for potential sponsors and the prestige of the club to have that number mentioned (especially if it's more than AFC Bournemouth's crowd!)..but then they have to convince the landlords that actually it wasn't quite that high in reality... What the actual figure is - who knows?!

[Trees]

00's (how do you say that?)

Naughties?

 

As far as crowd figures go most EL promos say they need approx 1300 fans to break even so I guess they get that as they keep coming back for more

[norbold]

Long Eaton published their crowds in the programme for a couple of years in the mid ninties - average figure was 8-900 which I would say was accurate (John Turner wasn't the kind of promoter to diddle the taxman)

 

Coincidentially I'm currently reading the history of Ipswich speedway (Barber & Feakes) which quotes crowds in 1954 of:

 

19,029 v Glasgow White City

and

19,184 v Norwich

 

and this was a division 2 track at a time of decline in speedway!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yes, that's an interesting point, arnie. Speedway was in serious decline in the mid 50s. From three divisions plus open tracks in the late 40s down to just one league of ten teams plus Yarmouth in the Junior League in 1958 (speedway's worst year for numbers of tracks operating) and yet attendances were much higher than now. It makes you wonder why tracks couldn't keep going then but can now with much lower attendances. Was it all down to Entertainment Tax?

[Ian]

It makes you wonder why tracks couldn't keep going then but can now with much lower attendances. Was it all down to Entertainment Tax?

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I think there may be a very simple answer to this, Norbold.

 

In 1962, when I started watching speedway, the adult admission price at Edinburgh was 2/6d (12.5p in that new money which seems to be catching on). Today you'd be lucky to get away with less than a tenner.

 

Now for a feat of memory. I think that the national average wage in 1962 was around £18 per week. In other words, the average punter's gross wage equated to about 144 speedway admissions.

 

Todat the average wage is something in the order of £450 per week, equating to about 45 speedway admissions.

 

The figures above are rule of thumb, but it's safe to say that in terms relative to income speedway today is three times as expensive as it was 40 years ago. If you add to that the fact that people today have far more commitments than they ever had before (credit cards, mortgages etc) them you might just conclude that speedway is too expensive for a lot of people.

 

Before any of the usual suspects start posting drivel about promoters bleeding the fans dry, I doubt whether much money is made in speedway promotion nowadays. Simply, if a track breaks even, and its crowd drops by 25%, then the cost to be borne by the remaining fans will rise in proportion.

 

Here's the question though. If by some economic miracle admission prices were to drop to a third of their present level (ie go back to 1960's levels in real terms) would crowds rise threefold? Assuming the average attendance at tracks to be in the order of 1000, would the average crowd at British matches scale the dizzy heights of 3000? Personally I doubt it. There are too many other factors competing for people's leisure money and leisure time. For example, if one night out at the speedway for a family of four costs about the same as a month's subscription to Sky TV, I reckon you've got to be a pretty dyed-in-the-wool fan to choose speedway.

 

What do others think?

[norbold]

Yes, I'm sure that's all very true, Ian, but I don't think it answers the question I was answering. The point I was making was why were tracks being forced to close when their attendences were well in excess of 5000 and yet today we have tracks open with attendances in the hundreds? Why did 1950s tracks need so many customers to remain open?

[shazzybird]

Crikey Shazzybird you've just accused speedway promoters of tax evasion, a criminal offence (with imprisonment as a potential penalty). Are you really allowed to say such things?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

(looks for innocent smilie) Yep

[paulboy]

Crikey Shazzybird you've just accused speedway promoters of tax evasion, a criminal offence (with imprisonment as a potential penalty). Are you really allowed to say such things?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

(looks for innocent smilie) Yep

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Good, you've put my mind at rest

[Onceadon]

I find it hard to appreciate how clubs keep going with the sort of spectator numbers that are being quoted here and, to be honest, I have little reason to doubt them.

 

I tried to count attendance figures when I have been to matches (very approximate I must admit) and at Berwick against Stoke last year there could not have been more than 400, and it was probably closer to 300. Workington v King's Lynn at the end of the season was nearer 900-1,000.

 

SCB, perhaps you can enlighten me how a club can keep going on gates of 400 a week, because I can't believe that they manage to. What amazes me all the more is that new clubs are opening up or potentially opening, such as Scunthorpe, Middlesborough, Long Eaton & Halifax.

 

Why don't the promotions set fire to £20,000 and be done with it ?

[Deano]

They're always trying to cut costs, if the sport is getting bigger why cut costs?

 

Because increases in revenue always result in an increase in costs. If you lose control of costs...you go bust. Also reductions in revenue result in your costs proportional to your revenue increasing. So either way you must constantly find ways of reducing costs.