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Coventry 2017


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Absolutely spot on, Dean :approve:

 

I certainly believe that rider demands have played a part in speedway struggling to keep its head above water. Some seem to believe that it is a full time occupation and not only is it not now, it never has been. I can recall Tony Davey, an England International and 9.00 British League heat leader, saying in the 70's that he had to sell his car to buy a new engine. Mick Bell, one time Coventry and Reading second string/reserve, once said that speedway was nothing more than a good paying hobby.

 

Only the top boys - then as now - did well out of it.

 

But its not just finance. Track surfaces and conditions are constantly subject to their interference, usually to the detriment of the racing. Sheffield is the classic example : a superb racing track destroyed by rider demands. It says everything about their attitude that when Scunthorpe, by far and away the best circuit in the country, was named track of the year they took to the internet in droves to make derisory, critical and mocking comments.

 

My intention here is not, in anyway, to blame riders entirely for the situation that the sport is in - that would be grossly unfair. But there has to be a realisation on their part that the paying fan comes first (and last) every single time. If they have to take a pay cut so that entrance charges do not increase, so be it. If the track is prepared in a way to maximise customer satisfaction, shut up complaining and get on with it.

Excellent Post,spot on IMO.
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Leamington FC which is Southern Premier League (step 7 in the pyramid) is £11.

I went to the lovely Ricoh arena and watched premier league rugby for £15 and kids went free, great value for money and I really enjoyed it even though I am not a rugby fan.

 

I also went to watch a championship football match and the ticket was £16 in a nice seated stadium, yet I pay £18 to stand watching a sport that has poor facilities and teams often filled with other teams riders plus where the tractor driver does more laps than the riders while listening to a babbling person given a microphone to entertain the crowd.

 

Speedway promoters don't know how to improve the popularity of the sport as there heads are stuck in the sand.

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I went to the lovely Ricoh arena and watched premier league rugby for £15 and kids went free, great value for money and I really enjoyed it even though I am not a rugby fan.

 

I also went to watch a championship football match and the ticket was £16 in a nice seated stadium, yet I pay £18 to stand watching a sport that has poor facilities and teams often filled with other teams riders plus where the tractor driver does more laps than the riders while listening to a babbling person given a microphone to entertain the crowd.

 

Speedway promoters don't know how to improve the popularity of the sport as there heads are stuck in the sand.

i assume this messi and bale are footballers , if so there wages are paid for by sponsors and other incomes because there is not enough people who attend football match to pay the big wages they earn

Fair play £12 it is then Edited by TMW
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I went to the lovely Ricoh arena and watched premier league rugby for £15 and kids went free, great value for money and I really enjoyed it even though I am not a rugby fan.

 

I also went to watch a championship football match and the ticket was £16 in a nice seated stadium, yet I pay £18 to stand watching a sport that has poor facilities and teams often filled with other teams riders plus where the tractor driver does more laps than the riders while listening to a babbling person given a microphone to entertain the crowd.

 

Speedway promoters don't know how to improve the popularity of the sport as there heads are stuck in the sand.

Championship match for £16? It was about £22 for League one footy at the Ricoh! I've been to 2 away games and I don't think I've paid less that £25. I agree with Wasps prices, brilliant. You have a choice, cheap seats £15 U10s free and if you want to splash out you can do.

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Disappointing that DWP says " I'm not going to tell you what my rider gets per point in each country" Hmmm says it all. Most fans would be staggered if they knew of the extent of rider's deals - not just per point, but inc. ALL of the "extras" that's why no rider ever makes it public. 6 bikes, 3 vans. and then we hear " at the end of the day there is not much personally for him". That is being ridiculous! Fans are not so stupid as to believe that. Please, DWP do tell that rider to get an 9 -5 job if we are expected to believe in his "plight"!

As for feeling sorry for Buster or any promoter re finding sponsors the BSPA has had 15 years of being on Sky and have never bothered ( did they try?) to use the TV as a marketing tool. Fans have chosen to walk away because the product they get at an average match is very poor value ( more than just too expensive, which it is). It's no good just " talking it up" because that will not put more bums on seats and when these hordes of new fans experience what they get at a live in stadium match they are unlikely to go back or talk it up with their friends when they get home. Thank God that they do not know how much the riders are getting! And if there is very little profit in it for promoters ( after including what sponsors put in ) none of them would continue to run speedway. They are businessmen and women as well as fans of the sport but they are not going to pour too much good money after bad are they! Of course they are making much less profit than the days when crowds were measured in their thousands rather than their hundreds and it is very likely at the point where it is not worth carrying on. I accept that.

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Disappointing that DWP says " I'm not going to tell you what my rider gets per point in each country" Hmmm says it all. Most fans would be staggered if they knew of the extent of rider's deals - not just per point, but inc. ALL of the "extras" that's why no rider ever makes it public. 6 bikes, 3 vans. and then we hear " at the end of the day there is not much personally for him". That is being ridiculous! Fans are not so stupid as to believe that. Please, DWP do tell that rider to get an 9 -5 job if we are expected to believe in his "plight"!

As for feeling sorry for Buster or any promoter re finding sponsors the BSPA has had 15 years of being on Sky and have never bothered ( did they try?) to use the TV as a marketing tool. Fans have chosen to walk away because the product they get at an average match is very poor value ( more than just too expensive, which it is). It's no good just " talking it up" because that will not put more bums on seats and when these hordes of new fans experience what they get at a live in stadium match they are unlikely to go back or talk it up with their friends when they get home. Thank God that they do not know how much the riders are getting! And if there is very little profit in it for promoters ( after including what sponsors put in ) none of them would continue to run speedway. They are businessmen and women as well as fans of the sport but they are not going to pour too much good money after bad are they! Of course they are making much less profit than the days when crowds were measured in their thousands rather than their hundreds and it is very likely at the point where it is not worth carrying on. I accept that.

 

I don't believe that the majority of riders make a substantial amount of money racing speedway. There are a number who might well do - the top boys in the GP's riding in two or three leagues or the leading Championship rider doubling up, for example. My suspicion is that those riding Premiership or Championship alone might make some but many in second string or reserve berths or riding NL might have trouble just breaking even, particularly the latter.

 

The thing is, though, is that there has to be an understanding that speedway is little more than part time employment even during the season. I am not sure that that is accepted to the degree necessary.

 

I also do not believe that most promotions are profitable and that they are, like many football clubs, propped up by wealthy individuals indulging in what is a personal hobby, occasionally in the hope that things will improve. It is one reason why I disagree with the vitriolic, personal abuse that we often see on here as speedway fans owe a debt to those individuals. While it is undoubtedly true that speedway could not run without its paying customers, it is equally true that a number of tracks would close without the support of its promoter.

 

Having said all that, I completely agree that it is not a matter of the cost of speedway but its value for money. A top quality meeting, in my view, is worth the £18 that you can occasionally (and it should be made clear that that is the highest price paid - Plymouth will be £10 next season - and probably 75% of clubs charge less) be forced to part with.

Edited by Halifaxtiger
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A question for DWP.

 

Does the rider you represent do any paid work between October and March? I personally do not consider seeking sponsors/gym training etc in that category.

 

Im not having a pop at him in particular but I realise you can only speak on his behalf.

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Championship match for £16? It was about £22 for League one footy at the Ricoh! I've been to 2 away games and I don't think I've paid less that £25. I agree with Wasps prices, brilliant. You have a choice, cheap seats £15 U10s free and if you want to splash out you can do.

I pay £19 for Premier League football at AFC Bournemouth. :party:

 

That would be £32 at Brandon as they don't have pensioner rates. :D:D:D

Edited by Pirate Baz
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I know of a few sportsman (sportswomen are also available) that had other jobs in off season.. I have employed one or two myself!! One does go back to the early 90's, he was a Leicester City player, and he worked on the bins for a local council out of season..

 

And more recently, in the late 2000's a First Class Leicestershire County Cricketer, that didn't go to play in Oz during a winter, he did admin for me in my office!!

 

So it does happen in other sports..

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Worth starting a Brandon Watch. Sandhu was very quick in getting his workers into the stadium to rip out "his" stuff. Will he be as quick to get his workers back in there to start putting it all back?

 

Or will it be like Swindon with a couple of guys in a hut drinking tea and doing half a days work a month?

 

The clock is ticking. Pressure needs to be asserted to get Brandon back to a usable condition.

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Worth starting a Brandon Watch. Sandhu was very quick in getting his workers into the stadium to rip out "his" stuff. Will he be as quick to get his workers back in there to start putting it all back?

Or will it be like Swindon with a couple of guys in a hut drinking tea and doing half a days work a month?

The clock is ticking. Pressure needs to be asserted to get Brandon back to a usable condition.

He can't get into the stadium until Brandon estate's allow him to
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I've stirred up a right Hornets nest now. I won't be asking for a refund, I'm a gooner!

 

I was also there in the away end, lovely value at £15 - to be honest, and i know this is wildly off topic, but away tickets are fantastically priced at 30 quid fixed for all normal league matches now.

 

My bank balance still has nightmares at the previous years of my away seaon ticket when tickets were upto 60 quid for sitting in a dive like Stamford Bridge and the likes..

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Already. Brilliant :D

Hopefully one of them is the Coventry v Belle Vue match on July 31st. Daft idea to have a meeting on that date. Correction ....me bad....21st. I knew it was that but my finger decided to type 3 instead of 2. I've chopped it off now.

Edited by Gemini
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I was also there in the away end, lovely value at £15 - to be honest, and i know this is wildly off topic, but away tickets are fantastically priced at 30 quid fixed for all normal league matches now.

 

My bank balance still has nightmares at the previous years of my away seaon ticket when tickets were upto 60 quid for sitting in a dive like Stamford Bridge and the likes..

But only in the Premiership. My other half has to pay £35 (for a really bad seat) if he wants to watch his team play away in the Championship at QPR.

 

Yes - in football it costs more to follow your team in the second tier than the top tier. So it's not only speedway that has some questionable pricing.

 

In my view each club should be entitled to set its own prices, but perhaps the BSPA should set some minimum requirements on concessionary rates.

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I see some of the fixtures changes have begun to be announced!!

Where did you see that Skidder?

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21st, day before Cardiff.

Yes, sorry that's what I meant. I should really go to bed earlier and not be posting on here after midnight. :lol:

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