Speedway And The Recession?

[AndyK86]

I think main problem for Speedway and have mentioned this before, people want value for money and they quite simply get that elsewhere ! I go to Ice Hockey it costs £15 i get a comfy seat, i know it will be on and the night runs smoothly with plenty of choice for all ages.

Football is expensive each game but they don't play a home game every week so kind of balances itself out cost wise.

Speedway needs to offer more and be at a more affordable price, more so for newcomers, i don't need to be won over ! I love Speedway and will go until day i leave this planet but that won't help speedway in long run.

We have to entice people away from the alternative options and give all ages a good night at the speedway, maybe a home meeting should be just every two weeks to make it easier to afford. If your a family trying to afford £50 quid a week plus i can imagine it would be hard and they no doubt pick and choose.

[cityrebel]

The problem is, the british public think that speedway is poor value for money and who can blame them. That is why we have very few younger fans coming through. Both of my kids have stopped going, but can't get enough of premier league football. They don't think twice about paying £40 for a ticket. Speedway is old hat and has very little chance of becoming fashionable again. Every time the admission price goes up, a few more fans stop going.

[The White Knight]

The problem is, the british public think that speedway is poor value for money and who can blame them. That is why we have very few younger fans coming through. Both of my kids have stopped going, but can't get enough of premier league football. They don't think twice about paying £40 for a ticket. Speedway is old hat and has very little chance of becoming fashionable again. Every time the admission price goes up, a few more fans stop going.

Sadly - that is so very true. We can only hope that some people at the top of Speedway see the light and attend to some of it's ills.

[oldtimer]

We are supposed to be coming out of the recession, but don't think it has anything to do with falling crowds, it's the product that needs changing, speedway keeps doing the same things that don't work, hoping things will change. Personally I want to be entertained more than 15 minutes, poor presentation and standing around for long periods with nothing happening or unnecessary intervals, interviews you can't hear and awful music won't bring back the crowds let alone newcomers.

[robert72]

The product is a massive problem at Leicester & the management don't seem to want to fix it.

 

With so many top riders walking away including britains number one rider it says it all for speedways future in the uk.

 

 

Speedway racing needs to improve and it needs to be cheaper.

[SCB]

We are supposed to be coming out of the recession......

Technically we haven't been in recession for about 5 years!

[New Science]

I would like to pose some questions:

 

With the amount of negativity to those who run Speedway in this Country, which is currently running at a very high level, and the necessity of having Promoters. How will they react to possible fall of Crowds and loss of revenue due to the Recession and even less disposable income for their Customers/Supporters?

 

How will Speedway emerge from the Recession?

 

The current Government are hell bent on pushing their Austerity Policies for another five years, if they get elected. With further 'Cuts' prophesied, what effect do you think this will have on our Sport?

 

The current Austerity 'Cuts' appear to have had a very bad effect on Crowds over the last four years, with no improvement in the situation from Government - can things only get worse?

 

Will people have less disposable income, or will the recovering Economy trigger an easing of the aforementioned 'Cuts'? If so, and if people feel better off - does anyone think that the Crowd levels will improve?

 

Discuss.

It seems fashionable these days for a failing business to simply blame the government for all its ills.The reason British speedway is a failing business is that the product is not good enough,often enough and is not good value for money.There is money around but people are just choosing not to spend it on watching British speedway.Went to Cheltenham races on Tuesday,,a record first day crowd of 63,000.Most sports are flourishing even in these times of recession,the reason speedway is not is nothing to do with the politics of the day !

[ch958]

It seems fashionable these days for a failing business to simply blame the government for all its ills.The reason British speedway is a failing business is that the product is not good enough,often enough and is not good value for money.There is money around but people are just choosing not to spend it on watching British speedway.Went to Cheltenham races on Tuesday,,a record first day crowd of 63,000.Most sports are flourishing even in these times of recession,the reason speedway is not is nothing to do with the politics of the day !

 

i wouldn't say it had nothing to do with it but i do accept your main point entirely.

 

for example, if a man is unemployed - the unemployment rate is 100 pc for him - if someone has had a pay cut as i myself have the revival of the economy is meaningless because I'm 150 lighter every month and my bills have gone up

 

yes the product needs improvement but if sufficient people have been affected by fiscal problems that has an effect too

 

going to a speedway meeting more than once a month would be impossible for me

[teddy2706]

The original post questions are relevant and pertinent, but as none of us are individually able to influence how speedway is run, presented and marketed; why do any of us actually care about the answers?

 

Promoters will do as they wish, alienate or attract fans, run the place into the ground or grow the business.

It is out of our hands.

 

Personally I never attend Elite league matches, I take in some attractive PL matches, but watch NL as a rule.

The reasons:

NL is unpredictable, exciting, raw, ragged and cheap.

PL is professional, fast, usually exciting, I have to travel farther to watch, so is less cheap, but has many teams, so interesting matches can be chosen carefully.

 

However, if you want good value for money, go and watch a days Grasstrack or MX for a similar amount to ninety minutes of speedway.

[lucifer sam]

What recession ? People like Lucifer Sam still attends 50+ meetings a year with a lot of mileage , so either , we havent had a recession , or socialists arent doing so badly under the tories than they'd have us believe. Or maybe they are middle class denialists ?

 

Hey, don't drag me into your argument.

 

All the best

Rob

[mickthemuppet]

It seems fashionable these days for a failing business to simply blame the government for all its ills.The reason British speedway is a failing business is that the product is not good enough,often enough and is not good value for money.There is money around but people are just choosing not to spend it on watching British speedway.Went to Cheltenham races on Tuesday,,a record first day crowd of 63,000.Most sports are flourishing even in these times of recession,the reason speedway is not is nothing to do with the politics of the day !

New Science

Although Cheltenham is recession proof like Wimbledon Racing it is not booming. I think 2 years ago the average attendance was 831. at Lingfield. I think it will be the last year for my local Point to Point.

. There would be no county cricket if the counties did not get Test Money . Northamptonshire just announced they lost £800,000 in the last two years.

The football league attendances are less than half they were back in the 1940/50s Non league football clubs have lost at least 75% of the gates during that time

Cinemas admissions have gone from 1,600,000,000 in their heyday to 1,250,000 today. How many cinemas or theatres are left today.

There used to be over 100 greyhound stadiums down to 33 today. not counting the unlicensed tracks which are nearly all gone.

How many boxing and Wrestling promotions are there today. Very few

So it's not just Speedway that has it's problems. How many sports are booming?

 

So it's not just Speedway that is suffering.

Edited March 12, 2015 by mickthemuppet

[The White Knight]

New Science

Although Cheltenham is recession proof like Wimbledon Tennis it is not booming. I think 2 years ago the average attendance was 831. at Lingfield. I think it will be the last year for my local Point to Point.

. There would be no county cricket if the counties did not get Test Money . Northamptonshire just announced they lost £800,000 in the last two years.

The football league attendances are less than half they were back in the 1940/50s Non league football clubs have lost at least 75% of the gates during that time

Cinemas admissions have gone from 1,600,000,000 in their heyday to 1,250,000 today. How many cinemas or theatres are left today.

There used to be over 100 greyhound stadiums down to 33 today. not counting the unlicensed tracks which are nearly all gone.

How many boxing and Wrestling promotions are there today. Very few

So it's not just Speedway that has it's problems. How many sports are booming?

 

So it's not just Speedway that is suffering.

Very fair point.

 

You are right. I hadn't looked at it that way, I must admit.

[New Science]

New Science

Although Cheltenham is recession proof like Wimbledon Racing it is not booming. I think 2 years ago the average attendance was 831. at Lingfield. I think it will be the last year for my local Point to Point.

. There would be no county cricket if the counties did not get Test Money . Northamptonshire just announced they lost £800,000 in the last two years.

The football league attendances are less than half they were back in the 1940/50s Non league football clubs have lost at least 75% of the gates during that time

Cinemas admissions have gone from 1,600,000,000 in their heyday to 1,250,000 today. How many cinemas or theatres are left today.

There used to be over 100 greyhound stadiums down to 33 today. not counting the unlicensed tracks which are nearly all gone.

How many boxing and Wrestling promotions are there today. Very few

So it's not just Speedway that has it's problems. How many sports are booming?

 

So it's not just Speedway that is suffering.

This is speedways other crutch,everyone else is struggling ! If you look at the top level of most sports in this country you will find most are thriving. Premier league football-say no more, top division rugby union-some teams are hiring Twickenham or Wembley to host league games in front of 60,000, Rugby league-there's 10,000 at Warrington tonight to watch a game live on TV,how does league speedway fare when live on TV, Boxing-selling out big venues including Wembley for big shows, Snooker-rapidly expanding the number of tournaments all over the world with more money in the game than ever,Darts-selling out every week to watch Premier league darts,every day of the World championship sold out,I could go on.Tell me another sport which does not have a sponsor for its top division which is live on TV ! Speedway is shrinking not expanding 20 years ago who would have thought Eastbourne,Cradley and Birmingham would be choosing to run speedway in an amateur league,if 1 more team drops out of the Elite league next year there is no league.You need 3 things to be a prosperous sport 1. a good TV deal 2. good sponsorship and 3. Plenty of punters paying to watch. Speedway has none of these. Personally without any of these things changing the only way is sadly further decline,not great news but I believe its the truth

[berniev123]

This is speedways other crutch,everyone else is struggling ! If you look at the top level of most sports in this country you will find most are thriving. Premier league football-say no more, top division rugby union-some teams are hiring Twickenham or Wembley to host league games in front of 60,000, Rugby league-there's 10,000 at Warrington tonight to watch a game live on TV,how does league speedway fare when live on TV, Boxing-selling out big venues including Wembley for big shows, Snooker-rapidly expanding the number of tournaments all over the world with more money in the game than ever,Darts-selling out every week to watch Premier league darts,every day of the World championship sold out,I could go on.Tell me another sport which does not have a sponsor for its top division which is live on TV ! Speedway is shrinking not expanding 20 years ago who would have thought Eastbourne,Cradley and Birmingham would be choosing to run speedway in an amateur league,if 1 more team drops out of the Elite league next year there is no league.You need 3 things to be a prosperous sport 1. a good TV deal 2. good sponsorship and 3. Plenty of punters paying to watch. Speedway has none of these. Personally without any of these things changing the only way is sadly further decline,not great news but I believe its the truth

Can I just point out that the Heathens owners or fans have NO other option other than track share, which has been well documented since November 2009, due to a severe lack of 5 to 8 acres of land in the Black Country being available from Dudley or Sandwell or Walsall MBC! I, also, personally think that the Brummies without Cradley (vice versa) would not be at the tapes in 2015, which is very different thing to the Eagles being in the NL. Roll on next Wednesday and the Heathens & Brummies can start 2015 off and I hope it goes on for many a year! Also in 1995, should have been 1994, Dudley Wood shut!!!!! Built upon and no land ever since has ever appeared viable!!!!!!! Edited March 13, 2015 by berniev123

[ch958]

Can I just point out that the Heathens owners or fans have NO other option other than track share, which has been well documented since November 2009, due to a severe lack of 5 to 8 acres of land in the Black Country being available from Dudley or Sandwell or Walsall MBC! I, also, personally think that the Brummies without Cradley (vice versa) would not be at the tapes in 2015, which is very different thing to the Eagles being in the NL. Roll on next Wednesday and the Heathens & Brummies can start 2015 off and I hope it goes on for many a year! Also in 1995, should have been 1994, Dudley Wood shut!!!!! Built upon and no land ever since has ever appeared viable!!!!!!!

i've read and read but see no mention of anyone mentioning Cradley tracksharing or bitching about it. Everyone knows the terrible Dudley Wood story

 

its not relevant to his point which is that 3 of the sports major clubs are operating at the 3rd tier.

 

another case of calm down calm down i think

[cityrebel]

i've read and read but see no mention of anyone mentioning Cradley tracksharing or bitching about it. Everyone knows the terrible Dudley Wood story

 

its not relevant to his point which is that 3 of the sports major clubs are operating at the 3rd tier.

 

another case of calm down calm down i think

the way the sport is going, every club might be at a third tier level in a few years time!

[The White Knight]

the way the sport is going, every club might be at a third tier level in a few years time!

Sadly - I think that highly likely if things go on as they are.

[Shale Searcher]

Sadly - I think that highly likely if things go on as they are.

Yes, but you wouldn't just have a division 3, it would still be the top league in the Country.. perhaps called the "British National Speedway League" have 18 teams in 14 stadiums, it would run Saturday and Sunday afternoons/evenings and everyone rides everyone home and away once in 18 heat matches.

The season would run from April until September, (no play-offs)

[The White Knight]

Yes, but you wouldn't just have a division 3, it would still be the top league in the Country.. perhaps called the "British National Speedway League" have 18 teams in 14 stadiums, it would run Saturday and Sunday afternoons/evenings and everyone rides everyone home and away once in 18 heat matches.

The season would run from April until September, (no play-offs)

If you are talking names for the Leagues - British League Division One, British League Division Two and British League Division Three would do for me very nicely. :approve:

Edited March 14, 2015 by The White Knight