Gemini Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 I have CAREFULLY read all the previous posts and my assessment of speedway overall is an accepted concept: nothing struggles so much to safeguard itself as something that is dying. Glad you're back again. I've missed all your lighthearted cheerful posts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiseguy Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Even if that were the case, how would the Riders not selected for a Meeting earn a living from Speedway? They would have to be on pretty big retainers. Speedway can ill afford to pay for Riders polishing their backsides on the bench so to speak. Sorry if I'm not making myself clear, but for example take Poole, their team is Holder, Watt, North, Gomolski, janowski, Newman and Starke, they then approach as an example, Thomas H jonnasson, as a reserve heat leader, Michael Palm toft as their reserve second string and Ben Morley as their reserve reserve, all 3 are all ready earning a living from speedway, for them they get a minimal retainer, i'll say as an imaginary figure £500 for the season, they then only get paid if they actually ride, and as point 1 says we are having all our elite league speedway on 1 night, there will be no fixture clashes of course all of the above is just an example of how it could work, and I'm only throwing a few suggestions about, I'm not exactly expecting the BSPA to do any of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUFC_Brummie Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) Speedway has a lot of problems but the biggest, and sadly the hardest to overcome, is the piss poor facilities. First impressions are everything, you could take someone to the best speedway meeting there's ever been but they'd be hesitant to go back after spending 3 hours at most of the ramshackle stadia in this country. Change the bikes, tweak the rules, bring over the best riders, but speedway will never become a "respectable" sport again until this problem is solved, times have changed and people expect to watch sport in a modern and clean environment. What the sport in this country needs is for Belle Vue to get big crowds, make a good profit, and runaway with the league for 4 or 5 seasons. Hopefully it'll then kick a few more teams into gear. Edited July 10, 2015 by CUFC_Brummie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) Speedway in this country, in its current guise, simply cannot carry on with its totally inappropriate operational and business plan if it is to survive, never mind prosper. However, noting one or two comments in the past two months or so from various promoters it may mean that maybe, just maybe, the penny has dropped and as a collective they are finally coming to terms with the fact that what they have now is simply unsustainable.. Let's hope eh? One area that I do feel is a massive opportunity is the collective marketing and collective merchandising of the sport. Merchandising in particular is something that could be a money spinner. Why not copy the NFL model in the way that the profit from every shirt/scarf/baseball cap/pen etc etc sold goes into a central pot and is shared by the teams. This would also mean better profit margins through buying in bulk as a 'League/Sport' and by having just one 'make' you can build a clear 'Speedway Brand' which the wider general sporting public will start to understand... For such a minority sport with all teams relying on each other it does amaze me that they all seem to work in 'splendid isolation' rather than working alongside each other for the benefit of all... One idea I have thought of which may be a potential money spinner is an 'unlimited season ticket'. Speedway is quite unique in the way many fans attend to watch 'the sport' rather than having any affiliation to the teams on show. Therefore why not offer, say for £500, a ticket that allows you into any meeting all season (maybe excluding playoffs but you get a discount ticket for those?). . There could be one ticket across both Leagues or if they want to still work in isolation they could run their own Leagues' ticket independently... . Attend 50 EL speedway meetings and each meeting will have cost you just a tenner. Could the 8 EL teams between them get 1000 fans to purchase this £500 ticket? If so that would generate half a million quid for the League .. If both leagues work together could they get 3000 Speedway fans nationally to buy this ticket? If so that would put 1.5 million into the sport... In these days of high fuel costs, maybe this would get a fair percentage of the crowds back as the more Speedway they attend, the better the value for money their outlay has been, and as we all know, the larger the crowd, the better the atmosphere, the better the atmosphere the more likely you and others are likely to return.... Edited July 10, 2015 by mikebv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Sorry if I'm not making myself clear, but for example take Poole, their team is Holder, Watt, North, Gomolski, janowski, Newman and Starke, they then approach as an example, Thomas H jonnasson, as a reserve heat leader, Michael Palm toft as their reserve second string and Ben Morley as their reserve reserve, all 3 are all ready earning a living from speedway, for them they get a minimal retainer, i'll say as an imaginary figure £500 for the season, they then only get paid if they actually ride, and as point 1 says we are having all our elite league speedway on 1 night, there will be no fixture clashes of course all of the above is just an example of how it could work, and I'm only throwing a few suggestions about, I'm not exactly expecting the BSPA to do any of it Yes - I understand what you are getting at now. It might just work, it might not. A decent suggestion though. As for your final few words that I have highlighted. I don't think you have anything to worry about on that score - they won't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiseguy Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 As for your final few words that I have highlighted. I don't think you have anything to worry about on that score - they won't. and why would they, their doing such a fantastic job 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) I have CAREFULLY read all the previous posts and my assessment of speedway overall is an accepted concept: nothing struggles so much to safeguard itself as something that is dying. Glad you're back again. I've missed all your lighthearted cheerful posts. What the sport in this country needs is for Belle Vue to get big crowds, make a good profit, and runaway with the league for 4 or 5 seasons. Hopefully it'll then kick a few more teams into gear. Speedway in this country, in its current guise, simply cannot carry on with its totally inappropriate operational and business plan if it is to survive, never mind prosper. As I was saying....! Edited July 10, 2015 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.