Barry Hearn....

[capone]

HE was also approached years ago ... as was Bernie Ecclestone by his mate Barry Briggs who told him that the only way he would be interested was if he owned all the stadiums and all the teams. In others words, the sport needed a dictator in charge and he was probably right.

[/quot

 

e]

hes halway there then....he has a face like an old tater...and hes a dic (but a clever one)

there is always a question how to make f1 more exiting

if the money is coming his way thats all that matters to him

Edited January 24, 2016 by capone

[Humphrey Appleby]

Yet he could not bring success to Leyton Orient football team that has always lounged in the lower echelons of the football leagues

Barry Hearn generally involves himself in sports with low overheads and little in the way of existing effective organisation. He can then pretty much run the whole thing himself the way he wants.

 

Football and speedway come with too much baggage by comparison.

No disrespect to them, because I think they're highly skilled and probably deserve their money

You deserve what value you bring to your employer.

HE was also approached years ago ... as was Bernie Ecclestone by his mate Barry Briggs who told him that the only way he would be interested was if he owned all the stadiums and all the teams.

And he was right. I wouldn't invest in speedway unless I could run the league (at least the top league) as a single entity.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that what Joe Public wants to see is the top riders here. The trick is come up with something new that fits their schedule and appeals to the public.

They might say they want to see the top riders, but they're not prepared to pay for it. That's been proven down the years by falling crowds even when all the top riders rode in Britain.

 

British speedway should absolutely not be bending over backwards to fit its schedules around riders that the average member of the public has never heard of, and who they can't afford anyway. It should be run on days when the paying public is most likely to turn up, with riders committed to race in every meeting.

 

It needs to rebuild from a lower base, paying more sensible wages, putting on more heats and entertainment, and try to make the stadiums look half respectable.

[PHILIPRISING]

They might say they want to see the top riders, but they're not prepared to pay for it. That's been proven down the years by falling crowds even when all the top riders rode in Britain.

 

 

IT'S a very long time since all the top riders rode in Britain and I'm not sure crowds were falling, certainly not as dramatically as in recent seasons, when they were.

 

Lots of reasons why crowds are falling, including lack of regular weekly fixtures, continuity of teams, too many guests and absent riders but I have little doubt that if the likes of Sayfutfinov, Nicki Pedersen and many of the young Poles were racing in Britain attendances would rise significantly. I know of plenty of people who would travel significant distances too see these guys in action but wouldn't cross the road for some of the teams currently on display.

[chris4gillian]

IT'S a very long time since all the top riders rode in Britain and I'm not sure crowds were falling, certainly not as dramatically as in recent seasons, when they were.

 

Lots of reasons why crowds are falling, including lack of regular weekly fixtures, continuity of teams, too many guests and absent riders but I have little doubt that if the likes of Sayfutfinov, Nicki Pedersen and many of the young Poles were racing in Britain attendances would rise significantly. I know of plenty of people who would travel significant distances too see these guys in action but wouldn't cross the road for some of the teams currently on display.

 

Nice post Phil and I agree 100%. See my own post a few days ago which said similar regarding the top riders.

[coldace]

Agree also but the basics still need to be there, a fixed race night, a continuity of fixtures and a settled team. This encourages the 'habit'.

 

It seems to me that over the last few years in the EL, the habit has been lost. It certainly has for me and it has only been the new start at BV that has sparked my enthusiasm for the sport. Personally I can't wait for the season to start.

[enotian]

Traditional league racing with 7 man teams over 8-9 months is a niche product.

 

To reach a mass audience the best speedway can aim for is to be the focus of attention for a short time span during the summer. (like Wimbledon does for Tennis but obviously on a smaller scale)

 

Talk to broadcasters find out when they have a two week gap in their schedules in which they can give high level promotion to the product.

 

Get the best riders riding on the best tracks in the best stadiums currently on offer. If that means only using 4 or 5 locations then so be it.

 

Make the format fit, don't get bogged down by traditional convention. It's got to be about the product on track.

 

Get the betting companies involved to widen the appeal. Go big on the stats. Speedway lends itself to betting more than any other sport. There's a chance to win every 5 minutes.

 

Run domestic March to October league speedway to an affordable model without the big names. Hope the flag ship event stimulates attendances and sponsorship.

[orion]

 

British speedway should absolutely not be bending over backwards to fit its schedules around riders that the average member of the public has never heard of, and who they can't afford anyway. It should be run on days when the paying public is most likely to turn up, with riders committed to race in every meeting.

 

 

They been doing that for years ..it's called the pl and the crowds have still dropped and clubs have lost money

[Humphrey Appleby]

IT'S a very long time since all the top riders rode in Britain and I'm not sure crowds were falling, certainly not as dramatically as in recent seasons, when they were.

They were all riding in Britain when I was going in the 1980s, and crowds were on a downward trend there. I also seem to remember pretty well all the top riders riding in the newly established Elite League in 1997 until the early 2000s, and again there were declining audiences with the odd exception.

 

Lots of reasons why crowds are falling, including lack of regular weekly fixtures, continuity of teams, too many guests and absent riders

There's part of the reason, but also associated with admission becoming too expensive. There are of course a whole host of reasons for this, not just related to rider wages, but those seem to have risen beyond what the crowds justify and have contributed to the downward spiral.

 

but I have little doubt that if the likes of Sayfutfinov, Nicki Pedersen and many of the young Poles were racing in Britain attendances would rise significantly. I know of plenty of people who would travel significant distances too see these guys in action but wouldn't cross the road for some of the teams currently on display.

Well Nicki Pedersen was riding in the EL for several years, and crowds still declined. People might cross the road to watch these riders occasionally, but the novelty wears off if you're paying 18 quid a week. That's quite aside from not knowing whether they'll turn-up for the team, even if you did arrange the fixtures on one or two race days.

[Trees]

I'll just live in hope of an upturn, one thing is for sure promoters and riders alike must find the secret ingredient to attract more people, even BSI aren't having success with that!

[Humphrey Appleby]

Get the best riders riding on the best tracks in the best stadiums currently on offer. If that means only using 4 or 5 locations then so be it.

 

A short format super league like the IPL or BBL with a handful of teams might be worth trying, although finding a suitable slot with all the GPs, SWC and SEC rounds would be a challenge. I think it has to be team event though, otherwise you're just replicating the SGP or SEC and not promoting interest in the wider team sport.

 

I'm also not sure I can think of 4 decent speedway stadiums in Britain nowadays.

[beckettlion]

 

A short format super league like the IPL or BBL with a handful of teams might be worth trying, although finding a suitable slot with all the GPs, SWC and SEC rounds would be a challenge. I think it has to be team event though, otherwise you're just replicating the SGP or SEC and not promoting interest in the wider team sport.

 

I'm also not sure I can think of 4 decent speedway stadiums in Britain nowadays.

 

Interesting Idea, although IPL and BBL are not the only cricket competitions in those countries. They're separate tournaments for the shorter format of the game, but are fit into the calendar alongside one day and first class (4 day) cricket competitions.

 

If British Speedway were to take your approach with a month long competition of possible franchise teams, they might be able to do a 4s competition. If they could find the right days of the week to attract some GP riders over and encourage some of the big boys back to britain... it might be possible

 

Edit: this would coincide with, not completely replace the elite league. Might however, get a few fans (new or old) into stadiums if promoted well

Edited January 25, 2016 by beckettlion

[Humphrey Appleby]

Interesting Idea, although IPL and BBL are not the only cricket competitions in those countries.

No, but no-one's interested in the other ones and neither do they feature all the top players in the world.

 

If British Speedway were to take your approach with a month long competition of possible franchise teams, they might be able to do a 4s competition. If they could find the right days of the week to attract some GP riders over and encourage some of the big boys back to britain... it might be possible

I'm not sure anyone would buy a speedway franchise, but just pick the four teams that are likely to get best crowds and have stadiums you're not embarrassed to bring new people to. Run 20-heat meetings with both a team event and knockout individual competition to provide a proper night out and give exposure to both types of format, and then go from there.

 

Either run a 4TT over 8 rounds (2 per track) or 4 team home and away round robin (6 matches per team) with a Grand Final. All BEL teams contribute to the running costs, and share any profits (minus host track expenses).

[PHILIPRISING]

WHEN Holder and Ward were at their peak for Poole every track in the country reported one of if not the best crowd of the season when they visited. Of course crowds are nowhere near the 80s but sadly those days are long gone but it doesn't mean that the top riders cannot attract more fans than normal. Look at what Sayfutdinov achieved during his all too short time here.

 

The franchise idea is being discussed by some interested parties and is very much at an embryotic stage but venues like Glasgow, Belle Vue, Wolverhampton and Poole could provide suitable venues and attract decent crowds if the format was right on and off the track.

Edited January 25, 2016 by PHILIPRISING

[SteveLyric2]

WHEN Holder and Ward were at their peak for Poole every track in the country reported one of if not the best crowd of the season when they visited. Of course crowds are nowhere near the 80s but sadly those days are long gone but it doesn't mean that the top riders cannot attract more fans than normal. Look at what Sayfutdinov achieved during his all too short time here.

 

The franchise idea is being discussed by some interested parties and is very much at an embryotic stage but venues like Glasgow, Belle Vue, Wolverhampton and Poole could provide suitable venues and attract decent crowds if the format was right on and off the track.

 

Very similar to the WSL concept although more 'contained'!!?

[Daytripper]

WHEN Holder and Ward were at their peak for Poole every track in the country reported one of if not the best crowd of the season when they visited. Of course crowds are nowhere near the 80s but sadly those days are long gone but it doesn't mean that the top riders cannot attract more fans than normal. Look at what Sayfutdinov achieved during his all too short time here.

 

The franchise idea is being discussed by some interested parties and is very much at an embryotic stage but venues like Glasgow, Belle Vue, Wolverhampton and Poole could provide suitable venues and attract decent crowds if the format was right on and off the track.

 

Holder and Ward were a very unique combination that were worth going to see once or twice in a season. Sayfutinov had, for want of a better expression a novelty value but would people still be flocking to see him if he was riding every meeting every season when the novelty wore off ? I think it also has to do with a winning side. Would Poole be getting good attendances if they had Holder and Ward together inferior riders and were losing at home all the time ? By comparison I draw the comparison with Lakeside who had Andreas Jonsson last season, who is immensely popular there on a personal level, but attendances were the lowest ever under the present promotion because match after match was being lost at reserve. The home 1-5 outscored the opposition on every home meeting except one (and that was when Darcy came with Swindon ) but seven of them were lost because the EDR reserves were being hopelessly outscored.

 

I think there are a combination of reasons why people decide to go or not go to a speedway meeting and star riders is only one small part of the jigsaw puzzle. However history proves that w inning team gets better support than a losing team over the course of a season, and I think the most important thing is reasonably evenly matched sides that can win most of the time in front of their home fans.

[BluPanther]

 

Holder and Ward were a very unique combination that were worth going to see once or twice in a season. Sayfutinov had, for want of a better expression a novelty value but would people still be flocking to see him if he was riding every meeting every season when the novelty wore off ? I think it also has to do with a winning side. Would Poole be getting good attendances if they had Holder and Ward together inferior riders and were losing at home all the time ? By comparison I draw the comparison with Lakeside who had Andreas Jonsson last season, who is immensely popular there on a personal level, but attendances were the lowest ever under the present promotion because match after match was being lost at reserve. The home 1-5 outscored the opposition on every home meeting except one (and that was when Darcy came with Swindon ) but seven of them were lost because the EDR reserves were being hopelessly outscored.

 

I think there are a combination of reasons why people decide to go or not go to a speedway meeting and star riders is only one small part of the jigsaw puzzle. However history proves that w inning team gets better support than a losing team over the course of a season, and I think the most important thing is reasonably evenly matched sides that can win most of the time in front of their home fans.

Absolutely correct, and applies to nearly all team sports...

[Nobblytriers]

I'm just at the bottom of the 2nd page in this thread so apologies in advance if this is sort of duplicated by someone on the pages that follow.

 

Whilst I agree that more promoters should do more of what their title implies, that can't be the answer to the problem.

No doubt Mr Hearn has done wonders for snooker and boxing, and someone else has pulled darts out of the pub, but look at what they had to deal with. A green covered table (which you can put in any big room), a large platform surrounded by rope (which you can put in any big room) and a round disc marked into 20 sections that accompanies a rubber mat, and, surprisingly, you can fit that in any big room too.

It can be pretty easy for an accomplished showman to get a room full of people excited and create an atmosphere. Alot of speedway stadia are big so you need many many more people to create an atmosphere. They are also quite run down. They also have to deal with inclement weather. Would Mr Hearns' sports be as popular if the spectators had to sit in grubby chairs, use questionable toilet facilities or stand out in the cold?

 

Mr Ecclestone appears to want to own everything if he were to promote it. Look at what happens to the racing circuits that don't come up to scratch. They have to invest heavily to update their facilities or they can't have a GP ... and then they have to pay to have that!! But nearly every circuit that Bernie visits with his circus heaves with people over a three day period and the atmosphere is amazing. And that's another thing. It's a one-off, once a year experience that people are willing to pay for. The same can possibly be said for the Arenacross. A one off treat.

 

Speedway is a weekly/forntnightly event and if there's a family involved then that doesn't come cheap. Coupled with a lack of atmosphere, dodgy facilities, cold, damp nights, a lack of entertainment on the track, long gaps between races, (though not always) and old music (and why is that when, if you have a public broadcasting license, you can play anything you want!?) you can begin to see why we have a shortage of people through the gates.

 

Personally, I still enjoy speedway. I can put up with all of the above because I know what speedway can be. When it's right, I think it's the most exciting sport there is. What we need to do is make it right for the new ones that come through the gate ... but I don't think Mr Hearn or Mr Ecclestone will have all the answers for that problem ... and I don't think either of those two will come cheap.

 

PS, I've yet to watch the youtube clip with Hearn.

Edited January 25, 2016 by nobblytriers

[orion]

 

 

Well Nicki Pedersen was riding in the EL for several years, and crowds still declined. People might cross the road to watch these riders occasionally, but the novelty wears off if you're paying 18 quid a week. That's quite aside from not knowing whether they'll turn-up for the team, even if you did arrange the fixtures on one or two race days.

Swindon crowds dropped by about 30% when Leigh Adams pack it in and have never been the same since ...the novelty never wore off then .. the bottom line is the better the standard then more likely the crowd is going to be bigger .

 

The plan most always be to find a format that allows better riders to raise the standard and crowds .People don't cross the road to watch crap riders even if they do turn up in each week .

[Shale Searcher]

Swindon crowds dropped by about 30% when Leigh Adams pack it in and have never been the same since ...the novelty never wore off then .. the bottom line is the better the standard then more likely the crowd is going to be bigger .

 

The plan most always be to find a format that allows better riders to raise the standard and crowds .People don't cross the road to watch crap riders even if they do turn up in each week .

Better riders, raise the standard!!!

That's exactly the opposite to speedways format! Lesser riders, lower the standard, lowest common denominator..

 

This I suggest over the years has done more damage than most of the other reasons given for the sports decline in the UK.

[Countershaftcounter]

How many coloured / ethic minority supporters do you see at a meeting ?

That's a huge untapped potential audience.

 

It's the 21st century, judging by some of the comments on here what modern day corporation would want to get involved in a sport that hasn't involved in either organisation, facilities or appeal in decades. Above all Hearn is a business man, he wouldn't touch speedway with a bargepole