Comets In Trouble

[Ray Stadia]

Well lets say you own the Comets. You bought the licence from Tony Mole and arranged the lease with the Stadium. Plus sorted dozens of things like insurance, track prep, maintenance - that all costs money every week. Lets say you run a very successful business locally, like Denham. Would you not then expect to roll up at Derwent Park (with 3k in your back pocket, of your own money, to pay for other peoples Speedway enjoyment) this Saturday expecting to call the shots and make sound business decisions based on what you did in other walks of life? I bet you would.

 

Thing is, any Speedway promotor/owner has to get rid of people/make tough decisions in the course of any season. Invarablely, some of those will have mates who are loyal fans, and, armed with a PC, and access to the BSF, all of a sudden that decision is magnified and blown out of all proportion. Throw in a defeat or two, and a rain-off, and all of a sudden that saviour of Workington Speedway (for example) is the subject of the most severe bile spilled out on here.

 

I am not saying Denham is perfect, he` human like the rest of us, and who is ever going to please all 1,000 fans every week at any given track, but he has put his money up front to buy the Comets and funds it (increasingly out of his own pocket the last three years), so, yes , its entirely reasonable for him to call the shots and run HIS business as he wants - or, `my way or the highway` as you say.

 

And it isn't right that a promoter has to subsidise the 'show' with his own money. One way forward, I believe, to help get speedway back on it's feet is for riders to be paid based on what is left in the pot, after all other costs have been paid. Therefore, they ride on a commission only basis. Yes riders will leave and say not for me. If the situation is properly discussed with riders before the start of next year, that will allow the promoter to decide one of three things, pack up, drop down to NL or stay where they are. If the promoter wishes to stay in business, but sees his riders leaving, then perhaps he could have a year out of league racing and rebuild his team on challenge matches and individual meetings and re-enter the following season at whatever level he is able. The responsibility for the running of speedway should not just rest on the promoters shoulders, the riders should take some of the responsibility too. This way, you may see riders helping the promoter promote speedway in the local community, as they have a vested interest. The benefit to the fans, is in time, perhaps entry fees can be reduced. In addition, the 'powers that be' find ways of reducing costs for the riders, such as tuning limitations.

[ciderman]

no further news on wether or not we are running on Saturday doesn't bode well, to announce its possible closure and then nothing else to follow is not fair on the supporters. even a message to say a full statements will be released on such a date would be better than nothing

 

no further news on wether or not we are running on Saturday doesn't bode well, to announce its possible closure and then nothing else to follow is not fair on the supporters. even a message to say a full statements will be released on such a date would be better than nothing

[topaz325]

He doesn't seem to have run HIS speedway business very well compared to his other Companies,if that is the case.

 

Run under the constraints of Speedway, ie unable to account for the number of people attending, rising costs.

 

Away from Speedway, able to be more competitive and raise costs just like other companies have to in the economic climate.

[Fromafar]

Run under the constraints of Speedway, ie unable to account for the number of people attending, rising costs.

 

Away from Speedway, able to be more competitive and raise costs just like other companies have to in the economic climate.

True,but the Promoters really have to work with each other rather than trying to "put one over" each other and suffering the consequencies.Edinburgh & Glasgow both claim big losses when winning league, was the reason the wage bill was too big for the number of fans coming through the turnstiles or value for money regarding the sport .I would suggest it was a bit of both and Speedway needs a radical revamp as some previous posters have stated.NO fan wants to see a Track close . Edited September 19, 2012 by Fromafar

[scaramanga]

theres a story on bspa website kyle howarth back in team on saturday so lets hope thats good news for rest of season and we will take next year as it comes

[Taylorj]

.

 

 

Can't see it been Newcastle as the last time we were there you vowed to never set in the place again your words I know I have said it before but I really mean this time I will never set foot in this place again ..

Tongue in cheek joke with Drac, I wouldn't follow Newcastle, not sure what your point is though !!

Edited September 19, 2012 by davidj

[carlisle_comet]

Like him or not if you want speedway to continue in Cumbria you must turn up and show ur support on Saturday, show Keith that it's worth keeping it open, it's the only way....

 

 

[scaramanga]

i think more important thing is to show all interested partys its woth taking over i really think keiths had enough

i will be there if its on as always

ive only missed 2 or 3 meetings a year and thats when im away

as long as it runs and i can budget for going or i find i no longer enjoy going i will be there whoever is in charge its the action on the track that makes me go week in week out

[moxey63]

As in normal life, a speedway club’s existence is only temporary. No sooner is one born; it precariously edges toward the doors of death, the exhilaration of a newborn gradually stumbling into the frailties of an old age pensioner.

Many suffer life-threatening ailments along their way; some find a miracle cure and live on. In the end, alongside the few diehards that remain, many terraces feel the chilling presence of the grim reaper.

Our thoughts are with Workington right now.

[Taylorj]

As in normal life, a speedway club’s existence is only temporary. No sooner is one born; it precariously edges toward the doors of death, the exhilaration of a newborn gradually stumbling into the frailties of an old age pensioner.

Many suffer life-threatening ailments along their way; some find a miracle cure and live on. In the end, alongside the few diehards that remain, many terraces feel the chilling presence of the grim reaper.

Our thoughts are with Workington right now.

Thanks for that , cheered me up no end

[topaz325]

i think more important thing is to show all interested partys its woth taking over i really think keiths had enough

i will be there if its on as always

ive only missed 2 or 3 meetings a year and thats when im away

as long as it runs and i can budget for going or i find i no longer enjoy going i will be there whoever is in charge its the action on the track that makes me go week in week out

 

Hope i,m wrong here but do you really think there would be an interested party that would take over?

[Dave_minall]

This was posted on the workington comets twitter page last night:

 

 

Its such a shame to see clubs resorting to this - we all remember Newport doing this last year

[crescent girl]

To close out season (and thus retain bond, share-out dividend and assets) Workington will have to stage two league meetings (Berwick and Leicester) two semi-finals and two play-off fixtures. Plus four away matches.

 

That's six home meetings, plus the possibility of three more if they reach their three finals.

 

But there only are six Saturdays left in the season.

 

They seem to have painted themselves into a corner, and will require to run double-headers and (or) off-night fixtures to get through their season.

[Halifaxtiger]

Well lets say you own the Comets. You bought the licence from Tony Mole and arranged the lease with the Stadium. Plus sorted dozens of things like insurance, track prep, maintenance - that all costs money every week. Lets say you run a very successful business locally, like Denham. Would you not then expect to roll up at Derwent Park (with 3k in your back pocket, of your own money, to pay for other peoples Speedway enjoyment) this Saturday expecting to call the shots and make sound business decisions based on what you did in other walks of life? I bet you would.

 

Thing is, any Speedway promotor/owner has to get rid of people/make tough decisions in the course of any season. Invarablely, some of those will have mates who are loyal fans, and, armed with a PC, and access to the BSF, all of a sudden that decision is magnified and blown out of all proportion. Throw in a defeat or two, and a rain-off, and all of a sudden that saviour of Workington Speedway (for example) is the subject of the most severe bile spilled out on here.

 

I am not saying Denham is perfect, he` human like the rest of us, and who is ever going to please all 1,000 fans every week at any given track, but he has put his money up front to buy the Comets and funds it (increasingly out of his own pocket the last three years), so, yes , its entirely reasonable for him to call the shots and run HIS business as he wants - or, `my way or the highway` as you say.

 

Yes and no. The thing is if your way upsets punters unnecessarily you can't then bleat about financial losses and the business failing.

 

While no promoter can control the weather, riders getting injured and numerous other situations or acts that cause people to stop going, they can behave decently and respectfully towards the paying public. From comments on here, it appears that that hasn't always been the case with Keith Denham.

 

As an example, a friend of mine used to go regularly to speedway at a track near his home. When the conditions for racing were particularly bad at one meeting (and with no obvious reason why that was the case) and he and others were critical, the track boss's response was 'if you don't like it, don't come'.

 

How arrogant and uncaring can you get and its little wonder that that fan hasn't been back to the track since.

 

While all speedway fans should be grateful that individuals prop up their tracks financially, that gratitude is not unlimited and does not allow promoters to behave exactly as they wish to their customers.

[ciderman]

Extract from the local news paper today.

 

Denham: I'm hoping to keep Workington Comets going until season ends

 

Last updated at 11:48, Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Workington Comets owner Keith Denham hopes to continue running speedway until the end of the season.

 

Keith Denham

Mr Denham initially said that after Saturday’s match with Glasgow, which saw less than 500 people turn up, that he could pull out of the Premier League as soon as possible, ending Comets season early.

That was despite the team still having two home league matches to race, being involved in two cup semi finals, and the Premier League play offs.

Denham, who said he was losing up to £3,000 a weekend, contacted the British Speedway Promoters’ Association yesterday to ask what the consequences would be and, after talking with BSPA chairman Alex Harkness, said he hopes he could run until the end of the season.

He said it now means tomorrow’s clash with Ipswich, and Saturday’s meeting with Leicester, will go ahead. Denham, who bought the team at the end of the 2007 season, was told if he pulled out of the league early he could face a hefty fine which could cost him more than if he runs until the end of the year with losses.

He has said that the threat of closure still remains very real if crowds don’t improve over the final weeks of the season.

He said: “I have told the BSPA what the situation is and that we are just not getting enough people through the gates. I don’t want it closed but we will see what happens at the end of the season. We want to keep it going for all the people who do come.

“When I first took over we had healthy four-figure crowds but it does look as though the people of Workington are tired now of speedway in the town.

“We will see how we are at the end of the season and how much it has cost us.”

He feels a mixture of the current economic situation, countless rain offs and a catalogue of injuries to star riders had put people off coming. He added: “If people want speedway in the town they need to come and support the team.

“It is not a lot to ask to have an extra 200 odd people through the doors.”

He added that other clubs were in serious financial trouble and the sport had a “major problem”.

 

Think the message is very clear, support it or lose it! Its up to the fans now.

[Taylorj]

Exactly Fixerman, its time to vote with your feet and get back down to DP, its up to us, we have been thrown a lifeline

 

Lets pick up the atmosphere on Saturday and cheer the lads on we had a decent crowd earlier in the season so the fans are there they just need to come back we have Kyle back which can only mean a positive and then off down to Sheffield on Sunday to support Richard in PLRC .

 

SUPPORT OUR SPEEDWAY !!!!!!! THE MIGHTY COMETS !!!!!

[Dave_minall]

if he pulled out of the league early he could face a hefty fine which could cost him more than if he runs until the end of the year with losses.

 

Call me pessimistic but this looks like damage limitation for me

[mikebv]

Extract from the local news paper today.

 

Denham: I'm hoping to keep Workington Comets going until season ends

 

Last updated at 11:48, Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Workington Comets owner Keith Denham hopes to continue running speedway until the end of the season.

Keith Denham

 

“It is not a lot to ask to have an extra 200 odd people through the doors.”

He added that other clubs were in serious financial trouble and the sport had a “major problem”.

 

 

Well of course they are...!

 

It's because of the business model they use, ie costs exceed income...

 

Teams spend 'big' money on trying to be successful and when they achieve success they cannot afford it, and the supreme irony is that this success is virtually worthless in relation to more media coverage and increased revenue because hardly anyone in the respective towns/cities know the sport even exists!!

 

Quite simply a successful team who wins a national title makes approx (at best) 1000 people feel good about themselves at most tracks.

 

Therefore is it really worth the effort of bringing over foreign riders, paying air fares, hotel bills, providing workshop facilities etc etc to win a trophy that hardly anyone locally will even recognise never mind take any civic pride in winning?

 

Your local ice hockey team doesn't have players that play in the NHL one night, in front of 20000 plus crowds, and get paid 1000's of dollars, and then come over here to represent a British team in front of a couple of hundred spectators, yet Speedway actually makes this 'the norm' by paying world stars who ply their trade in their own countries £1000's in salaries, flights, accommodation etc.....

 

Simply Speedway has reached its nadir, and it is now reaping what it has sowed for so many, many years through the failure of those who run the sport to take their collective heads out of the sands and deliver a product which is consistently entertaining, value for money, and governed by a set of rules that are both simple for the fans to follow and credible to the wider outside watching sporting public and media....

 

No doubt those who 'run' the sport in this country will believe that the weather, the euro's, the olympics, the paralympics and even people staying in watching the soddin' mars landings are the main reasons why 'another 200 or so' decided not to go to speedway each week this year...

 

Because let's face it, the reason speedway's crowds are dwindling and the sport is dying on its arse isn't their fault is it??

[stemoc]

Save Our Speedway

 

To all Workington Comets Supporters

In an effort to show that we the fans want to secure the future of Speedway in the town the WSSC (Workington Speedway Supporters Club) have arranged for the local press along with a photographer to come down to Derwent Park tomorrow morning (20^th September) at 10:00am. We are inviting as many supporters as possible to turn up. Our aim is to demonstrate to the current promotion or indeed any prospective sponsor that we the fans are prepared to support speedway in the town. We are calling our campaign the Save Our Speedway (SOS) campaign and all being well an article will be published in Friday’s paper. So if you want to make up your own SOS banners please bring them along. The key message will be, let’s get down to Derwent Park on Saturday and support the Comets.

If you can’t attend tomorrow hopefully we will see you on Saturday in what we hope will be a packed house.

Your support would be appreciated

George Sermon

Chair of WSSC

Edited September 19, 2012 by stemoc

[BWitcher]

This is not good. Speedway is dying on it's arse and now 2 clubs are up for sale, with no sale meaning closure.

 

If only speedway fans could win the euro millions.....

 

Yet many still insist all is well, pay no attention to the cries for change and advocate continuing along the current path the sport is taking (both EL and PL level).