Tampere Gp

[Trees]

BSI could always hire the stadium ......

[SCB]

BSI could always hire the stadium ......

Not if the owners say no.

[New Science]

Another bad weekend for speedway,2 events into the championship and we haven't had a track yet fit for the national league let alone the world championship.This is the sole responsibility of the organisers to ensure that the venues they choose have the ability to put on tracks that are suitable for World Championship events. I'm afraid the fans are now wiseing up and are showing that after last year at Tampere they are not prepared to pay top dollar to watch any old rubbish.If this carries on the GP series wont last too much longer.Listening to Pearson last night I would be much more interested with his real observations driving back last night rather than the endless positivity he trots out week in week out on screen.

[gary moore]

I have been criticised for this before and will be again but this GP thing is killing speedway, and British speedway in particular. If you want to see the top riders race then you can have big events at venues and tracks that do them justice (like the old Internationale). One quarter filled stadiums on essentially a long track was not good to watch particularly after Warsaw. Let's go back to the old world championship at a track that merits it. Tin hat is on again chaps, but it's nothing personal just my feeling of comparing old with new. I can't see how the accountants can justify that event last night.

100%

[Trees]

Not if the owners say no.

Ha, no of course not. Not quite how the deals work though is it ☺

[Humphrey Appleby]

Its all down to money unless Pardubice version of city council stump up some cash to fund the BSI for putting the meeting on then its got no chance as Pardubice Club dont have the funds sad really Ive been banging on about having a 5 team WTC final there...

No sure why it's sad that a club doesn't want to bankrupt themselves to fund IMG/BSI, and have Ole Olsen come and wreck a decent track. Pardubice already has its 'GP' in the Golden Helmet.

It probably wasn't because your comment is a typical "It was better in the old days" comment. With time you might remember things to be better then they actually was.

The truth is that most World Finals weren't that great - the exceptions that I've seen being Bradford in 1990 and Pocking in 1993, ironically 'small' permanent tracks. However, how many were stopped or cancelled because of a poor track, or the tapes failing? How many were moved to another track the following day or week?

[fullbore]

Horsens take it back to Vojens

Who would you want a round a the borefest that is Vojems?

 

Niamh

[Ozrik]

Good meeting. Big improvement on last year. Track appeared to be better. Well done to the riders for handling the track. Quite a few empty seats though.

[Woz01]

Not a classic weekend in Poland either. No passing in either of the two TV meetings, delays in Gorzow caused by issues in first bend, tape issues in Grudziadz, Wroclaw & Rzeszow

This just shows permanent tracks have issues aswell.

 

No point naming tracks that could host a gp if they don't want to.

[uk_martin]

With BSI shooting itself in the foot with a howitzer again, I bet FIM Europe and OneSport must be rubbing their hands with glee at the chance to show that the SEC could become a superior championship to the SGP series. Warsaw was bad, Tampere was boring, Prague offers up little hope for much better, and the SWC will be an inevitable disappointment at Borejens. What the hell is going through BSI's minds? They have a serious contender in the wings with the SEC series about to start and they are handing it all on a plate to them.

[bellevueace]

Something has to change or there won't be a GP series - people ain't going to keep spending hard earned cash on these none events. As I said earlier time to bring back in proper tracks and stadiums for starters Horsens take it back to Vojens - Prague lets go to Pardubice a far better race track - Warsaw back to Lezsno there is also Croatia Italy that could be brought back into the series Landshut in Germany would be another good venue - as for Cardiff unless the National speedway stadium in Manchester is going to hold 45 k it will have to remain in Cardiff though if Olsen gets that wrong in July the new Belle Vue could be big enough come 2016 . Fans will vote with there feet it's time some people wake up to this fact .

 

 

Cardiff has never got near 45,000 at best probably 12,000 under that figure, most GP,s excluding the opening farce tend to have crowds that would fit into existing stadia, Finland didn't even manage 6.000 and as for Warsaw cant see the figure for the opener this season being replicated, its ok going into great stadia like Cardiff but when they are half empty it dosent add to the experience. How ironic that PC won his world title in front of 100,000 nearly 40 years ago.

[Woz01]

 

 

Cardiff has never got near 45,000 at best probably 12,000 under that figure, most GP,s excluding the opening farce tend to have crowds that would fit into existing stadia, Finland didn't even manage 6.000 and as for Warsaw cant see the figure for the opener this season being replicated, its ok going into great stadia like Cardiff but when they are half empty it dosent add to the experience. How ironic that PC won his world title in front of 100,000 nearly 40 years ago.

I'm sure attendances at Cardiff are regularly around the 40k mark. Last year the crowd seemed a little bigger than usual so 45k isn't that far off.

[Star Lady]

I'm sure attendances at Cardiff are regularly around the 40k mark. Last year the crowd seemed a little bigger than usual so 45k isn't that far off.

I doubt they are all paying fans!!!

[Humphrey Appleby]

What the hell is going through BSI's minds? They have a serious contender in the wings with the SEC series about to start and they are handing it all on a plate to them.

 

I don't think their lords and masters particularly care. I suspect they realised a while ago that speedway is next to impossible to market because of its high staging costs and fan demographic, so have settled for milking the contract as long as possible.

I'm sure attendances at Cardiff are regularly around the 40k mark. Last year the crowd seemed a little bigger than usual so 45k isn't that far off.

 

GP attendances have often been exaggerated or suspiciously rounded, and there have been reports on here of substantially discounted tickets sold (even given away?) at Cardiff on the day.

 

I think Tampere was reported as nearly 6,000 fans, when most seem to think it wasn't much above a couple of thousand.

[f-s-p]

GP attendances have often been exaggerated or suspiciously rounded, and there have been reports on here of substantially discounted tickets sold (even given away?) at Cardiff on the day.

 

I think Tampere was reported as nearly 6,000 fans, when most seem to think it wasn't much above a couple of thousand.

Places like Tampere and Cardiff are easily reported if wanted, as all tickets are scanned to get in. Doesn't really matter who pays for the ticket IMHO: is it the promoter giving one away, a sponsor giving one away or a rider giving one away that he got for free from the promoter. If the ticket is scanned, the crowd will increase +1. If a sold ticket is not scanned, it's still money in the promoters pocket.

 

Finland was announced 5896 at the stadium. The capacity was 13k, so less than half sold. Add to that the beertents at either ends were full all night, thats 1000 less sitting. So around 4500-5000 sitting while the racing is on. Of course it looks empty. It looked empty last year when the ratio was 15k capacity and 10614 scanned tickets.

[customhouseregular]

With BSI shooting itself in the foot with a howitzer again, I bet FIM Europe and OneSport must be rubbing their hands with glee at the chance to show that the SEC could become a superior championship to the SGP series. Warsaw was bad, Tampere was boring, Prague offers up little hope for much better, and the SWC will be an inevitable disappointment at Borejens. What the hell is going through BSI's minds? They have a serious contender in the wings with the SEC series about to start and they are handing it all on a plate to them.

based on last year's SEC you are spot on.

[bellevueace]

If Cardiff was 40,000 then I am mistaken but that is still half the stadium empty, I always thought the attendance was around the 33,000 mark. Given that in the seventies we had crowds of 90,000 to 1000,000 (Wembley, Katowice) etc and that without all the BSI/Sky promotional propaganda it shows how the popularity of the sport has fallen along with the product itself. Even with the GP circus going into major cities and arenas those figures will not even begin to be challenged again, but the fare served up is also nothing like what it needs to be to fill up the stadia, that we have 5,900 in Finland is a joke for a world championship event.

Edited May 18, 2015 by bellevueace

[Woz01]

I doubt they are all paying fans!!!

What's that got to do with anything? I was just replying to someone who thought the attendances were lower

 

GP attendances have often been exaggerated or suspiciously rounded, and there have been reports on here of substantially discounted tickets sold (even given away?) at Cardiff on the day.

 

I think Tampere was reported as nearly 6,000 fans, when most seem to think it wasn't much above a couple of thousand.

I'm sure they are just estimates but around the 40k mark seems about right to me.

[Star Lady]

What's that got to do with anything? I was just replying to someone who thought the attendances were lower

 

 

 

And I was just replying with my opinion

 

Apologies for upsetting you but other events in the speedway world in the last 24 hours or so have put me in a grumpy mood

[Woz01]

If Cardiff was 40,000 then I am mistaken but that is still half the stadium empty, I always thought the attendance was around the 33,000 mark. Given that in the seventies we had crowds of 90,000 to 1000,000 (Wembley, Katowice) etc and that without all the BSI/Sky promotional propaganda it shows how the popularity of the sport has fallen along with the product itself. Even with the GP circus going into major cities and arenas those figures will not even begin to be challenged again, but the fare served up is also nothing like what it needs to be to fill up the stadia, that we have 5,900 in Finland is a joke for a world championship event.

Its a different world to them days especially when you can watch it live on tv, tablet and phone. They could probably fill it a bit more if ticket prices were a little cheaper. It is an expensive days/weekend, I used to stop overnight but hotels prices even outside Cardiff have got crazily expensive.