Save Isle Of Wight

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Does the 20k loss include the take from the bar/catering, scooter rally, gymnasium rental, wedding/party venue hire?

no the loss is the speedway itself. But i believe whoever comes in to run it only gets the speedway itself

[Vince]

I didn't know that, I am sure the bar and catering at least was once income for the Speedway. That could explain why the Speedway has been struggling so much the past couple of years.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I didn't know that, I am sure the bar and catering at least was once income for the Speedway. That could explain why the Speedway has been struggling so much the past couple of years.

well it is run as one with the other stuff but the bloke who runs it dosent want to run the speedway anymore because thats the bit which is losing money. He is more than happy for speedway to continue but dosent want to finace it himself

[Vince]

I guess that makes it even more unlikely to continue then if the other stuff can't offset the cost of the Speedway.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I guess that makes it even more unlikely to continue then if the other stuff can't offset the cost of the Speedway.

it can but ask yourself if you were in that position and sort of fell out of love with speedway would you do the same and off load the speedway?

[Guest]

It appears to be a complex situation in regard to IoW speedway and the associated outlets taking place at Smallbrook that are linked with it.

I suppose it depends what percentage of the overall takeover there is for the venue, linking what may be a loss in regard to speedway against any profit returns on what else takes place?

We must all passionately hope that some way can be found to keep speedway running at Smallbrook Stadium.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Guest

[greyhoundp]

the IOW lost £20,000 last season lorna. This needs to be addressed before the issue of the air fence

Are you saying Deanno, that this debt needs to be cleared before an Airfence can be considered ?. Thats one heck of a loss for an NL Team, and equates to around 1k for every meeting the Islanders rode in 2013, and impossible to sustain that on gates of 100/120.

[Vince]

it can but ask yourself if you were in that position and sort of fell out of love with speedway would you do the same and off load the speedway?

 

You'd have to consider it but I always thought the Speedway was the whole point of the involvement and isn't it all owned by the shareholders? I don't really know the set up over there these days not having been over for about 3 years but I hate the thought of losing the place just the same.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

 

You'd have to consider it but I always thought the Speedway was the whole point of the involvement and isn't it all owned by the shareholders? I don't really know the set up over there these days not having been over for about 3 years but I hate the thought of losing the place just the same.

it is owned by the shareholders of which i am one but basically someone needs to come in and run it but all the losses incured will be theirs and thats a lot to ask of someone

[Guest]

it is owned by the shareholders of which i am one but basically someone needs to come in and run it but all the losses incured will be theirs and thats a lot to ask of someone

 

So, the final decision in regard to the future of speedway at IoW rests with shareholders rather than speedway fans? In other words the continuation of IoW could rest with those having a financial interest in the whole concept and not necessarily in regard to speedway?

A possible way out, and it might be worth considering, is for a new company to be established to run speedway at Smallbrook as tenants of the holding company?

There are obviously many considerations any prospective tenant promoter would face initially. These would include buying the promoting rights, the equipment and may be the cost of the Air Fence, plus one assumes other incidentals.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Guest

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

 

So, the final decision in regard to the future of speedway at IoW rests with shareholders rather than speedway fans? In other words the continuation of IoW could rest with those having a financial interest in the whole concept and not necessarily in regard to speedway?

.

its not about having a finacial intrest in the club. The fact is the someone needs to step in and run the speedway .all the share holders want the speedway to run and not for money reasons. The share holders are fans ,but whoever steps in will straight away be running a club thats loosing £20,000 a year .yes savings could be made and maybe that person could turn things around but that person needs to have £20,000 to burn just incase they dont turn it around. I would love to be that person and have given them ideas where some savings can be made but the fact is i just dont have the money to do it. I like others dont really care what happens to the shares i currently have i just want the IOW to continue. I will just add last seasons team was a very expensive team for the national league and £20,000 was probly a one off as far a losses go but it stil looses £1000s . Edited December 27, 2013 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Guest]

its not about having a finacial intrest in the club. The fact is the someone needs to step in and run the speedway .all the share holders want the speedway to run and not for money reasons. The share holders are fans ,but whoever steps in will straight away be running a club thats loosing £20,000 a year .yes savings could be made and maybe that person could turn things around but that person needs to have £20,000 to burn just incase they dont turn it around. I would love to be that person and have given them ideas where some savings can be made but the fact is i just dont have the money to do it. I like others dont really care what happens to the shares i currently have i just want the IOW to continue

 

Thanks for this message. I now better understand the situation at IoW. Let's hope the saving of the speedway is achieved.

[Great Central]

its not about having a finacial intrest in the club. The fact is the someone needs to step in and run the speedway .all the share holders want the speedway to run and not for money reasons. The share holders are fans ,but whoever steps in will straight away be running a club thats loosing £20,000 a year .yes savings could be made and maybe that person could turn things around but that person needs to have £20,000 to burn just incase they dont turn it around. I would love to be that person and have given them ideas where some savings can be made but the fact is i just dont have the money to do it. I like others dont really care what happens to the shares i currently have i just want the IOW to continue

It is indeed a complex situation over there and the more you ask, the more complicated it seems to get. Cutting riders costs would help reduce that annual deficit as would not competing in the NL Trophy which generally is run in the less popular times of the year in terms of spectators.

The air fence issue was a smokescreen since a number of offers of fences and sponsorship seem to have been rejected, and has diverted the attention away from the fact that the Chairman doesn't want to run speedway anymore. How that sits with shareholders I don't know since they all bought into a Company to support speedway, not to make money, and all they would be left with is being a shareholder of a stadium and its subsidiary "income streams". In fact Speedway is in the name of the company so it is totally clear what the Company was set up for.

In my view the decision not to run was made ages ago but deliberately declared so late that other parties and additional financial assistance couldn't be found in time to rescue it, unless of course somebody with real money comes in with a business plan that works. That of course is highly unlikely given the timescales and the attitude of the Board.

I don't know the answer but I do know that this is a unique case of a team closing not because of houses being built on the land but because of other issues and therefore every effort has to be put into finding a solution somehow because without the Islanders, British speedway at NL level will be worse off.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Great Central

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

It is indeed a complex situation over there and the more you ask, the more complicated it seems to get. Cutting riders costs would help reduce that annual deficit as would not competing in the NL Trophy which generally is run in the less popular times of the year in terms of spectators.

The air fence issue was a smokescreen since a number of offers of fences and sponsorship seem to have been rejected, and has diverted the attention away from the fact that the Chairman doesn't want to run speedway anymore. How that sits with shareholders I don't know since they all bought into a Company to support speedway, not to make money, and all they would be left with is being a shareholder of a stadium and its subsidiary "income streams". In fact Speedway is in the name of the company so it is totally clear what the Company was set up for.

In my view the decision not to run was made ages ago but deliberately declared so late that other parties and additional financial assistance couldn't be found in time to rescue it, unless of course somebody with real money comes in with a business plan that works. That of course is highly unlikely given the timescales and the attitude of the Board.

I don't know the answer but I do know that this is a unique case of a team closing not because of houses being built on the land but because of other issues and therefore every effort has to be put into finding a solution somehow because without the Islanders, British speedway at NL level will be worse off.

its not that the chairman dosent want to run speedway its that he dosent want to put anymore money into it. He has put a serious amount of money into the IOW .you cant really blame him for not wanting to put more

[Great Central]

its not that the chairman dosent want to run speedway its that he dosent want to put anymore money into it. He has put a serious amount of money into the IOW .you cant really blame him for not wanting to put more

You are right Dean but it appears to me that he doesn't want to run it anymore, and doesn't want anyone else to run it either. Has he declared to the shareholders how much he has put into keeping the club going and doesn't this amount to financial mismanagement as a Director just putting in his own money to what is apparently a bankrupt business?

It is complex and a situation has to be found but I do think that regardless of what you or anyone suggests, it won't happen because the Chairman doesn't want it to happen. Really sad situation since it is a great little club.

[RonButler]

no the loss is the speedway itself. But i believe whoever comes in to run it only gets the speedway itself

 

no the loss is the speedway itself. But i believe whoever comes in to run it only gets the speedway itself

 

This is similar to the situation at Belle Vue. Everything else goes to swell the coffers of the GRA as owners of the Kirkmanshulme Lane stadium.

 

Aces fans dream of the day when the club finally moves into the long promised National Speedway Stadium. After the fans having been given various dates when the stadium is expected to be built it still remains a distant dream.

 

Maybe 2114! [not a typo]

[Vince]

So if somebody wants to step in and run the Speedway what is actually going to happen with the revenue from the rest of the site? Surely the two are tied together.

[Guest]

So if somebody wants to step in and run the Speedway what is actually going to happen with the revenue from the rest of the site? Surely the two are tied together.

 

I am sure that "in the legal world" there is a way the IoW board can sub-let the speedway rights at Smallbrook, as they do for football competitions for example who must just be tenants at the stadium?

The stadium is also rented out during the summer months for various other events. I see no problem in regard to an outside interest staging speedway. But I do stand to be corrected on my assumption.

 

Here for example is the football project currently running at Smallbrook Stadium - http://footballmundial.com/leagues/view/91/isle-of-wight-tuesday-6-a-side-league

Edited December 27, 2013 by Guest

[Vince]

But only if the majority of the shareholders agree presumably

[Great Central]

 

I am sure that "in the legal world" there is a way the IoW board can sub-let the speedway rights at Smallbrook, as they do for football competitions for example who must just be tenants at the stadium?

The stadium is also rented out during the summer months for various other events. I see no problem in regard to an outside interest staging speedway. But I do stand to be corrected on my assumption.

 

Here for example is the football project currently running at Smallbrook Stadium - http://footballmundial.com/leagues/view/91/isle-of-wight-tuesday-6-a-side-league

An interesting link that you have provided which I think shows that certain activities may be being run with the wrong cost allocation.

Yes the 6 a side football is providing a contribution to the club but it is only bringing in £168 per week and presumably lighting and the referees have to be paid out of that.

If the other other activities are contributing on a similar basis, the speedway will appear to be more costly than it is. This is not an unusual problem and I think they will find that if speedway doesn't run in 2014, some of the costs previously allocated to the speedway element will still be there and what was thought to be a profitable sideline is no longer so.

But only if the majority of the shareholders agree presumably

Vince, you ask an interesting question over the constitution of the IOW Club. Not being a shareholder, I am not party to the constitution but I understand that you get a vote regardless of the number of shares held but the Chairman who is paid, I think, can make decisions without recourse to the shareholders so not running in 2014 may be one of those decisions that he could make to improve the financial position of the Club(company).

Of course what complicates things is that speedway is part of the name of the company and was set up to run speedway so how will the majority of the shareholders feel when the company is not running speedway anymore. I suppose they will feel agrieved but unless somebody comes up with cash to run it, what else can they do? Could they cash in their shares and what effect would that have?