Crump99 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) I have my doubts if some of them give it any thought tbh!!!!! I think that they do but can't be seen to be bowing to the vocal minority so the wheels move very slowly, if at all! short but correct post, a presenter can make or break atmosphere. im not bothered if its joe bloggs 22nd birthday myself, a presenter needs to hold the attention from the off Is it? The product is the overall product which is the racing and presentation together. They are not mutually exclusive. Edited July 27, 2014 by Crump99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 The basic product isn't too bad but it needs completely rebranding with fresh promotional ideas and rider absences need to be eradicated either by squads on set nights OR by only using riders committed to all of their clubs fixtures. Top level British speedway is at a crossroads and needs to go one way or the other, at the moment it is dithering in the middle of the carriageway. The basic product IS bad - after years of watering down the league it is inevitable that the product is poor! Whether the promoters can recover the situation or not remains to be seen but I'm personally not putting up with it anymore. You do raise some good points though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 Promoters want to stand on the terraces and experience the show from a fan's point of view and then work out what they can do to improve it!!! Great idea, wish they would. Most tracks presenters are ex train station announcers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCORPIO Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 I've got an idea on how tof get fans back and stop them from getting bored. Lower the admission by a couple of quid as for a night out at the speedway with my wife costs best part of £75 by the time fuel costs accounted for. Run the meetings quicker, stop all the farting about between races, get on with it, stop all the patting about at the gate gardening. Have a proper interval with parade of winning team then a few second half races and people will think they have got value for money. 2/3 hourso to run a meeting with no incident is ridiculously stupid. I also say go back to keep it simple, get rid of gimmicks like the tactical ride double points nonsense, what's wrong with the good old fashioned tactical substitute. If a rider excluded for exceeding the time allowance, breaking or touching tapes...tough, excluded, no replacement, no 15 metres. Get on with it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherwatcher Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 I don't want to see any stadiums close. We have lost to many over the years. But we are losing the fan base that used to follow the sport. Half the country don't even know about it. The stadiums are run down. How many new stadiums have been built in the past 10 year very few or how many have had any work done to them in the same time. The money that came in from Sky sport was squandered on paying for the top riders to come to our clubs. Now that money is gone and there has been no replacement sponser, fans are moaning about the way that the EL has been watered down with the FTr's. I for one am glad to see it if it helps the young riders along then all well and good. But the promoters had thier chance and lost it. They can no longer afford to bring in lot of top names. So we will have to make do with what we have got now, or speedway will be athing of the past. It would not take to much of an effort to get some of the stadiums looking a bit better than they are now. Some are just a track with a fence around them with a old wooden stand that has seen better days. I went to Long Eaton when they raced there and it was just like a lot of the tracks are now, they just haven't moved with the times. At least Long Eaton are still riding even if they do track share at Leicester. Shame that are sport is looking so glum. Half the Long Eaton meeting never come off as the visiting teams cant find enough riders to make up a team. The MDL is the starting point for riders and here in GB we are short of up and cominmg riders. If we lose these lads that are just starting out. Then in a few years time it rolls along with all the other leagues until we have a mass shortage of riders. So it is not just the fan bas that are driffting away from the sport, it is also the riders. As for the coment you made I am no Idiot just a realist. That see that unless some investment is made into our sport to bring it forward, then I am afraid that as the saying goes " We are flogging a dead horse" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 The basic product IS bad - after years of watering down the league it is inevitable that the product is poor! Whether the promoters can recover the situation or not remains to be seen but I'm personally not putting up with it anymore. You do raise some good points though. By the basic product I mean four men on bikes racing round an oval track. However I agree that there is too much of a spread of ability currently in the EL, even allowing for the new format. Ideally I'd like to see stronger teams through squads but if not I'd quite happily see a weaker league with riders committed to British racing as long as the price reflected that and it got rid of the constant need for R/R and guests, injury aside. Its common sense that meetings and heats with riders of similar ability should provide better racing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topaz325 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 The PL is heading in to the abyss......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 The PL is heading in to the abyss......... It will if it gets involved with the el 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 The basic product IS bad - after years of watering down the league it is inevitable that the product is poor! Whether the promoters can recover the situation or not remains to be seen but I'm personally not putting up with it anymore. You do raise some good points though. The EL racing I have seen at Belle Vue has usually been very good. Enough to make me go back week after week, anyway. In the past week, I have been to meetings at Glasgow, Sheffield and Plymouth (PL admittedly) and it is remarkable just how consistent opinions are on what fans want and what can be improved. They aren't so much bothered about price as what they get for their money. Better tracks and better racing is high on the list and better doesn't mean faster. Better presentation, too - Pirate Nick commented last night that tracks must have a huge store of 1970's/1980's records because that is all they seem to play, and he's right. Cut out the delays is the number one - spectators don't want to be standing around unnecessarily. As Squall said at Sheffield, we don't need intervals between races. Get the 2 minutes on as soon as the riders from the preceding race return to the pits. Get rid of intervals themselves - at Redcar recently it was announced that there would be no interval because of traffic problems and a big cheer went up. I don't know one fan that likes them, and apparently riders don't either. I have said before that the promotion put themselves and their riders before the paying customer and I remain convinced that is true. It has to change. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crump99 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) Get rid of intervals themselves - at Redcar recently it was announced that there would be no interval because of traffic problems and a big cheer went up. Bound to be re-introduced as soon as time allows. Sounds like a popular measure? If the BSPA get wind of it they'll make intervals compulsory! Edited July 27, 2014 by Crump99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 Bound to be re-introduced as soon as time allows. Sounds like a popular measure? If the BSPA get wind of it they'll make intervals compulsory! I think it was simply down to circumstances on the night - a big pile up on the A19, I think. It will be back next week for sure. That last comment takes cynicism to new heights !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 you do feel most of the BSF threads are 'same old, same old' with everyone giving their (often perceptive) views on what direction they feel the sport should go.. many on here give up their opinions freely even though the sport has peed them off so much they no longer attend, which just goes to show how much they still feel emotionally to the sport... which does then beg the question, 'why do the promoters continue to ignore the wishes of their 'ex' and existing (just about), fan base?'.. to receive such unsolicited 'free of charge' feedback from any customer base should be regarded as 'manna from heaven' to any business as it means you can tailor your business operations to meet your customers demands and improve the business accordingly... the bspa seemingly steadfastly refuses to acknowledge this opportunity and utilize it.. you would think wouldnt you that as the organisation is a 'collective' they would at least do some 'market' research both individually and collectively, around the likes and dislikes of their customers and then deliver the improvements requested accordingly? and seeking out the views of the 'gone aways' would do everything to help them build their business plan.. one thing is for sure whether the 'end is nigh' or not, it is complete folly to keep delivering the 'same old, same old' to the sports' fans as hemorrhaging disillusioned fans at its rate of the past few years cannot be allowed to continue if the sport wants the thrive.... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 you do feel most of the BSF threads are 'same old, same old' with everyone giving their (often perceptive) views on what direction they feel the sport should go.. many on here give up their opinions freely even though the sport has peed them off so much they no longer attend, which just goes to show how much they still feel emotionally to the sport... which does then beg the question, 'why do the promoters continue to ignore the wishes of their 'ex' and existing (just about), fan base?'.. to receive such unsolicited 'free of charge' feedback from any customer base should be regarded as 'manna from heaven' to any business as it means you can tailor your business operations to meet your customers demands and improve the business accordingly... the bspa seemingly steadfastly refuses to acknowledge this opportunity and utilize it.. you would think wouldnt you that as the organisation is a 'collective' they would at least do some 'market' research both individually and collectively, around the likes and dislikes of their customers and then deliver the improvements requested accordingly? and seeking out the views of the 'gone aways' would do everything to help them build their business plan.. one thing is for sure whether the 'end is nigh' or not, it is complete folly to keep delivering the 'same old, same old' to the sports' fans as hemorrhaging disillusioned fans at its rate of the past few years cannot be allowed to continue if the sport wants the thrive.... Part of the problem is that they don't seem to listen or arrogantly insist that they know best. I recognise many promoters experience and knowledge but they simply have to take heed of what fans want. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) Part of the problem is that they don't seem to listen or arrogantly insist that they know best. I recognise many promoters experience and knowledge but they simply have to take heed of what fans want. that's what I used to think, however I now think that the answer is far more ludicrous...... I truly do believe that the promoters (incredibly despite all the evidence to the contrary) do look on the sport as a 'professional sporting competition' and that winning this is everything, hence we have so many manipulations of the rules to get a competitive advantage and an 'evenings entertainment' is a long way from being a priority for so many of them..... what really amazes me, and what the promoters fail to realize, is that all their intricately thought out machinations of the rule book, ultimately end up with one team winning a league title that because of the sports' 'small time' reputation has about as much 'kudos' in the wider sporting world as winning the local meat raffle in the local boozer.... incredibly instead of investing money on how to get more punters into their speedway meetings, they would rather spend 100's of thousands of pounds to win something that hardly anyone (as proven by their growing non attendance) actually gives a toss about... truly, truly, amazing...... Edited July 27, 2014 by mikebv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebrum Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 My 2 twenty something children went to Lynn yesterday, much to my annoyance!!!! They won't go to Lynn for a league meeting. The main reason was because of the better atmosphere and the expectation of a good meeting! Perhaps Wolves and Sheffield have the best idea of only having half or third of the stadiums available to fans so the atmosphere the fans generate is contained? Excellent point. The atmosphere and the buzz is what gets youngsters, young adults. Plus of course Australia weren't even at full strength! It will if it gets involved with the el British Speedway already is unless it gets its act together. Far from me to point out how you fail to see the flaws if you believe the PL is in a strong place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 ......Trees...........My 2 twenty something children went to Lynn yesterday, much to my annoyance!!!! They won't go to Lynn for a league meeting. The main reason was because of the better atmosphere and the expectation of a good meeting! So what did they think? They may have expected a good meeting and the atmosphere was no doubt much better than usual but I thought the majority of the races were boring. Admittedly that was watching on T.V. and perhaps it was better being there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinMills Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 in a day where its all card payment. like london buses, speedway is in the dark ages. some tracks you still cant pre-book, cash only on turnstiles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 My 2 twenty something children went to Lynn yesterday, much to my annoyance!!!! They won't go to Lynn for a league meeting. The main reason was because of the better atmosphere and the expectation of a good meeting! Perhaps Wolves and Sheffield have the best idea of only having half or third of the stadiums available to fans so the atmosphere the fans generate is contained?my two kids are exactly the same. They go to Cardiff every year but don't go to domestic speedway anymore. They have not even been to kent yet, which is a surprise because they would never have missed the chance of going to a new track in the past. Standing in a rundown stadium with a few hundred people will not attract the younger generation I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeoBrummie Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Central Park is hardly a run down stadium! - but I get your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherwatcher Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 I think that the promoters are far to greedy now to drop the prices by much. Leicester had a Lions Cub race on Sunday and they charged £10 to get in for a product that should have been far less. From the pictures I have seen it was very poorly attended. One picture should of a race with around 8 people in the stand on the start line. With a meeting on a Sunday afternoon start time of 4.30pm. They should have drawn a better crowd than that. I think everyone else was in the same mind that a Cubs race meeting was not worth £7 less than what you pay to see an EL meeting. So if the evr change the way the leagues are now, to some other format, they will still be asking the same sort of money as they are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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