Does British Speedway Have Future?

[Fromafar]

Yes it's well known on here that I stopped attending when I re-located to York from Oxford. When living in Oxford (Littlemore) it was a short walk to the stadium and that was my main incentive in continuing to go as, even then, I could see that the sport was experiencing problems and was on the decline.

 

My nearest tracks where I now live are Sheffield, Redcar and, I guess, Scunthorpe (Manchester is a pig of a place to get to on a regular basis) and it obviously would require me to get into a car and travel upwards of fifty miles one way. That's a massive dis-incentive and one I'm not prepared to do.

Scunthorpe is worth a visit if you ever want to see the sport again.

[steve roberts]

Scunthorpe is worth a visit if you ever want to see the sport again.

Yes I was tempted a couple of years ago but I awoke to drizzle and gave it a miss...however who knows!

[Halifaxtiger]

Yes I was tempted a couple of years ago but I awoke to drizzle and gave it a miss...however who knows!

 

Definitely worth a visit.

 

Much of the racing there last season was just brilliant. If someone asked me to name a track to tempt someone to return, it would Scunny.

When the future of a track like Coventry is coming under question, then I think that says where the sport is at. It might survive in a few outposts where there's not much else around and the costs can be kept low, but unfortunately I'll be surprised if it's still a professional sport in 10 years time.

 

That's a little different, Humph.

 

If there weren't issues over the ownership and development of the stadium, I doubt if speedway at Coventry would be under threat.

[Pieman72]

Excellent post Gresham a wake up call to all concerned slumbering in their bunker.

[crazysue]

 

Unaffordable or uninteresting?

 

What is the adult cost you refer to - £16?

 

Are they spending whatever they used to pay to get in on something else now?

 

Unaffordable.

 

I used to pay £3 prior to them being 16, afterwards it would have been £15 (I think, they are 23 and 20 now!), not something I could afford, nor they bearing in mind they were full time students studying for their GCSEs.

 

And no they don't apart from basic living, both are students at university and with prices for accommodation, transport and course costs, it doesn't actually leave a lot left over for nice things and certainly not a weekly speedway fix....not that there is a track within easy distance for either of them.

 

James managed to come to the track a couple of times this year, one was my treat the other was where he got some money left over from his part time whilst at home during the holidays job. Josh couldn't afford it at all as any money he managed to get, went straight away to paying half rent during the summer for his student house.

 

They don't like other sports, only speedway.

[Gresham]

 

Definitely worth a visit.

 

Much of the racing there last season was just brilliant. If someone asked me to name a track to tempt someone to return, it would Scunny.

 

That's a little different, Humph.

 

If there weren't issues over the ownership and development of the stadium, I doubt if speedway at Coventry would be under threat.

That's one of the biggest issues in speedway though, and has been for many years...not owning your own Stadium. How many tracks have closed because of issues with the stadium owners or redevelopment, rather than a club losing it's support?

 

This will continue to be an issue with clubs that don't own their own stadiums. trying to get planning again is a nightmare.

 

Just wait until Poole have their problems...people think they'll be ok, but I've got my doubts.

[Guest]

Just a reminder - there is an alternative thread on the BSF debating many of the issues that are raised here. It may be worth making a visit there?

'The Way Ahead'

[steve roberts]

That's one of the biggest issues in speedway though, and has been for many years...not owning your own Stadium. How many tracks have closed because of issues with the stadium owners or redevelopment, rather than a club losing it's support?

 

This will continue to be an issue with clubs that don't own their own stadiums. trying to get planning again is a nightmare.

 

Just wait until Poole have their problems...people think they'll be ok, but I've got my doubts.

Couldn't agree more! It makes me so angry when I read of the predicament of my old team Oxford who first operated before the war at Cowley Stadium and then from 1949 and were one of the longest running clubs only for some incompetent successive owners of the stadium to create the mess that presently presides.

 

Oxford Speedway grew from very basic roots whereby Grasstrack enthusiasts who used to run ad-hoc meetings at Sandford-on-Thames took the initiative and had a stadium built on the out skirts (as it was then) of the city.

 

I wish the Save our Stadium campaign all the best and hope that the facility can be saved for future enjoyment, in whatever guise, as the people of Oxford deserve better.

[JOS50]

Couldn't agree more! It makes me so angry when I read of the predicament of my old team Oxford who first operated before the war at Cowley Stadium and then from 1949 and were one of the longest running clubs only for some incompetent successive owners of the stadium to create the mess that presently presides.

 

Oxford Speedway grew from very basic roots whereby Grasstrack enthusiasts who used to run ad-hoc meetings at Sandford-on-Thames took the initiative and had a stadium built on the out skirts (as it was then) of the city.

 

I wish the Save our Stadium campaign all the best and hope that the facility can be saved for future enjoyment, in whatever guise, as the people of Oxford deserve better.

Sandford on Thames speedway was a loose dirt track run as a professional speedway type outfit, I have an interview with Bob Jones talking about this place and also the Gorse Hill Autodrome which I will put on youtube sometime soon.

Edited December 14, 2016 by JOS50

[steve roberts]

Sandford on Thames speedway was a loose dirt track run as a professional speedway type outfit, I have an interview with Bob Jones talking about this place and also the Gorse Hill Autodrome which I will put on youtube sometime soon.

Brought up in Cowley I've always wondered where it used to be? Anywhere near the caravan park that is/was?

[wealdstone]

It is difficult to see how much lower Speedway in this country can get. BSPA no doubt however have plans to ensure its complete demise.

[Humphrey Appleby]

If there weren't issues over the ownership and development of the stadium, I doubt if speedway at Coventry would be under threat.

There's issues with ownership and development of the stadium because the owners decided that speedway wasn't worth the bother any more. Speedway also has such a low profile that local governments have little interest in protecting its facilities from development.

 

Compare and contrast with the Ricoh Arena, and the subsequent fiasco surrounding that. The council even paid to build a new railway station there, only to discover that it couldn't be used on match days due to capacity reasons...

[waytogo28]

There is little doubt that, as others have said, things will go on in the way they always have ( even with the shiny new name tags ) and consequently all that is wrong within the sport - which has led to supporters walking away - will also continue - emptying the terraces further. The BSPA do not want to listen to the views of supporters or act on the any of their ideas, some of which have been quite good. Without a completely new approach to marketing and attracting new fans further shrinkage is almost guaranteed.

[Humphrey Appleby]

The BSPA do not want to listen to the views of supporters or act on the any of their ideas, some of which have been quite good.

You only have to read this forum to see there's little consensus on how to move the sport forward, and some of the suggestions would quite honestly bankrupt the sport in five minutes. I don't anyone would claim the BSPA does a great job, but ultimately it's the promoters' rather than fans' money on the line.

 

In any case, the speedway is now down to an ageing hardcore of fans who're rather set in their ways. If the sport is going to survive, it really needs to appeal to a completely new and younger audience, and they're not going to go along with riders marching out to Imperial Echoes, war cries, and programme boards.

[steve roberts]

You only have to read this forum to see there's little consensus on how to move the sport forward, and some of the suggestions would quite honestly bankrupt the sport in five minutes. I don't anyone would claim the BSPA does a great job, but ultimately it's the promoters' rather than fans' money on the line.

 

In any case, the speedway is now down to an ageing hardcore of fans who're rather set in their ways. If the sport is going to survive, it really needs to appeal to a completely new and younger audience, and they're not going to go along with riders marching out to Imperial Echoes, war cries, and programme boards.

Trouble is the speedway fraternity doesn't really know what and what doesn't appeal to a younger audience because there is a lack of engagement between the two. Personally I don't know what excites and enthuses young people (other than the usual stereo-typing) and working within the tourism industry it's still a mystery to me.

[Little Thumper]

You only have to read this forum to see there's little consensus on how to move the sport forward, and some of the suggestions would quite honestly bankrupt the sport in five minutes. I don't anyone would claim the BSPA does a great job, but ultimately it's the promoters' rather than fans' money on the line.

 

In any case, the speedway is now down to an ageing hardcore of fans who're rather set in their ways. If the sport is going to survive, it really needs to appeal to a completely new and younger audience, and they're not going to go along with riders marching out to Imperial Echoes, war cries, and programme boards.

 

HA, you are a wise person.

 

Just a small point though.

Yes, it is the promoters' money and they are theoretically the risk takers here BUT the majority of this money has come from supporters paying to get in to their venues.

So, surely it makes sense for the end-user to have a significant say in the end product?

 

And I know some of the ideas aren't going to cut the mustard either in practical or financial terms but some of the ideas are good.

Sadly, the people in charge are a little hard of hearing.

[Guest]

What exactly makes speedway not "family friendly"? You could take a 5 year old and a 95 year old and they would both get something from their experience.

 

In what way Skid Sprocket does speedway have something to offer those in the two vastly different age groups that you specify?

Edited December 15, 2016 by Guest

[ch958]

young sports fans will put up with a fair bit but not being embarrassed - the things HA refers to above.

Its a sport which is a branch of entertainment of course but theres no need to turn it into a circus

Really really have to lose the its a knock out jokers and double points, even DU would work if it was designed properly -

 

a word the younger element give great store to: credibility

[JOS50]

Brought up in Cowley I've always wondered where it used to be? Anywhere near the caravan park that is/was?

I don't know where it was exactly but will investigate. I'm fairly sure that regular meetings were run, fortnightly even

and the riders were paid. Bob Jones rode there often and at the first meeting at Cowley organised by the same

promotion.

[steve roberts]

young sports fans will put up with a fair bit but not being embarrassed - the things HA refers to above.

Its a sport which is a branch of entertainment of course but theres no need to turn it into a circus

Really really have to lose the its a knock out jokers and double points, even DU would work if it was designed properly -

 

a word the younger element give great store to: credibility

I would have thought that chanting banal songs and other such nonsense at football matches embarrassing enough...but they seem quite happy to do that!