Have Any/many German Gp Tickets Been Sold?

[manchesterpaul]

From my researching with Google it would appear that speedway in Germany receives very, very little mainstream media coverage.

 

I was wondering if we are likely to be presented with swathes of empty seats belittling what should by rights be a great advertisement for the sport.

 

I see some of the tickets are priced at £75. I presume one gets to be a passenger on one of the bikes for that sum of money.

 

I've always reckoned, and this applies to Cardiff and tracks in general, that it is better to make the sport more affordable in comparison to other sports. It is preferable to have a stadium with 25,000 spectators paying £10 a head, than one with 5,000 paying £50.

 

The reason Ice Hockey in Manchester took off in spectacular style at the time of it's debut is that the ticket prices were astonishingly good value for money. You could take the family at very reasonable outlay.

 

It would appear from reading blogs from residents in some GP towns and cities, that very few locals attend. The main reason is often the cost of the tickets in comparison to local wage levels. Most are quite bemused and humourous about the yearly invasion of foreign (mainly polish) visitors.

[iris123]

How much coverage does speedway get in other countries?In Denmark i don't think it gets much,but i doesn't stop Danish speedway from producing top quality riders.Plus the Danish GP is one of the most popular/best attended.Speedway gets coverage in the local regional press and on regional tv.Not as much as clubs/riders/fans would like,maybe.Anyway there is an article with J.Postlethwaite in this months german track mag.He says he is hoping for 20-25,000,there is a contract for 3 years and if the attendance is a success then the contract will be lengthened

 

Just to list this year so far......The indoor meeting in Kiel was on NDR tv.Which can be seen all over Northern Germany at the very least.The Ice speedway semi final in Inzell was on Bayern tv which can be seen throughout the country.We have only had 2 meetings so far this year and both had reports on tv!I would imagine the Ice speedway GP next weekend in Berlin will also be on tv.So that is 3 out of 3.How often is speedway on mainstream tv in Britain?

Edited March 9, 2007 by iris123

[German Speedway Fan]

3.000 Tickets have been sold yet.

[Bavarian]

To be honest - speedway is non existant in Germany's mainstream media coverage.

 

The Tv-coverage iris123 mentions is barely worth watching - just a few glimpses of the bikes and a few shots of the racing in a 2 minute bulletin. When was the last time a speedway meeting has been covered live on any of the main TV stations here in Germany. Sometimes in the early or mid 80's.

 

There was live coverage on a special sports channel (DSF) on satelite TV in the 90's, even some of the Superliga was shown (not live though) but then this station demanded money from the speedway to show the racing !!!! Weird, isn't it ?

 

That was the end of it - ask anyone on the street here in Germany about speedway and I am sure 1 in a hundred, perhaps one in a 1000 does not have a clue ! It is that bad, really - and Gelsenkirchen happens to be in a part of Germany were there is no speedway racing at all - and has not been for decades.

 

It will be just as hard for BSI to attract a decent crowd to the GP auf Schalke, as it would be f.e. in Paris or Dublin or Barcelona - places were there is no speedway in their regions. Of course, Gelsenkirchen is not that remote, so there will be a lot of travelling fans from other parts of Germany and neighbouring countries.

 

If it is a success, BSI can really be proud of their act. I wish them well

[iris123]

Maybe you don't think coverage on tv is worth watching Bavarian,but i think most would disagree.All coverage is helpfull and the coverage i have seen over the past years although we would hope for more is generally better than 2 minutes.For the Kiel meeting there was a 2 part slot.One on the preparation and the next day some of the meeting itself.Last year NDR done a bit on the indoor meeting in Schwerin.I would guess 10 minutes.The other year NDR done a very good couple of slots on the Bergring(some of which i hope to have on youtube soon )plus they did a live report from Brokstedt.What sort of coverage does speedway get in other countries?In Britain,apart from Sky i would imagine it gets similar slots in local tv.In Poland from what was said on here recently speedway is also a local thing and people from towns and cities that don't hold the sport don#t know about it.Anyway i would disagree with your stats.Maybe i am just lucky.Maybe the fact i come into contact with lots of people from Meck-Pomm,but i have met quite a few speedway(ex-speedway generally)fans.Plus others i have talked too not only know about it but know one or two places where there are tracks.Of course it isn't on a level with football,but it isn't anywhere.When i spoke to a woman from a danish tv channel she said tv there is only really interested in football or handball.

 

Anyway if all goes well in the next week i will put a few reports from german tv on youtube

 

 

 

Sound is knackered,but most wouldn't understand anyway

Edited March 9, 2007 by iris123

[manchesterpaul]

iris123

 

Please don't be so defensive. I wasn't criticizing German speedway i used to follow it closely and even had a subscription to Bahnsport Aktuell which was delivered every month.

 

Also, please do post links to any German speedway videos. Many thanks in advance.

Edited March 10, 2007 by manchesterpaul

[manchesterpaul]

To be honest - speedway is non existant in Germany's mainstream media coverage.

 

That's exactly what i had found in my research on the matter.

 

 

The Tv-coverage iris123 mentions is barely worth watching - just a few glimpses of the bikes and a few shots of the racing in a 2 minute bulletin. When was the last time a speedway meeting has been covered live on any of the main TV stations here in Germany. Sometimes in the early or mid 80's.

 

....ask anyone on the street here in Germany about speedway and I am sure 1 in a hundred, perhaps one in a 1000 does not have a clue ! It is that bad, really - and Gelsenkirchen happens to be in a part of Germany were there is no speedway racing at all - and has not been for decades.

 

It will be just as hard for BSI to attract a decent crowd to the GP auf Schalke, as it would be f.e. in Paris or Dublin or Barcelona - places were there is no speedway in their regions. Of course, Gelsenkirchen is not that remote, so there will be a lot of travelling fans from other parts of Germany and neighbouring countries.

 

If it is a success, BSI can really be proud of their act. I wish them well 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

All the above is what i had presumed to be the reality of the situation.

 

I do hope it's possible to get more than 25,000 in such a big stadium. Deserted stands never convey a good impression.

 

Two things that may work in favour are, as you state, the location and transport facilities of Gelsenkirchen itself, and also the 'novelty' factor of the sport. I'm sure a lot of people will go to see the event out of curiosity or just seeking something different for a change. And as it's being staged within a large population area it should help to add a few more spectators.

Edited March 10, 2007 by manchesterpaul

[iris123]

iris123

 

Please don't be so defensive. I wasn't criticizing German speedway i used to follow it closely and even had a subscription to Bahnsport Aktuell which was delivered every month.

 

Also, please do post links to any German speedway videos. Many thanks in advance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am just trying to tell it how it is.Or at least the way i see it.I have no reason to try and be defensive.I am not german and nor am i a fan of the GP series.Like i said it would be nice to have more and better coverage.But ask fans in most countries and they would say the same.The trouble is with german speedway,every year is practically the same as the year before.I think if criticism was to be aimed anywhere it should be aimed at speedway rather than the media.I think it is easier to have a good relationship with the media when you have a meeting every week or every two weeks.Here with only 1,2,or 3 meetings a year at each track it is harder.Plus like i say i may be lucky but i have worked with a guy from Teterow,who went regularly,a guy from Stralsund who used to go,plus i work with a woman who used to go to Brokstedt and went on a mini-bus to Norden to see Egon Müller.Also a few others who knew what speedway is and where some of the tracks are.That is my experience.Bavarian comes from a different part of the country and comes into contact with different people,so he tells it the way he finds it

 

I am off to Assen now,so won't be able to join in any further debate this weekend

Edited March 10, 2007 by iris123

[shady]

The media in Denamrk dedicate far more space to speedway than the uk!

[SCB]

Something BSI should consider for Germany and Cardiff where they'll have loads of seats is selling them cheap to the locals.

 

BSI know now they will have 20,000 spare seats at Cardiff, they should send letters to every home within a 10-20 mile radius of Cardiff offering cheap tickets, £5-10 each. They just need to see proof that the person buying the tickets (and entering the stadium with the ticket) actually lives at the house the offer was sent to, just a utility bill and a passport/driving licence/other photo ID.

 

That way the stadium is full so looks good for sponsors, TV etc, them local hopefully get hooked and go to more GP's including next years staging at the full price.

 

BSI don't lose out as them seats woudl be empty anyway and while undoubtly some speedway fans would save (a lot of Newport Speedway fans for example) but it shuold be more than cancelled out by all the extras. Plus if they don't send the offer letter out until May time, most speedwya fans have their tickets anyway.