2018 Grand Prix Venues

[DutchGrasstrack]

I can`t - I think they will take another break from hosting a GP.

 

Think I read somewhere that they should be hosting later in the year, maybe in september like in 2015.

[racers and royals]

 

Think I read somewhere that they should be hosting later in the year, maybe in september like in 2015.

We shall see- thought the crowd looked well down this year. I personally don`t think we have seen the last of Stockholm- and I can see the Tele 2 arena being a new venue for 2018.

[RPNY]

I hope youre right

[Humphrey Appleby]

And where on earth does he say its the greatest place to finish the series?!

Even though I disagree with Phil on keeping the series Finale there, you cant accuse his of saying things he hasn't said.

Phillipe also said somewhere that the Ethiad Stadium was only available in October which practically means it has to be the last GP. So if you're going to big it up, you can't then claim that you didn't think it was a good idea to end the series there.

[RPNY]

Again, although I disagree with his point of view, you cannot just make up that he said stuff!

 

Out of interest, where do you think they should take the GP Series? Genuine question not being facetious.

[Kreso]

We shall see- thought the crowd looked well down this year. I personally don`t think we have seen the last of Stockholm- and I can see the Tele 2 arena being a new venue for 2018.

We had problems with weather whole week ahead of GP plus we had holidays that weekend so a lot of people went to sea. I think september is better option for Krsko.

[Humphrey Appleby]

Out of interest, where do you think they should take the GP Series? Genuine question not being facetious.

I think it's an open-ended question because you need to take the series where it's financially viable, where it generates enough interest to attract broadcast, sponsorship and local government cash, and in a location and venue that provides a decent experience for the fans (which is also linked to financial viability). Ideally, you wouldn't have more than one GP per country either, as you're essentially diluting your product if you hold two, let alone three GPs, but you'd be struggling to find 12 countries where a speedway GP is viable.

 

Of course, BSI (and OneSport) will probably also say where they can maximise the licence fees from local promoters, although I'd say there should be more of a shared profits approach to that aspect. And I also think speedway is a fairly unique situation compared to other motorsports, and the SGP needs to have a more symbiotic relationship with national leagues.

 

However, I'd say in the current environment, you'd probably want to have 1 or 2 GPs each in the core speedway markets of Poland, Sweden, Britain and Denmark that operate professional leagues. I think it's a real worry that the bottom seems to have fallen out of the Danish and Swedish markets, but I still think you need to be focusing efforts there as that's where most of the fanbase is.

 

I'd think you'd then look next to the Czech Republic and Germany that have some resemblance of professional speedway, although there's always been something of a mixed response to events in Germany. Russia also has a professional speedway league and should really be a permanent fixture on the calendar, but always too much intrigue and dodgyness there to be involved with.

 

So that basically leaves 2 or 3 rounds to fill, so you'd probably go to smaller speedway countries but where you can draw a half-decent crowd - so you're probably looking at Latvia and Slovenia currently, although the likelihood is these GPs would move countries from year-to-year.

 

A World Championship also realistically needs to have a round outside of Europe to have credibility, so your choice is basically Australia, New Zealand, the US and Argentina. You'd think Australia is the best option out of these, but you need to stage the GP in a decent stadium to have any hope of drawing a decent crowd to pay for it. It seems Melbourne hasn't paid off, and there's only a couple of other stadiums you can try that aren't too big and maybe closer to areas where speedway is still run.

 

The other countries have similar issues. A US GP would really have to be in California where most of the speedway action happens, but even that seems to have significantly declined nowadays, and not sure there's many medium-sized stadiums that can accommodate oval racing there. Really don't know enough about Argentina, but probably not enough money around to host a GP, even if a suitable stadium exists.

 

The Middle East (presumably the UAE) also gets bandied about occasionally, but local interest in motorsport is just about zero, and whilst Bernie Ecclestone might have persuaded the Emirs to cough-up some cash to subsidise the whole affair, they're not so stupid as to not expect a return from the increased tourism and focus on their country that F1 brings. Speedway unfortunately, would bring nothing of the interest and cachet that F1 does, plus how attractive is a dirt sport held outdoors in temperatures of over 40 degrees?

 

So I don't think I'd come-up with a radically different list of countries to have GPs, but the important factor is where they're held. In the core markets you'd probably want one prestige venue and one regular race track, because otherwise it's going to be a hard sell to sponsors who generally don't want to be entertaining clients in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately though, it seems most of the prestige venues just aren't paying off, so it does indeed look like the sport is going back to the 1990s when GPs were held in obscure Danish, Swedish and German towns.

[mixxxser44]

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/716419/dania-nie-otrzyma-drugiego-turnieju-sgp

 

Denmark = 1 runda SGP 2018

[eric i]

I would have thought Germany could find somewhere better than Teterow, Gustrow would at least have better racing.

[iris123]

Güstrow are spending money doing the stadium up.New roof took linger than expected.I doubt they want to spend the money hosting a GP

[Bavarian]

they would get a huge attendance for the SGP in the Ukraine (Rivne)

[eric i]

Güstrow are spending money doing the stadium up.New roof took linger than expected.I doubt they want to spend the money hosting a GP

They host a SEC round, is that a lot cheaper to stage?

[Humphrey Appleby]

They host a SEC round, is that a lot cheaper to stage?

The issue seems to be the permit fees payable to FIM Europe compared to FIM Global, and the event fees demanded by the series organisers from the host track, except where the series organisers is the promoter themselves. Phillipe has previously been on here complaining about it on behalf of his lieges.

 

The size of the event fees demanded by BSI got leaked by Gorzow a few years back, and I seem to recall were several hundred thousand euros. BSI were also able to obtain financial support from local governments or tourist boards for some events - again I can't remember the exact amount without going back to check, but I think the Welsh Government is supporting each GP to the tune of GBP 150k.

 

Possibly OneSport does a similar thing, but being Polish-based maybe has lower overheads and isn't so reliant on high staging fees and local sponsorship.

Edited October 22, 2017 by Humphrey Appleby

[iris123]

they would get a huge attendance for the SGP in the Ukraine (Rivne)

Ukraine is listed as more dangerous than South Africa and Pakistan,i think!!! Or is that really the Eastern side and Rivne is in the more safer area of the country!!!!

[Bavarian]

Don't know, but I think it is the East (Donbass and Lugansk region) where it is dangerous. Rivne is in the west of the Ukraine, not far from the Polish borders. They have international Football games in the Ukraine, so it can not be that dangerous.

 

And they have big crowds for their speedway meetings. Personally I would not want to go there for a SGP, though!

[iris123]

Don't know, but I think it is the East (Donbass and Lugansk region) where it is dangerous. Rivne is in the west of the Ukraine, not far from the Polish borders. They have international Football games in the Ukraine, so it can not be that dangerous.

 

And they have big crowds for their speedway meetings. Personally I would not want to go there for a SGP, though!

I vageuly remember reading about one football club that couldn't play in their home stadium and had to play home games in another city

 

Yes,this report on Donetsk,who do play in the relative safety of Rivne

 

http://mashable.com/2015/04/10/displaced-ukraine-football-club-shakhtar-donetsk/#JewTh3.2asql

 

and the story of another club that had to do the same

 

https://sports.vice.com/en_uk/article/pgnk3v/a-club-divided-a-club-united-zorya-luhansk-on-footballs-front-line

Edited October 22, 2017 by iris123

[HenryW]

I vageuly remember reading about one football club that couldn't play in their home stadium and had to play home games in another city

 

Yes,this report on Donetsk,who do play in the relative safety of Rivne

 

http://mashable.com/2015/04/10/displaced-ukraine-football-club-shakhtar-donetsk/#JewTh3.2asql

 

and the story of another club that had to do the same

 

https://sports.vice.com/en_uk/article/pgnk3v/a-club-divided-a-club-united-zorya-luhansk-on-footballs-front-line

Shakhtar Donetsk spent a couple of seasons playing in Lviv in the far West of the Country but from this year have moved much nearer home and play their games in Ukraine's 2nd largest City Kharkiv which is about 300KM from Donetsk.

 

They still base the players in Kiev and train there for safety reasons.

 

Once you are outside of the troubled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in the far East, things are relatively safe...although the UK Government also advise against travel to Crimea, which Russia obviously claim isn't part of Ukraine any more.

[iris123]

Shakhtar Donetsk spent a couple of seasons playing in Lviv in the far West of the Country but from this year have moved much nearer home and play their games in Ukraine's 2nd largest City Kharkiv which is about 300KM from Donetsk.

 

They still base the players in Kiev and train there for safety reasons.

 

Once you are outside of the troubled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in the far East, things are relatively safe...although the UK Government also advise against travel to Crimea, which Russia obviously claim isn't part of Ukraine any more.

Yes,i saw the rankings on the South Africa thread and wondered if Ukraine was so dangerous,because one part was a war zone,whilst the rest was relatively normal

[magnus]

Looking to purchase 2018 GP tickets for Prague. Could somebody please advise me which is the most securest site to buy from. Thank you...

[mojo]

Looking to purchase 2018 GP tickets for Prague. Could somebody please advise me which is the most securest site to buy from. Thank you...

We have been about 15 times and always use Ticketportal.cz with no problems. When the tickets are on sale there is a link to Ticketportal through the Speedway GP website. You can print your own.