Could Speedway Move Forward With A Hearn Type.?

[Sidney the robin]

Is British speedway dead and buried could it be revamped with a Barry Hearn type at the helm or a impartial governing body running it.?I watched the darts this week and how that sport has prospered and moved on.Speedway for me now in this Country is in decline terminally damaged old stadia with no younger generation supporting the sport replacing old farts like myself.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Sidney the robin

[Bagpuss]

Of course it could but I'd suggest the chances of it happening are slim at best.

[Trees]

Is British speedway dead and buried could it be revamped with a Barry Hearn type at the helm or a impartial governing body running it.?I watched the darts this week and how that sport has prospered and moved on.Speedway for me now in this Country is in decline terminally damaged old stadia with no younger generation supporting the sport replacing old farts like myself.

A Barry Hearn type would want to own all the stadiums himself and be in total control, he'd need plenty of money to invest or sweet talk companies out of millions. Darts has been a relative piece of cake ....

[robert72]

Is British speedway dead and buried could it be revamped with a Barry Hearn type at the helm or a impartial governing body running it.?I watched the darts this week and how that sport has prospered and moved on.Speedway for me now in this Country is in decline terminally damaged old stadia with no younger generation supporting the sport replacing old farts like myself.

IF British promoters were to run the sport properly and people got value for money they wouldn't need any Barry Hearn type.

[The Voice Of Reason]

Darts has moved on significantly from the old days of The Embassy Tournament, run by the BDO.

 

However, let's firstly put a few things into perspective.

 

The big darts tournaments that we see well attended, are not run for most nights each week; from March to October. They are occasional, regionalised events that attract a few thousand - in particular, during the darts GP Series; at an individual location. Are we saying therefore that the spectator numbers are higher than the collective numbers of people turning out WEEKLY at adjacent Speedway tracks?

 

Indeed, would these darts events attract a regular/similar number of spectators if they were weekly/fortnightly events? I doubt it.

 

Now.....Mr Barry Hearn.

 

Apart from Speedway, my other interest is football - namely Leyton Orient FC. Barry Hearn, or H£arn as we referred to him, was our Chairman for the best part of 19 years. Did WE achieve any level of success under his leadership? When was the last time any of you guys honestly heard of Leyton Orient Football Club in the national media? Did our crowds increase under his tenure? Nope. Still an average gate of around 4,500 die-hards - the same as when he came onto the scene in the mid-90's.

 

And what are we left with now? A stadium with 4 blocks of private flats on each corner (a nice little Barry H£arner!); killing the atmosphere totally; whilst making the pitch reminiscent of a playing field in the middle of a housing estate. Years of continual failure in the bottom tier of English Football. We are again on the brink of relegation this season and, for the first time in our club's history since 1881, could very well be playing semi-pro football by this Spring. He promised to sell out to 'a safe pair of hands'. Instead, we now have an absolute lunatic Italian owner (Bechetti) who has provided us with NINE different managers in two seasons; is being pursued by the Albanian Govt. for corruption (he took millions off them for wind turbines that never materialised) and has now gone AWOL since early December.

 

THAT, my friends, is the true legacy of Barry H£arn. Yeah, he talks the talk - but the only thing he ever wants to truly promote is his own bank balance.

 

And lets say he did come into Speedway. What exactly would he do? Get us a regular spot with his contacts on Sky Sports? WOW......we've all seen what a positive contribution Sky have had over the years, haven't we. Coachloads of new supporters at every track; and a massive rise in awareness of the sport (not).

 

From my experience of H£arn at LOFC, he is anything but a safe pair of hands. He gets involved with something simply for what he can get out of it. Yes, he may have earned a few quid out of boxing, and pub games (not Sports) such as snooker and darts; but this idea of him transforming Speedway is truly laughable.

 

Even if we got him a job on the turnstyles, he'd be one of those blokes who took your dosh, then told you to "squeeze through".....without hearing the audible 'clank'.

 

Personally, I wouldn't trust the geezer with a fiver to run down the chip shop for me.

Edited January 4, 2017 by The Voice Of Reason

[Sidney the robin]

Darts has moved on significantly from the old days of The Embassy Tournament, run by the BDO.

 

However, let's firstly put a few things into perspective.

 

The big darts tournaments that we see well attended, are not run for most nights each week; from March to October. They are occasional, regionalised events that attract a few thousand - in particular, during the darts GP Series; at an individual location. Are we saying therefore that the spectator numbers are higher than the collective numbers of people turning out WEEKLY at adjacent Speedway tracks?

 

Indeed, would these darts events attract a regular/similar number of spectators if they were weekly/fortnightly events? I doubt it.

 

Now.....Mr Barry Hearn.

 

Apart from Speedway, my other interest is football - namely Leyton Orient FC. Barry Hearn, or H£arn as we referred to him, was our Chairman for the best part of 19 years. Did WE achieve any level of success under his leadership? When was the last time any of you guys honestly heard of Leyton Orient Football Club in the national media? Did our crowds increase under his tenure? Nope. Still an average gate of around 4,500 die-hards - the same as when he came onto the scene in the mid-90's.

 

And what are we left with now? A stadium with 4 blocks of private flats on each corner (a nice little Barry H£arner!); killing the atmosphere totally; whilst making the pitch reminiscent of a playing field in the middle of a housing estate. Years of continual failure in the bottom tier of English Football. We are again on the brink of relegation this season and, for the first time in our club's history since 1881, could very well be playing semi-pro football by this Spring. He promised to sell out to 'a safe pair of hands'. Instead, we now have an absolute lunatic Italian owner (Bechetti) who has provided us with NINE different managers in two seasons; is being pursued by the Albanian Govt. for corruption (he took millions off them for wind turbines that never materialised) and has now gone AWOL since early December.

 

THAT, my friends, is the true legacy of Barry H£arn. Yeah, he talks the talk - but the only thing he ever wants to truly promote is his own bank balance.

 

And lets say he did come into Speedway. What exactly would he do? Get us a regular spot with his contacts on Sky Sports? WOW......we've all seen what a positive contribution Sky have had over the years, haven't we. Coachloads of new supporters at every track; and a massive rise in awareness of the sport (not).

 

From my experience of H£arn at LOFC, he is anything but a safe pair of hands. He gets involved with something simply for what he can get out of it. Yes, he may have earned a few quid out of boxing, and pub games (not Sports) such as snooker and darts; but this idea of him transforming Speedway is truly laughable.

 

Even if we got him a job on the turnstyles, he'd be one of those blokes who took your dosh, then told you to "squeeze through".....without hearing the audible 'clank'.

 

Personally, I wouldn't trust the geezer with a fiver to run down the chip shop for me.

I totally agree with all of that can't stand the bloke he would shaft his own granny to make a few quid.Maybe i should of used another example rather than Hearn to front our sport.Also apart from Orient how much damage has he done to Snooker? massive devides between the players that he has created i have totally lost interest in snooker now.Back to speedway can it reinvent itself i don't think so myself.

[Paulco]

A major thing holding speedway back is the good old British weather . We could come up with a wonderful new idea for a meeting , bombard the media promoting it , then come the big day it's pouring .

Alongside cricket it's a sport totally at the mercy of the elements , and while that remains the case it sort of ties our hands .

[speedibee]

When I see stuff like darts ,snooker ,cricket , football , F1 , and the pathetic modern wrestling , I often think if those turds can be polished with flashing lights a headless chicken and barrow loads of hype .why not a sport that has real skill and daring like speedway ? , looking at the average foam finger waving spectator at a gladiators, WWF, darts or snooker event , I cant help thinking there are just not enough halfwits to go round ..

Edited January 4, 2017 by speedibee

[foamfence]

When I see stuff like darts ,snooker ,cricket , football , F1 , and the pathetic modern wrestling , I often think if those turds can be polished with flashing lights a headless chicken and barrow loads of hype .why not a sport that has real skill and daring like speedway ? , looking at the average foam finger waving spectator at a gladiators, WWF, darts or snooker event , I cant help thinking there are just not enough halfwits to go round ..

Exactly!

[moxey63]

Have I missed something.... but where did the idea of the new race format go? Was there behind closed doors trials last summer? Weren't they supposedly the big kick-start on a new (another one) dawn for the sport? Slap me in the face and tell me I imagined it...

[Paulco]

Have I missed something.... but where did the idea of the new race format go? Was there behind closed doors trials last summer? Weren't they supposedly the big kick-start on a new (another one) dawn for the sport? Slap me in the face and tell me I imagined it...

Yeah it was to accommodate 6 rider teams though , which obviously has been shelved for the time being .

[moxey63]

When I see stuff like darts ,snooker ,cricket , football , F1 , and the pathetic modern wrestling , I often think if those turds can be polished with flashing lights a headless chicken and barrow loads of hype .why not a sport that has real skill and daring like speedway ? , looking at the average foam finger waving spectator at a gladiators, WWF, darts or snooker event , I cant help thinking there are just not enough halfwits to go round ..

 

 

But speedway is better than those sports, that we all know. It is like some are drawn to Strictly and X-Factor, which I most certainly ain't, some are pulled along by sports that have flashing lights and fueled by a booze-swigging audience. Speedway should raise the bar higher. It allowed itself to wonder into novelty-value territory with the Double Points, the silly Man O' Man races in the KO Cup a few years back. It is better as a serious sport, which has enough going for it than grabbing idiots from the street who like flashing lights and loud music to introduce the performers. Thing is, sad as it is, the idiots have already got the keys and are in charge of the show.

[BWitcher]

Someone was desperate for speedway to follow a model based on the success of darts and held Hearn up as some kind of saviour. I was horrified and explained at length how Hearn was killing Orient to balance his God like status in darts and that darts isn't in any way comparable to speedway, well not yet anyway.

 

I'm surprised the 'speedway should be run like darts' people haven't appeared on this thread, although the fact that I was right about Hearn will have no doubt slowed them down a bit.

 

You're right.

 

We most certainly wouldn't want speedway teams to be like Leyton Orient were under Hearn.

 

A club on the verge of bankruptcy and losing money season after season when Hearn took over turned into one of THE most financially stable clubs in the UK. When Hearn left they had just lost on penalties for promotion to the Championship. Something almost achieved without spending big money on players or indeed ANY money on players, simply through good management and a well run club.

 

Hearn sold up and left and within 2 years Orient are in total disarray.

 

Voice of Reason in his attempt to disparage Hearn has only achieved to highlight what a good job he did.

 

Whether or not Hearn could do the same for speedway is an entirely different argument but not one that can be dismissed by linking to his record at Orient.

Edited January 4, 2017 by BWitcher

[pugwash]

The big darts tournaments that we see well attended, are not run for most nights each week; from March to October. They are occasional, regionalised events that attract a few thousand - in particular, during the darts GP Series; at an individual location. Are we saying therefore that the spectator numbers are higher than the collective numbers of people turning out WEEKLY at adjacent Speedway tracks?

 

Indeed, would these darts events attract a regular/similar number of spectators if they were weekly/fortnightly events? I doubt it.

 

 

Obviously you don't know anything about darts.

There is no such thing as the darts GP series.There is however The PDC Darts Premier League which runs for 16 weeks from Feb until May. This is a weekly thursday night fixture shown on sky tv and held in big arenas which attract upwards to 12000 supporters.

Judging by Witchy's reply to your post you obviously don't know anything about Leyton Orient or Barry Hearn's tenure of that club either.

[BWitcher]

Of course Voice of Reason also fails to mention that when Hearn took over the club they played in a ramshackle of a stadium (if it could even be called that), with an ever decreasing capacity due to health and safety. Indeed, one could compare it with many speedway stadia today.

 

Hearn in his tenure built new stands on all four sides of the ground leaving the club with a very smart stadium for their level indeed.

Edited January 4, 2017 by BWitcher

[waytogo28]

Neatly sums up the situation -

 

"IF British promoters were to run the sport properly and people got value for money they wouldn't need any Barry Hearn type."

 

Too much vested interest and far too much of " I know best" from those in a position to influence the direction of speedway within the BSPA.

[The White Knight]

Neatly sums up the situation -

 

"IF British promoters were to run the sport properly and people got value for money they wouldn't need any Barry Hearn type."

 

Too much vested interest and far too much of " I know best" from those in a position to influence the direction of speedway within the BSPA.

.......................... add to that bending of Rules in self interest. :sad:

[New Science]

To be fair anybody could do for speedway what Barry Hearn has done for darts

Simply

1: Go to Sky and demand a lucrative long term TV contract. Tell Sky you offer then exclusive access to the worlds best all year round, insuring them a standard of the sport never seen before with guaranteed entertainment , all with the back drop of a sell out attendances with a bouncing atmosphere.Then get other broadcasters interested bidding against Sky for a piece of the pie.

2: Go to sponsors and get them bidding against each other to become event lead sponsors or associate sponsors, allowing them to promote their business to a varied demographic of sell out crowds and utilise numerous add breaks in front of an increasing TV audience.

3: Charge the punters coming to watch 25 quid bottom price rising to in excess of 50 quid for finals night and increase the price periodically.Involve a large travel company to offer corporate hospitality at major events and ticket and hotel packages. And last but not least flood the market with merchandise.

 

Unfortunately from this you can see speedway's shortcomings and why darts and speedway are going in the opposite directions . Not even an entrepreneur like Barry Hearn could fix speedways shortcomings

[Humphrey Appleby]

You can't compare speedway with darts and snooker. It's relatively simple and cheap to stage a darts or snooker tournament, they're easy sports to televise, and you can scale the prize money according to what sort of audience you get.

 

Barry Hearn got into both sports at a time when the professionals were earning a pittance and there wasn't much in the way of governance so it was easy to take control. The competitors also largely move around on the same circuit, so he's not really competing with other leagues and can control the costs.

 

We can argue about Barry Hearn's role in football, but I think it would be fair to say he's not had the same success in that sport. It's a completely different governance and cost model which is impossible for one individual to influence significantly.

 

Speedway has the problem of needing specialist venues, expensive track preparation and more complicated television requirements, before you even get to the issue of environmental stuff and having to compete with other teams and leagues for riders. It's very difficult to control the product and costs, and unlike darts and snooker, the average person will never have 'played' speedway so you're always going to be up against it trying to interest a new audience.

 

Barry Hearn seems to have been very successful and good luck to him, but I don't think the conditions are right in speedway to replicate what he's done with darts and snooker. In any case, he possibly already looked at speedway in the past and decided to steer well clear.

[Vince]

Obviously you don't know anything about darts.

There is no such thing as the darts GP series.There is however The PDC Darts Premier League which runs for 16 weeks from Feb until May. This is a weekly thursday night fixture shown on sky tv and held in big arenas which attract upwards to 12000 supporters.

Judging by Witchy's reply to your post you obviously don't know anything about Leyton Orient or Barry Hearn's tenure of that club either.

16 nights x 12000 = 192000 for the year which wouldn't be close to Speedways annual crowds.

 

The point that you can't compare something that runs weekly throughout the country with something that happens once or twice a year locally is very important in my opinion. I can go and watch a good standard of darts (probably equal to PL Speedway) in my local for free and most certainly won't get trampled in the rush to find a viewing point.