In My View By Phil Rising

[Grand Central]

Using an online inflation calculator, it shows £7.50 in 1999 translating to a purchasing power of £12.15 now, a 62% increase. I suspect if you took a comparison between 1980s admission prices and today's the rise above the rate of inflation would be quite frightening across the sport.

 

In a way the modern price means that today's fans are having to compensate for those that have gone missing - fewer people contributing to costs, let alone profit.

 

Absolutely.

 

I was just pointing out that the fortunes of Speedway Star will have matched those of the sport itself.

Its dwindling circulation probably mimicing those reduced numbers through the turnstiles; creating the same issues.

And it has only (very recently) increased it's price to its current £3 which is still less of a rise than the inflation figure you quote.

 

Speedway promoters have taken a different path with their admission charges.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Grand Central

[SteveLyric2]

...As indeed have Bike/engine manufacturers, tuners and riders increased their respective demands!!!

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

...As indeed have Bike/engine manufacturers, tuners and riders increased their respective demands!!!

to be fair the standard bike prices haven't risen that much but nobody rides the standard bike anymore , tuners are only doing what the riders want , basically what the sport needs to do is put rules in place so as the standard stuff is used , put 10kg on the minimum weight of the bike, simple rule , riders will use standard stuff instead of lightened more expensive bits to get the weight up and also it will slow the bikes fractionally , they may even use heavier flywheels and make the bike less volatile Edited September 18, 2017 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[False dawn]

to be fair the standard bike prices haven't risen that much but nobody rides the standard bike anymore , tuners are only doing what the riders want , basically what the sport needs to do is put rules in place so as the standard stuff is used , put 10kg on the minimum weight of the bike, simple rule , riders will use standard stuff instead of lightened more expensive bits to get the weight up and also it will slow the bikes fractionally , they may even use heavier flywheels and make the bike less volatile

My goodness, some common sense. Where did that come from? Be careful, you might find yourself out on a limb, here and in the sport in general. [sarcasm smiley here].

Seriously, I have been banging on about bikes and tracks for ages. And what do I know? Well I know what I can see with my own two eyes. And when someone tells me that this unsatisfactory mix of bikes/engines and tracks is costing the average rider a small fortune, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone "up there" has an ounce of sense. We have the makings of a good sport in this country, still.

[waytogo28]

False dawn wrote " I'm beginning to wonder if anyone "up there" has an ounce of sense. We have the makings of a good sport in this country, still. "

 

​I echo that but the vital word is "still" because if the BSPA don't get it right for 2018, I honestly doubt if we will continue to have the makings of a good sport in the UK for many years beyond then.

[RobMcCaffery]

 

Absolutely.

 

I was just pointing out that the fortunes of Speedway Star will have matched those of the sport itself.

Its dwindling circulation probably mimicing those reduced numbers through the turnstiles; creating the same issues.

And it has only (very recently) increased it's price to its current £3 which is still less of a rise than the inflation figure you quote.

 

Speedway promoters have taken a different path with their admission charges.

I had no doubt that was the case.

 

When trying to analyse reasons for speedway's decline you can't escape the major factor of cost. Operating costs have soared - paying riders enough to pay the tuners and sustain a full-time racing career being a major part, I would suspect.

 

The cost to both promoter and supporters has become too great to sustain and is at the root of speedway's problems, apart from any internal matters such as guests and weak management of the sport. In say both because I suspect in more than a few cases gate money is only a contribution to cost with the promoter and any sponsor plugging the gap. I well remember at one track the promoter dreading his visit to the bank with the takings the next day because he had to add at at least £1000 of his own money to it. You do get to feel what promoters go through.

 

It costs too much all round.

 

From the supporters' point of view they see a ever more expensive sport in real terms which has become unaffordable to too many. They then see the utter contempt shown to supporters by some riders and management with walk-outs and dubious postponements, before you even think of the rider absences and it's a toxic situation.

 

Sporting inflation, fuelled by football's greed and Sky's ability to feed it has seen sport admissions rise way beyond the level of inflation. Football can take it. Although it is traditionally like speedway a working man's game it has a huge support that either can or will find a way to afford it. Speedway doesn't have that.

 

A Newcastle fan observed that local non-league football clubs played to gates similar to the Diamonds' they at lest were not flying in talent from all over Europe to perform in front of those crowds.

 

Importing foreign talent to perform in front a few hundred people is economic madness.

 

Put simply, speedway's too expensive all round, needs its costs cutting severely to survive in a professional form in Britain and needs to convince a hurt and sceptical following that it remains value for money.

 

Showing respect to customers not just by promoters but as proved at King's Lynn as the latest in a log line of examples this year riders as well is vital.

 

Speedway in Britain won't die - the National League or an equivalent would always sustain it. Speedway is still a great sport at heart. British Speedway is not, but it can still be.

 

Give supporters value for money, beyond providing a winning team, otherwise you're just a couple of defeats away from bankruptcy. I believe that the Isle of Wight could be a lesson to the sport, based on reports I've heard. I just wish I could have sampled it myself.

[The Third Man]

Buster intimated after our meeting on Wednesday that the plan is 100% for Premiership to race on Mondays and Thursdays only and for Championship clubs to relinquish these Mondays and Thursdays. Seems agreement has been made with Poland to have Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Sweden their Tuesdays and Denmark Wednesdays. Not 100% sure if it's set in stone but near enough....

Buster intimated after our meeting on Wednesday that the plan is 100% for Premiership to race on Mondays and Thursdays only and for Championship clubs to relinquish these Mondays and Thursdays. Seems agreement has been made with Poland to have Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Sweden their Tuesdays and Denmark Wednesdays. Not 100% sure if it's set in stone but near enough....

If that is true it would mean Sheffield winning the relegation play off if they qualify because those are our two nights

 

Other possibility is Sunday which I don't think would work

[Daniel Smith]

to be fair the standard bike prices haven't risen that much but nobody rides the standard bike anymore , tuners are only doing what the riders want , basically what the sport needs to do is put rules in place so as the standard stuff is used , put 10kg on the minimum weight of the bike, simple rule , riders will use standard stuff instead of lightened more expensive bits to get the weight up and also it will slow the bikes fractionally , they may even use heavier flywheels and make the bike less volatile

 

Adding a heavier minimum weight limit won't change anything with the engines.

Rider's will still use the highly tuned motors, they'll just add the weight to the fames, forks & wheels.

 

Speedway for me is in a position where the GP's should be the pinnacle, the only place for the 'special parts' bikes

League speedway globally the machines should be supplied by the clubs.

14 off the shelf bikes sitting in the pits ready for when the riders turn up.

Riders literally paid per point & that points money exactly the same for every 1-7 in the league.

[Fromafar]

to be fair the standard bike prices haven't risen that much but nobody rides the standard bike anymore , tuners are only doing what the riders want , basically what the sport needs to do is put rules in place so as the standard stuff is used , put 10kg on the minimum weight of the bike, simple rule , riders will use standard stuff instead of lightened more expensive bits to get the weight up and also it will slow the bikes fractionally , they may even use heavier flywheels and make the bike less volatile

100% agree most other forms of Car/ Bike sport use these type of rules to cut cost and try to create a level playing field.It would be easy to implement. Only last week in the SS we had Cook saying how much it was going to cost to lighten his machinery to GP standard,crazy IMO .

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

 

Adding a heavier minimum weight limit won't change anything with the engines.

Rider's will still use the highly tuned motors, they'll just add the weight to the fames, forks & wheels..

you won't get 10kg extra weight without including the engine , the more weight the slower the bike , it will make a difference and because it does it will never happen

[speedibee]

Like he buys all the stadiums where Speedway and Darts are played ?

What are the crowds like for these mx events and what do they pay to get in ?

british national championship MX events have far bigger paying crowds than most speedway and the admission is more ,but they don't get paid ,in fact some teams pay to enter , road racing Ducati Cup part of the BSB series , teams pay unbelievable entry fees ,and riders rent a place in those teams, riders don't get paid ,

[SPEEDY69]

No way can a plumber earn £1000. But let's assume you're right. This young rider does speedway because he loves it, that's nice. I watch speedway becuase I love it, I spend hours a week updating speedway-stats.co.uk because I enjoy it, I spend my weekends taking apart and rebuilding cars because I love it. Do you know what those 3 hobbies earn me? Nothing. In fact between the three of them they cost me a damn fortune. Be it he petrol and entrance fee for speedway, or the Sky and BT sport subscription. Then there's the £12 a month I pay for hosting speedway-stats (not a lot really but it's still a cost) or the frankly £1000s a year I spend on cars.

 

If these riders love it, why the need to milk the sport for every penny?

 

While speedway riders think they're capable of earning 52k a year in another job they're going to moan they're underpaid. News flash, the average person in the U.K earns 26k.

 

I agree with others, the two plumbers I know earn in excess of 80k a year. Your point about the average wage is one to highlight though and in fact it's worse because that's the average wage and not what the average person may earn. Not for your benefit because I know you know these things but e.g. If 3 people earn 100k and 17 people 13k then the average wage is 26k but the reality is most are on a lot less.

 

I've said it before, as have others but whilst there are some riders who seem to be able to continue riding at lower levels with equipment and vans similar to what the top stars use then I agree with the premise that they are 'overpaid', given the paltry income of many clubs.

Edited September 18, 2017 by SPEEDY69

[PHILIPRISING]

MANY moons ago, and before he was even FIM President, Joe Vaessen gave me a sage piece of advice and something that I have never forgotten....

 

You can keep on cutting costs to save money but sooner or later there will be nothing left to cut and you have to increase revenue.

 

The real answer to British speedway's problems is to increase revenue .., attendances, sponsorship, money raising schemes which often keep small football clubs afloat. But first and foremost the product must be right. Give the fans what they want to see, primarily regular fixtures and teams they can recognise as their own. Then work on bringing in more money by other means. It can be achieved if only those with their hands on the tiller can recognise that.

[Midland Red]

british national championship MX events have far bigger paying crowds than most speedway and the admission is more ,but they don't get paid ,in fact some teams pay to enter , road racing Ducati Cup part of the BSB series , teams pay unbelievable entry fees ,and riders rent a place in those teams, riders don't get paid ,

 

They're not running events throughout the year at one venue like a speedway promoter

MANY moons ago, and before he was even FIM President, Joe Vaessen gave me a sage piece of advice and something that I have never forgotten....

 

You can keep on cutting costs to save money but sooner or later there will be nothing left to cut and you have to increase revenue.

 

The real answer to British speedway's problems is to increase revenue .., attendances, sponsorship, money raising schemes which often keep small football clubs afloat. But first and foremost the product must be right. Give the fans what they want to see, primarily regular fixtures and teams they can recognise as their own. Then work on bringing in more money by other means. It can be achieved if only those with their hands on the tiller can recognise that.

Don't disagree with that except . . . . riders' costs HAVE to be reduced, in order to reduce promoters' costs, and ultimately reduce, or at least stabilise over a period, admission prices

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

They're not running events throughout the year at one venue like a speedway promoter

 

Don't disagree with that except . . . . riders' costs HAVE to be reduced, in order to reduce promoters' costs, and ultimately reduce, or at least stabilise over a period, admission prices

and this is where the problem lies, riders can't and won't see the wood for the trees ,they have a mentality that they are somehow disadvantaged by any bike changes even if it saves them money in the long run , ask ex rides and they will agree suggested way forward for bikes but while they are part of it no chance

[steve roberts]

 

I agree with others, the two plumbers I know earn in excess of 80k a year. Your point about the average wage is one to highlight though and in fact it's worse because that's the average wage and not what the average person may earn. Not for your benefit because I know you know these things but e.g. If 3 people earn 100k and 17 people 13k then the average wage is 26k but the reality is most are on a lot less.

 

I've said it before, as have others but whilst there are some riders who seem to be able to continue riding at lower levels with equipment and vans similar to what the top stars use then I agree with the premise that they are 'overpaid', given the paltry income of many clubs.

Agreed...the dreaded average! It's a way that many statistics are arrived at by using the average and that can be far removed from the reality.

[waytogo28]

MANY moons ago, and before he was even FIM President, Joe Vaessen gave me a sage piece of advice and something that I have never forgotten....

 

You can keep on cutting costs to save money but sooner or later there will be nothing left to cut and you have to increase revenue.

 

The real answer to British speedway's problems is to increase revenue .., attendances, sponsorship, money raising schemes which often keep small football clubs afloat. But first and foremost the product must be right. Give the fans what they want to see, primarily regular fixtures and teams they can recognise as their own. Then work on bringing in more money by other means. It can be achieved if only those with their hands on the tiller can recognise that.

 

So, virtually all of us see it this way, why is it so difficult for the BSPA to also see it? The sport will go nowhere other than down the pan until they do. And riders need to catch on too or they will have a lot of very expensive kit sitting in the garage unused.

[topaz325]

I rode there in 99 a few times for Berwick

Sunday August the 1st 1999 8pts from 5 rides

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Sunday August the 1st 1999 8pts from 5 rides

I was also there on the 3rd may scoring 3+1 from 5 and again on 30th of august riding for Glasgow scoring 2 from 3

[Humphrey Appleby]

MANY moons ago, and before he was even FIM President, Joe Vaessen gave me a sage piece of advice and something that I have never forgotten....

 

You can keep on cutting costs to save money but sooner or later there will be nothing left to cut and you have to increase revenue.

How did he apply that to Dutch speedway?