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In My View By Phil Rising


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the results of the poll were 58% think speedway is too expensive to watch , 21% think it the right price and 21% think its not value for money

Funny thing is, I honestly don't think that speedway is "too" expensive, per se, BUT it really doesn't seem value for money. It's not that the prices need to come down (then the sport REALLY wouldn't survive), but they really need to work on giving real value for money. As I keep saying, it doesn't matter how cheap it is - or even if it is free - if the quality and entertainment value is not there, people won't go..

 

Steve

Edited by chunky
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Funny thing is, I honestly don't think that speedway is "too" expensive, per se, BUT it really doesn't seem value for money. It's not that the prices need to come down (then the sport REALLY wouldn't survive), but they really need to work on giving real value for money. As I keep saying, it doesn't matter how cheap it is - or even if it is free - if the quality and entertainment value is not there, people won't go..

 

Steve

the reason I started this is talking to a couple of friends about speedway and why they dont seem to go anymore , the one guy said he simply cant afford paying £18 every week and would go more if it were £10 and the other said He wont pay £18 its just not value for money so I just thought Id put it out to the wider public , my own view is we should be aiming for £10 admission but the sport is not paid for by the fans attending but by sponsors ,so the number of fans attending becomes irrelevant but and it is a big but how do we get to that situation because in my opinion any company who would invest in the current sport is either mad or has money to burn ,so we in a bit of a catch 22 , we need the sport to be successful to attract sponsors and we need sponsors to make the sport successful and we are stuck in the middle with neither but this doesnt detract from the fact that most of our issues are self inflicted and we deserve to be where we are and it isnt going to change anytime soon because there isnt a will to change within the current regime
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I think for a tenner you will get a mix of NL riders and some second string Championship riders(semi pro).Not knocking them at all.I wish I could be as good,but if the ave Prem club get 1300/1400 and 1000 are £17.They get BT money,so TV coverage for sponsors,so they get a bit of value(although I agree I don't see how sponsors gain from it).For a tenner,probably no TV money,maybe 6-700.I can't see how speedway can make it pay at £10.

If you knock the Prem price to a tenner,you might get 2-300 more,but not enough.I might be miles out,but I hope so.

Edited by Bald Bloke
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I think for a tenner you will get a mix of NL riders and some second string Championship riders(semi pro).Not knocking them at all.I wish I could be as good,but if the ave Prem club get 1300/1400 and 1000 are £17.They get BT money,so TV coverage for sponsors,so they get a bit of value(although I agree I don't see how sponsors gain from it).For a tenner,probably no TV money,maybe 6-700.I can't see how speedway can make it pay at £10.

If you knock the Prem price to a tenner,you might get 2-300 more,but not enough.I might be miles out,but I hope i'm miles out.

what I am saying is the gate money becomes irrelevant the sport becomes financed by sponsors , Poland has a good percentage of their wages and bills paid by sponsors and as good as crowds as some of them get it doesn't cover the wages ,that is where we need to be aiming ,so it doesn't matter if the crowd is 1000 or 10,000 the wages and bills are paid for , if we were get to that position we could make every meeting £10 ,its getting there that's the problem ,one big company like coca cola spend more on advertising per year than the entire wages for the whole of the speedway world and there are 1000s of company's who do similar but why would they give it to speedway as it is, if I had the money I wouldn't and I love the sport , we need to get our act together first , take stock of where we are and build from there, we are in a shocking state and not a month goes by without some sort of balls up , these company's reputations depend on the products and sports they back , the exposure they pay for on tv in other sports is eye watering but they don't get embarrassed by those sports ,we have that exposure, the company's are there we just have to show we deserve their money and at the moment we don't, when we first got our sky It pretty much went to the riders , where was the fans part of the deal? ,where was the re investment of the sport ?nowhere is the answer and look where we are today ,riders demanding ever more and there is no sky to cough up so it basically falls on the fans to meet the ever rising costs , im sure I read or heard that even sky were not impressed how the money was spent Edited by THE DEAN MACHINE
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Poland v UK.Sponsors/crowd vs sponsors.Speedway is booming in Poland.Bit like footy here.Don't think riders wages will be paid by sponsors.The lower the product/exposour,the less the sponsor.I have been on the sauce tonight,but think i'm right ;)

speedway isnt booming in Poland , its healthy but crowds have not increased ,not enough people go to leszno to pay Nikki pedersen let alone the others , its sponsors and council money that pays the bills , companys like Fogo spend a lot of money in speedway , look at the Center greens in Poland it is packed with sponsor boards , add their sponsor money together , chuck in some council money and you will get most of your income Edited by THE DEAN MACHINE
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I think for a tenner you will get a mix of NL riders and some second string Championship riders(semi pro).Not knocking them at all.I wish I could be as good,but if the ave Prem club get 1300/1400 and 1000 are £17.

Thing is, when we talk about "entertainment", "quality of the product", and "value for money", I don't believe that has anything to do with the standard of rider. The GP's clearly have the world's best riders, but in recent weeks we have apparently (I can't comment myself as I didn't see them) had a couple of very poor meetings.

 

Yes, it is nice to see the top names, but they themselves cannot guarantee close racing, excitement, great atmosphere, and overall quality of product. There is a lot more to it than that, and that is why the overall value for money is so important.

 

Steve

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Thing is, when we talk about "entertainment", "quality of the product", and "value for money", I don't believe that has anything to do with the standard of rider. The GP's clearly have the world's best riders, but in recent weeks we have apparently (I can't comment myself as I didn't see them) had a couple of very poor meetings.

 

Yes, it is nice to see the top names, but they themselves cannot guarantee close racing, excitement, great atmosphere, and overall quality of product. There is a lot more to it than that, and that is why the overall value for money is so important.

 

Steve

Sadly too few realise this. In most sports the higher the calibre of competitor the better the sport, but in racing it's different. It's about riders being evenly matched, but then many seem to want to watch 'stars' rather than racing.

 

Value for money, or the perception of value for money is speedway's central problem, and until it wakes up to that the decline will continue. Much, much more consideration needs to be given to the needs of fans than those of riders, promoters, or even TV.

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Meetings are what you make them. I can only speak for the group that I go with, but in between races we talk, have a laugh and make each meeting a social event, rather than just a speedway meeting.

 

If you are not having a good time at a meeting I reckon that says more about you as a person, rather than the actual entertainment on show.


You do realise that there is zero difference between the two approaches?

:rofl:

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Meetings are what you make them. I can only speak for the group that I go with, but in between races we talk, have a laugh and make each meeting a social event, rather than just a speedway meeting.

 

If you are not having a good time at a meeting I reckon that says more about you as a person, rather than the actual entertainment on show.

:rofl:

I would agree...never quite understood people going on about the gaps between races etc as a part of the enjoyment for me was meeting and chatting with colleagues and pre-empting the Team Manager's next move.

 

Used to annoy me when Frank Ebden was referee as there was never time to absorb the action and discuss between races as it was all done and dusted in quick time.

 

When I went to watch American Football at Wembley and locally there was generally more 'out of action' interaction but it was/is accepted as part and parcel of the game.

Edited by steve roberts
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You do realise that there is zero difference between the two approaches?

of course i do but the presentation of a four ride figure is no longer relevant.

its obviously confusing because people still come on and ask questions or make daft comments like the guy who suggested a 46 limit because he didnt realise 46 is for 15 heats not 13

do you not see that?

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of course i do but the presentation of a four ride figure is no longer relevant.

its obviously confusing because people still come on and ask questions or make daft comments like the guy who suggested a 46 limit because he didnt realise 46 is for 15 heats not 13

do you not see that?

But the same guy will then come and ask why the team building limit is now 10.5 and not 46 when u need 45 points to win a meeting...
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The way averages are calculated and presented is fine.

A four ride CMA is as relevant today as it has ever been.

Only a certain number or riders have ever done 4 rides in a meeting; since 1965 the reserves had three and tac sub/RR rides boosted some to five or six outings.

 

The anomaly was when bonus point were included for team building.

That silliness ended some time ago.

 

There are many things that need changing in speedway.

But altering the way averages are recorded is way down the list.

 

Especially if it is only to try and help those who just need remedial maths tuition.

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Why are you picking him out ! He is the Chairman not the Dictator he has to listen to the Promoters! bit daft singling him out.Also if there was another independent running the show no one would promote its a business not a game.

 

Because many fans, rightly or wrongly, feel that he has undue influence over the policy and direction of speedway within the BSPA. No independent would want to buy the whole sport as a package anyway. Buster has got it badly wrong at KLS over the last couple of years,which is a great pity. We will see if it can recover under his and / or a new co-promoter.

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So bspa vice chairman Rob Godfrey says doubling up has been something of a nightmare but it will change for next season, there is light at the end of the tunnel ,in my dreams I wish he had finally seen sense and going to scrap doubling up altogether but the reality is they are just going to change the days team race on , guess thats another year I wont be attending the top 2 leagues then 🙁

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