Daniel Smith Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 I've always said, once speedway hits £20 per adult admission I'll stop attending regardless of how much I love my club. It's difficult to justify the prices now, especially to newbies. The pricing of speedway at the moment is all about sustainability rather than looking for growth. British Speedway need to keep the pricing as it is for the next 5-7 years as income v expenditure is an ever decreasing margin. The BSPA at the moment are getting things just about right, protecting costs and pricing over none sustainable quality of riders. In my opinion, British Speedway will only start a growth pattern once the"big boys" aren't required and we get back to breeding our own. I'm a firm believe that everything goes round in circles and over the next 5-7 years, if the BSPA get it right speedway will return as a know rather than a forgotten support but patience is required. Our time will come, I believe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Shovlar Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Fifteen quid is far from expensive. Perhaps if promoters had had the guts to raise prices properly a few years ago we would have more of the top guys riding over here. People are happy to pay £25 to watch league 1 football and always find the money to support their team. People who say speedway is a ten pounds sport are living on another planet IMO. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidder1 Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) I do have empathy with both ColinMills and AndyK's points of view, because both have elements of being right. I am not sure if speedway fans generally are any different to fans of other sports? Some footie fans prefer to attend Premiership matches and pay the going rate - some support Divisions 2 or 3 or even grass roots football! In speedway, some prefer EL, some prefer PL - often (but not always) dependant on what is available close to where they live. Also some insist its only the 'top riders' that make for great speedway - others argue that great racing is available at all levels. The key issue for EVERYONE is one of cost and value for money. League speedway in UK needs to be affordable for all including Promoters and riders - especially in the current financial climate - and also needs to be value for money for the Fans. Getting the right balance is clearly a nightmare as there is no one solution that will please all, not least because all clubs/fans are basing their preferences on what they have become used to. The first major step (for all countries) is to somehow cut the costs of machinery and everything related to maintaining bikes for league racing. If that can be achieved, without affecting the quality/excitement of racing, then it would be a major step forward towards stabilising the sport, reducing costs and attracting fans (back)! Any moneys from Sponsorship/Sky deal/TV deal should be utilised to that end! Edited January 14, 2014 by Skidder1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Whether Speedway is worth £5-£10-£15 or even £20 to watch is purely down to how much YOU enjoy it. I personally am happy to pay £16 -£17 for a speedway meeting whereas I wouldn't pay a fiver to watch a footbal match in any league and you would have to pay me a considerable sum to watch a cricket match. The entrance fee is determined by how much it costs to run a meeting and with riders earning a good, well deserved, wage and other costs, these costs must be covered or there will be no Speedway. Of course we would all like it to be cheaper but unless there is a Multi million pound sponsorship in the pipeline for each club I'm afraid it won't happen. To me fiteen minutes of Speedway for £16/17 is far better value for money than any other sport. That's the bottom line. If YOU think it's worth it then it IS worth it.And even if sports do have millionaire backers and multi million pound tv deals (footy etc) they still don't lower the entrance prices!! Of course promoters could give better value to their customers, there's plenty of things that could be done that cost nothing much apart from enthusiasm, time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelcroucher Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I think we have been here before. Most poeple say its not that bad prices, some will say its to much. The thing is its not how much it cost to get in its more to do with the extra cost like the fuel, food, Car parking, Programme. for me to go to my nearest track during the week im looking at £60 - £70 a meeting for Elite league and not much less for PL. As much as i enjoy speedway i cant afford to all the time and if i could afford it i wouldnt go all the time beucase i do find the promoters dont do enough at the tracks to make the money worth it. When i was yonger you got a main event as well as 2nd half events. I know they have kind of brought back the 2nd half events but they still could do more to get supports in. There are a few good promoters out there but it really needs more to it. With sky giving money to clubs the promoters didnt really have to worry to much but now if sky dont show it or the promoters dont get tv money then they will have to work twice as hard to get the money in for the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theknow 2 Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I don't get it?.......I get it exactly!.....trust me, I come across comments like yours every single week...I put on events very very regular..the times I get people complain about what they see, always come from the ones with freebie tickets!.. the ones who want something for nothing...if you think £15 is expensive, god help the future of speedway in Britain!! There is no long term future for speedway in the uk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 The major flaw with your point is that you are under an impression that speedway actually markets itself. May I ask where? To whom? Who are these great marketeers who are out there promoting this sport? The BSPA? GoSpeed? If you said BSI, I'd stop and rub my chin for a second or two but where do BSI use the "family" as a part of the image that they are fostering? To be honest - I tried to think of another word to Marketing - as you are right. Sadly Speedway Nationally does abysmally in Marketing. I know that some Clubs do try. The Club I support (Newcastle) do try to Promote the Sport in the local Community. Some Clubs, I know do very little, some do nothing. That is simply NOT good enough these days. Speedway IS a Family Sport, it is also a very dangerous Sport. The 'Powers that be' - the BSPA need to Promote a NATIONAL campaign to get Speedway back on the map and in to people's awareness, imagination and conciousness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Somebody has posted about paying £300 to watch a boxing match where the champion knocks-out his opponent in an early round. That is a risk people will take, I'm afraid, when watching boxing... and the figures it attracts at ringside and often live on TV supports this. On the other hand, speedway's value-for-money discussion at £17... well, I would argue that promoters aren't exactly placing "House Full" signs up to avoid the rush on racenight You could charge a pound ahead to have someone watch speedway, but the exercise would be all about the demand. Would people still pick and choose matches, having something else to do? It is all about attraction... Maybe so-called promoters could fine-tune admission prices... charge a few quid extra for decent opposition and a few quid less for the least attractive. Or maybe knock off a few quid some weeks, advertise the fact it's cheaper, and see what happens. It would equal a loss of one paying punter for each eight that attended, but that punter may decide to attend a match he didn't quite fancy at full price or may attract a few extra, thinkiing they are getting a bargain. Edited January 14, 2014 by moxey63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DEAN MACHINE Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 People who say speedway is a ten pounds sport are living on another planet IMO. it must be a big planet because there is a lot of them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TesarRacing Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 it must be a big planet because there is a lot of them Just because there are a lot of them doesn't make them right! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DEAN MACHINE Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Just because there are a lot of them doesn't make them right! it does if they all returned to watch the sport . We wouldnt need to worrying about the future of speedway would we .from my own point of view speedway is too expensive to watch. But you can pay the £17 and i will give it a miss like the others who are in the wrong . I really hope you are right but i just dont see it. I said this before, making it a £10 sport will do nothing to get stay away fans to attend unless you address the issues within the sport and make the sport attractive to people ,then when they are tempted the £10 swings the balance in speedways favour . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 it does if they all returned to watch the sport . We wouldnt need to worrying about the future of speedway would we .from my own point of view speedway is too expensive to watch. But you can pay the £17 and i will give it a miss like the others who are in the wrong . I really hope you are right but i just dont see it. I said this before, making it a £10 sport will do nothing to get stay away fans to attend unless you address the issues within the sport and make the sport attractive to people ,then when they are tempted the £10 swings the balance in speedways favour . I agree basic speedway is a £10 sport unfortunately because the people running speedway have allowed the costs to rise with more expensive equipment being required to make a rider competitive they have to charge more to the public. It could be a £17 sport if the presentation was right, standing in silence with no atmosphere, poor sound system, 60,s music and presenters who sound like station announcers is what brings it down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhamboy66 Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree basic speedway is a £10 sport unfortunately because the people running speedway have allowed the costs to rise with more expensive equipment being required to make a rider competitive they have to charge more to the public. It could be a £17 sport if the presentation was right, standing in silence with no atmosphere, poor sound system, 60,s music and presenters who sound like station announcers is what brings it down. pathetically loud music being bashed out by massive speakers is as much of a turnoff as is deathly silence. Standing around in the freezing cold with ten minutes between races,poor medical cover for the riders which can mean severely delayed meetings, endless unsatisfactory starts resulting in all the riders returning to the pits for a spoonful of fuel and clutch cooling are all more of a turnoff for me. Silly things like a proper rider parade with riders on their bikes, rider interviews, dare i say better prepared tracks leading to better racing would make me think my sixteen quid is well spent. Completely irrelevant to me is the standard of the riders, i tend to enjoy lots of my NL meetings and most of mt PL meetings sadly i can't say the same about the EL. Lastly get rid of the rip off programmes £3 is unrealastic, i want a record of the meeting but a scorecard will do thus cutting down the drivel written and saving me over a hundred quid a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinMills Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 resent rained off programmes with scorecharts photo copy inside...understand why they do it, but would prefer the choice of just paying for the scorecard in that situation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 pathetically loud music being bashed out by massive speakers is as much of a turnoff as is deathly silence. Standing around in the freezing cold with ten minutes between races,poor medical cover for the riders which can mean severely delayed meetings, endless unsatisfactory starts resulting in all the riders returning to the pits for a spoonful of fuel and clutch cooling are all more of a turnoff for me. Silly things like a proper rider parade with riders on their bikes, rider interviews, dare i say better prepared tracks leading to better racing would make me think my sixteen quid is well spent. Completely irrelevant to me is the standard of the riders, i tend to enjoy lots of my NL meetings and most of mt PL meetings sadly i can't say the same about the EL. Lastly get rid of the rip off programmes £3 is unrealastic, i want a record of the meeting but a scorecard will do thus cutting down the drivel written and saving me over a hundred quid a season. Perhaps if you are paying £17 to get in - a FREE Programme and Car Park would help defray Expenses. Every little helps.................................................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScotsman Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree basic speedway is a £10 sport unfortunately because the people running speedway have allowed the costs to rise with more expensive equipment being required to make a rider competitive they have to charge more to the public. It could be a £17 sport if the presentation was right, standing in silence with no atmosphere, poor sound system, 60,s music and presenters who sound like station announcers is what brings it down. I would prefer 60's music at Ippo to the inane drivel they usually pump out when I go there. Even 50's, 70's, 80's or 90's would be a big improvement!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pedaler Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) If average admission prices were £10 in the UK, then there would still be the discontented on BSF saying that it was only worth £5 and that admissions should have to be reduced further. If it's any consolation, between a third and half of the speedway going public DO only pay £10, because they are old enough to get concessionary admission. If all admissions were set at £10, should it be a flat-rate £10, applicable to all, or should the take on the gate be reduced even further by even cheaper concessionary rates? I would prefer 60's music at Ippo to the inane drivel they usually pump out when I go there. Even 50's, 70's, 80's or 90's would be a big improvement!! Maybe you should write a book on how to attract a younger and a more sustainable crowd to speedway meetings? Edited January 14, 2014 by The Pedaler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Science Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Somebody has posted about paying £300 to watch a boxing match where the champion knocks-out his opponent in an early round. That is a risk people will take, I'm afraid, when watching boxing... and the figures it attracts at ringside and often live on TV supports this. On the other hand, speedway's value-for-money discussion at £17... well, I would argue that promoters aren't exactly placing "House Full" signs up to avoid the rush on racenight You could charge a pound ahead to have someone watch speedway, but the exercise would be all about the demand. Would people still pick and choose matches, having something else to do? It is all about attraction... Maybe so-called promoters could fine-tune admission prices... charge a few quid extra for decent opposition and a few quid less for the least attractive. Or maybe knock off a few quid some weeks, advertise the fact it's cheaper, and see what happens. It would equal a loss of one paying punter for each eight that attended, but that punter may decide to attend a match he didn't quite fancy at full price or may attract a few extra, thinkiing they are getting a bargain. Birmingham tried reducing the price for quite a few meetings last year and invariably found themselves not having the cash to pay the riders or team manager. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidder1 Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Lets not forget that for every £17, only £13.60 goes to the Speedway promoter, to cover the costs!! Similarly if it was £10, only £8 for speedway!! Edited January 14, 2014 by Skidder1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Birmingham tried reducing the price for quite a few meetings last year and invariably found themselves not having the cash to pay the riders or team manager. They hadn't the cash before they had those cut price meetings.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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