Guest Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 I don't know how much money from Sky went to the promoters or how much to the riders but I think there was a missed opportunity with the millions that came from Sky. Could Sky have been that wealthy benefactor but the view of the promoters was short term when the bigger picture should have been looked at? Invest in the stadia and smarten them up a bit, especially the W/C's, and make the refreshments appealing. "But we don't own the stadium, we only rent it" . OK, so if you rent a house, do you live in a hovel? How many shops are rented? Do shop owners expect customers to come into dirty premises with grubby shelves and paint peeling from the wall? What about restaurants and pubs? Most commercial buildings are rented and it's up to the occupiers to make them attractive to the people they want to come in. At rented stadiums speedway promoters are usually not the sole tenants. These venues often have several other tenants renting the facilities. Why should a speedway promoters upgrade stadium facilities that ultimately will be used by other stadium tenants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 As well as attracting new fans, retaining them is vital. The pace of meetings, particularly in the cooler spring and autumn, is so important. I have witnessed long breaks for track grading followed by a heat or two later by an interval. Also how many tracks put real thought and investment into entertaining the crowds between heats? Why not hire entertainers, circus performers, trick bike riders etc. If people go home happy they will come back and bring friends and family, word of mouth is the best promotion. I have taken friends who have been bored between races and not come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 As well as attracting new fans, retaining them is vital. The pace of meetings, particularly in the cooler spring and autumn, is so important. I have witnessed long breaks for track grading followed by a heat or two later by an interval. Also how many tracks put real thought and investment into entertaining the crowds between heats? Why not hire entertainers, circus performers, trick bike riders etc. If people go home happy they will come back and bring friends and family, word of mouth is the best promotion. I have taken friends who have been bored between races and not come back. Yes - haven't we all. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 maybe they 'appear' to be poor, but really just a bit thrifty that could be 'Dave', if he's not swanning around in his yatch,,, he has a flash motor (TOP 634R) Guess yer man Dave is doing well for himself then, some nice motors, good luck to him .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 ABC1s would not be seen dead anywhere near a speedway stadium, even if it registered in their plane of existence in the first place. It's all very well saying the sport needs to be marketed, but there's so much that would need to be put right to attract a higher paying demographic, and where is the money coming from to pay for that? Speedway barely struggles along from year-to-year as is, and is unlikely to find any wealthy benefactor who'd be willing to invest in it for precisely the reason there's little chance of any return on investment. Perhaps BSF members could club together to pay for the publication in the Financial Times, of an Open Letter, asking for someone with more money than sense to regularly lose some of their wealth every year, on Speedway. The letter could be very persuasive pointing out that rather than handing over their money to Customs & Revenue in taxation, it could be "lost" within the sport instead. Any kind benefactor could be morally enriched by their act of benevolence, especially to the old and elderly, who make up so much of the speedway audience. This could be a care in the community venture all of its own, couldn't it? Also instead of wining and dining in an executive box, the rich benefactor could be treated to a Stadium Burger and a nice cup of Horlicks, wherever he went. What could possibly go wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 Perhaps BSF members could club together to pay for the publication in the Financial Times, of an Open Letter, asking for someone with more money than sense to regularly lose some of their wealth every year, on Speedway. The letter could be very persuasive pointing out that rather than handing over their money to Customs & Revenue in taxation, it could be "lost" within the sport instead. Any kind benefactor could be morally enriched by their act of benevolence, especially to the old and elderly, who make up so much of the speedway audience. This could be a care in the community venture all of its own, couldn't it? Also instead of wining and dining in an executive box, the rich benefactor could be treated to a Stadium Burger and a nice cup of Horlicks, wherever he went. What could possibly go wrong? More crap from the usual suspect. Why not try humour next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepturningleft Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 How many times in match reports over the years have we read, 'If we had racing like that every week, stadia wouldn't be big enough to hold all the crowds'. Well, at Belle Vue we do get racing like that every week but still we are struggling to get even a fraction of what we used to get at Hyde Road. Best track, best racing, best stadium, a population of 2.5 million but still we struggle. Hopefully things may improve but the 'young' just don't seem to be interested in speedway in any significant numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackett Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 The young aren't interested in speedway because it hasn't been marketed to them in the right way. Belle Vue as an example has a great track ; arguably the best racing track in the UK + a great stadium. Youth marketing is all about social media - although the BSPA is using video clips now - They should be maximising this not having racing rights restricted for video usage (Gospeed). Remember riders stating that they couldn't use race footage on promotional dvds or clips to sponsors. The small montages Sky and now BT Sport make should be used everywhere - each club provided with a montage of their own riders clips etc to show to schools , youth clubs etc to generate more support. Think what MotoGP does. Speedway needs to do the same and then change the way the sport is presented - meeting take far to long and need to be pushed through we are looking at 15 mins racing ONLY - A meeting should be done and dusted in 90 minutes barring injuries. Seem to remember Frank Ebdon not wasting too much time with the "2 minutes" - As for the audience blue chip sponsors aren't interested because the numbers don't warrant it - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) "A British Speedway Premiership League and Cup double could be worth £1 Million to any team that does it"!! Imagine that as a headline in a National or even local newspaper. Regional TV too would run with it I would suggest... Well it could actually be not far from reality... Admission and Programmes income, circa £20, 19 Home matches in total. Crowds of 2600 a match... Total income just under £1 Million. (£988k). A headline like that (dont include the detail of how its delivered) would create interest from the casual sports fan as all of a sudden Speedway wont look small time and isnt too far from the truth.. Every meeting all of a sudden has something tangible riding on it, generating wider interest which can only lead to bigger crowds. A virtuous circle. More interest, more crowds, more crowds, more interest.. Add any sponsors cash to the income and conceivably a track could gain £1M from winning the League and Cup.. So much hype is smoke and mirrors and Speedway seems to hide itself away from pushing itself out to the masses with half truths and outlandish claims... Top riders can earn circa £10k a week if they ride four meetings a week, imagine getting that out to the media? Again, Speedway becomes a major player in the realm of the top sports in Britain. Pro rata thats half a million salary a year. (More spin but factual, again leave out the four meetings a week bit and focus on the £10k a week).. To the casual sports fan on hearing a speedway rider gets paid £10k a week, their reaction would be "Speedway must be a bigger sport than I thought if they pay that money out" and maybe then feel its worth a visit? People follow success, they dont follow failure.... Time for Speedway to stop hiding its light under a bushel... Edited April 12, 2017 by mikebv 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.