Premier League Pairs Somerset 03/07/15

[penchev]

Well think that's my final year for the pairs if it's still at Somerset. Over 2000 people , 6/7 ladies toilets, 30min wait for a drink,food, the loo. Centre green announcer making it the Somerset show (yet again) . Let's hope it gets moved to a neutral track maybe the new Bellevue, a bit like the farce that is the PL Fours, 5-6hours to run a meeting , ends up the Peterborough show. They took it from Workington for the that reason (which I do agree with) . Let's hope somebody sees bloody sense next year !!!!

Not a cat in hells chance they will move it, as long as the Grand Prix remains at Cardiff.

 

I have to agree with you though, lack of toilets, food outlets, the can bar they had set up offered warm beer, this was due to it being such a hot day and the fridge had packed in!

 

Farce.

Edited July 10, 2015 by penchev

[topsoil]

The past two years have been terrible as regards amenities. Two portaloos on the back straight for about a thousand people over there. The toilets in the clubhouse are fine, as long as you are male. Just glad I'm not female because every time you go in there you see massive long queues and they must miss a lot of the racing.

As regards food and drink outlets, you would think the club would see this as a major money making opportunity. The more outlets you provide, the more people you are going to serve.

Really look forward to this event every year, love the track, the racing it offers, even the ground, with the banking all way round offers good viewing, but the club let themselves down massively by not looking after the fans this way and the club are losing out on a potential big payday.

[Taylorj]

The past two years have been terrible as regards amenities. Two portaloos on the back straight for about a thousand people over there. The toilets in the clubhouse are fine, as long as you are male. Just glad I'm not female because every time you go in there you see massive long queues and they must miss a lot of the racing.

As regards food and drink outlets, you would think the club would see this as a major money making opportunity. The more outlets you provide, the more people you are going to serve.

Really look forward to this event every year, love the track, the racing it offers, even the ground, with the banking all way round offers good viewing, but the club let themselves down massively by not looking after the fans this way and the club are losing out on a potential big payday.

Glad to see others agree , racing may be good but we travelled from Cardiff which took over 2 hours , got a space on the 4th bend, went for a drink/loo/food , missed 4 heats , covered in shale walking back round . Has to be a bigger,better place to hold these events, how about the new stadium at Belle Vue

[cyclone]

Think it will stay at OTA on Friday prior to Cardiff as it's en route to SGP.

 

Manchester would not be on the journey path for most travelling PL fans.

[uk_martin]

...traffic was horrendous...

 

I've been to Somerset since the days when the Brummies were in the PL. It's always the same. The M5 between Bristol and Weston is a Super Nightmare. I make allowances in my timing to allow for it, and on that stretch of the M5, always remember, "the fast lane is the slow lane and the slow (inside) lane is the fast lane. Dunno why there specifically, but it always works.

[pvm]

Just out of interest, when are Swindon due to get a new Stadium, and would this make it a possible alternative to Somerset?

[tyretrax]

As Penchev said not a cats chance in hell whilst the G.P. is at Cardiff.

[jenga]

As Penchev said not a cats chance in hell whilst the G.P. is at Cardiff.

 

 

but there is , if somerset cant/wont give the paying fans reasonable facilities at a venue where a bspa shared event is taking place then less fans will attend every year and so the coffers get smaller. belle vue/swindon or any other reasonably neutral track would do . belle vue being the more central one.

 

other fans are sick of a one track wonder being hailed as the correct venue for the pairs/fours. if that wont work, move it around a bit. give everyone a chance of glory. but b/v is the best option.

 

 

 

 

or have the pairs on a thursday/friday and the gp on a saturday @ belle vue. two types of fans . the snobs and the proper supporters.

 

it will save thousands of pounds putting down a track in Cardiff for one day. the british gp held @ cardiff where no british rider actually rides a a permanent bases. ! ! !

Edited July 14, 2015 by jenga

[Pob]

Ok quote me if i'm wrong but sure i read somewhere that the lease or promotion for the Cardiff event was only contracted till 2016 at Cardiff.

 

Would this mean a move away from Cardiff after next years event ?

[jenga]

i dont think you are far away with the contractual lease thing.

[SCB]

Ok quote me if i'm wrong but sure i read somewhere that the lease or promotion for the Cardiff event was only contracted till 2016 at Cardiff.

 

Would this mean a move away from Cardiff after next years event ?

The GP won't leave Cardiff. The stadium needs all the income it can get while for speedway it's the jewel in the crown. It's win-win.

[penchev]

 

 

but there is , if somerset cant/wont give the paying fans reasonable facilities at a venue where a bspa shared event is taking place then less fans will attend every year and so the coffers get smaller. belle vue/swindon or any other reasonably neutral track would do . belle vue being the more central one.

 

other fans are sick of a one track wonder being hailed as the correct venue for the pairs/fours. if that wont work, move it around a bit. give everyone a chance of glory. but b/v is the best option.

 

 

 

 

or have the pairs on a thursday/friday and the gp on a saturday @ belle vue. two types of fans . the snobs and the proper supporters.

 

it will save thousands of pounds putting down a track in Cardiff for one day. the british gp held @ cardiff where no british rider actually rides a a permanent bases. ! ! !

Never happen, they will always get a good crowd for the pairs, speedway fans are used to putting up with piss poor facilities but yet will still go.

 

As for the idea of a Gp held at belle vue.............never happen either............main reason Cardiff has a roof.

[Northern Exile]

Having attended the Pairs on a number of occasions, it is fair to say that the racing has always been entertaining and the busy car park is reasonably well organised. Getting out from the place at the close of the meeting needs patience though this applies to most well attended events, speedway or otherwise.

My concern at the Oak Tree Arena on Pairs night is that the those promoting/delivering the event do not appear to have made too much of an effort to grasp that many of those in attendance are not local and are fans who make great efforts to get to the track and in time to enjoy the event.

 

Getting there in time involves dealing with huge traffic issues which worsen by the year. This means setting out earlier, taking time off work and planning the journey according to anticipated conditions which will not improve in the near future. That is how it is on the roads, especially around there. Our own journey from North West London took just over an appalling five hours with problems on the M25 and M4, never mind the M5. Those five hours included a very quick, (and I mean quick) stop for food because we knew from previous experience that the catering facilities at the track probably would not be able to deliver food to us if we arrived with less that half an hour to spare. Why? There are not enough of catering outlets, simple as that. We are there to watch the racing, not spend an inordinate amount of time in queues waiting for 'fast food'. Hanging around on motorways is bad enough without then, on arrival at the track, having to set out on a mission to secure sustenance whilst the reason for one's attendance in the first place is starting. The main thing you want to sort on arrival is a good position to watch the racing and in a decent crowd, that can be a challenge in itself, but is an accepted part of the event. Truth is that we would rather buy food at the track as it gives us an extra 15-20 minutes to get there and theoretically eliminates the need for a stop. However, a lack of porta-loos on the night looks as if it may render that particular idea redundant.

 

The changing of the start time to 7.00pm was the right move but why was this announced only a few days before the event? If we had known properly in advance, we could have managed our plans better and whilst we managed to get there for 'tapes-up' I am aware of at least one party that was unable to re-arrange its plans and did not get there until nearly 7.20pm. With proper notice of the start time change, which I repeat was the correct thing to do, that party known to us would probably have been able to re-arrange its schedule and arrive in readiness for the start of racing.

 

As speedway fans, we want to see good racing. The Pairs at Somerset delivers it and thank-you for that. However, the experience should be underpinned by some more consideration and thought being given to the paying public which is more than happy to spend money at the track. There is a large captive audience there on the night, give them the chance to spend more money, properly enjoy the event and then come back for more.

[penchev]

Having attended the Pairs on a number of occasions, it is fair to say that the racing has always been entertaining and the busy car park is reasonably well organised. Getting out from the place at the close of the meeting needs patience though this applies to most well attended events, speedway or otherwise.

My concern at the Oak Tree Arena on Pairs night is that the those promoting/delivering the event do not appear to have made too much of an effort to grasp that many of those in attendance are not local and are fans who make great efforts to get to the track and in time to enjoy the event.

 

Getting there in time involves dealing with huge traffic issues which worsen by the year. This means setting out earlier, taking time off work and planning the journey according to anticipated conditions which will not improve in the near future. That is how it is on the roads, especially around there. Our own journey from North West London took just over an appalling five hours with problems on the M25 and M4, never mind the M5. Those five hours included a very quick, (and I mean quick) stop for food because we knew from previous experience that the catering facilities at the track probably would not be able to deliver food to us if we arrived with less that half an hour to spare. Why? There are not enough of catering outlets, simple as that. We are there to watch the racing, not spend an inordinate amount of time in queues waiting for 'fast food'. Hanging around on motorways is bad enough without then, on arrival at the track, having to set out on a mission to secure sustenance whilst the reason for one's attendance in the first place is starting. The main thing you want to sort on arrival is a good position to watch the racing and in a decent crowd, that can be a challenge in itself, but is an accepted part of the event. Truth is that we would rather buy food at the track as it gives us an extra 15-20 minutes to get there and theoretically eliminates the need for a stop. However, a lack of porta-loos on the night looks as if it may render that particular idea redundant.

 

The changing of the start time to 7.00pm was the right move but why was this announced only a few days before the event? If we had known properly in advance, we could have managed our plans better and whilst we managed to get there for 'tapes-up' I am aware of at least one party that was unable to re-arrange its plans and did not get there until nearly 7.20pm. With proper notice of the start time change, which I repeat was the correct thing to do, that party known to us would probably have been able to re-arrange its schedule and arrive in readiness for the start of racing.

 

As speedway fans, we want to see good racing. The Pairs at Somerset delivers it and thank-you for that. However, the experience should be underpinned by some more consideration and thought being given to the paying public which is more than happy to spend money at the track. There is a large captive audience there on the night, give them the chance to spend more money, properly enjoy the event and then come back for more.

Why dont you drop them an e-mail

 

pressoffice@somersetrebels.co

[Pob]

The GP won't leave Cardiff. The stadium needs all the income it can get while for speedway it's the jewel in the crown. It's win-win.

 

With the crowd that was there few weeks ago why would they try and move it . No race track in this country would be able to accommodate that sort of crowd levels .

 

Attended my 1st Cardiff GP this year and loved all of it ok bit of a trek but the end result was well worth it , may it long continue to be held in Cardiff .

Next years tickets and Hotel (bargain only 10mins walk from stadium and cheap ) already booked can't wait .

[bigcatdiary]

I've been to Somerset since the days when the Brummies were in the PL. It's always the same. The M5 between Bristol and Weston is a Super Nightmare. I make allowances in my timing to allow for it, and on that stretch of the M5, always remember, "the fast lane is the slow lane and the slow (inside) lane is the fast lane. Dunno why there specifically, but it always works.

Perhaps better to use terms like near side, centre and offside carriageways as those people who have ever worked on motorways will confirm that everything goes fast on motorways despite what lane is being used.