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The continuing decline of Speedway


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1 hour ago, orion said:

?? surely you noticed that the cost cutting has been making the teams a lower standard ..I though everyone knew that ..your plan is do the same again by making the league weaken again ..Yet again unless  you been in a cave it's don't work 

Any meat eater would likely prefer the finest fillet steak but if its £50 and you only have a fiver then you have to choose a burger or give up beef

For a while some vouchers (sky money) or friendly charities (wealthy sponsors/owners) may allow the steak to be ordered

Some would then choose option 1 and some will choose option 2 but either way if theres only £5 available eventually the steak cant be on the menu

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7 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

As a neutral fan that goes on average twice a week, I can afford the steak, but can't justify paying it. If you only attend your own clubs home fixtures fortnightly, the steak could become more affordable.

Then  again how good is the quality of the steak they are serving at your club.;)

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59 minutes ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

Any meat eater would likely prefer the finest fillet steak but if its £50 and you only have a fiver then you have to choose a burger or give up beef

For a while some vouchers (sky money) or friendly charities (wealthy sponsors/owners) may allow the steak to be ordered

Some would then choose option 1 and some will choose option 2 but either way if theres only £5 available eventually the steak cant be on the menu

Would they ? I eat meat and  I don't like fillet steak .I also loads of people enjoy would enjoy  burgers ever thou they are cheaper ..so what you say is not really true .

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7 hours ago, orion said:

Would they ? I eat meat and  I don't like fillet steak .I also loads of people enjoy would enjoy  burgers ever thou they are cheaper ..so what you say is not really true .

I think you are deliberately ignoring the underlying point in my analogy.....

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8 hours ago, cityrebel said:

As a neutral fan that goes on average twice a week, I can afford the steak, but can't justify paying it. If you only attend your own clubs home fixtures fortnightly, the steak could become more affordable.

The customer buying the steak (top riders) in my example is the restuarant (club)

There isnt the money for it to be on the menu regardless as diner demand is too low

Even if you lose those that will only eat steak the restaurant can no longer provide it

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3 hours ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

The customer buying the steak (top riders) in my example is the restuarant (club)

There isnt the money for it to be on the menu regardless as diner demand is too low

Even if you lose those that will only eat steak the restaurant can no longer provide it

I know where you're coming from.

But, personally, I'd have egg and chips every day... so long as the place was run properly and open when it said on the door and didn't keep you waiting hours before the dish was finally served.

Edited by moxey63
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Could one reason new young fans are not coming through is the time meeting finish?  They usually start at 7-30 and finish between 9-30 and 10 and then they have to  get home ,it could ,perhaps  be too late for many when they have school or college the next day or they want to get back to their computers. The most popular sports such as football and rugby are 9 times out of 10 played on a weekend afternoon so there isn't a problem, we never hear them comment about lack of support. So if this could be a factor lets try to finish the main match in good time. Why do we need an interval after heat 10 ? All we are doing is standing around for 15  minutes twiddling our thumbs waiting for  the last 5 heats get under way. Redcar do provide entertainment of a sort with a competition, interviews with any former riders who are there and the excellent Smoggie the Bear entertaining the kids but I would rather be watching the racing.Whilst the Redcar  stadium is very pleasant with a friendly atmosphere it is basic in places, no cover from the weather on the standing terraces for instance , and it can get chilly up here late on.

Last Thursday I attended  Redcar  v  Ipswich (a very good meeting) which was threatened by rain so the promotion got a move on and 15 heats, a couple of delays as the track was graded ,no interval until after heat 15 and the main match was over by 9pm, which if you had kids gets them home in reasonable time.

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

It would be interesting to know if a Saturday track ,like Berwick  starting at 7pm, pulls in more youngsters than a mid week track.

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3 hours ago, moxey63 said:

I know where you're coming from.

But, personally, I'd have egg and chips every day... so long as the place was run properly and open when it said on the door and didn't keep you waiting hours before the dish was finally served.

Imagine if the eggs were not available because they were doubling up in the cafe over the road so beans were brought in as a guest meanwhile chips were forced to appear at mcdonalds to be rearranged as French fries so chip replacement was used..... You'd end up with a plate of beans instead of egg and chips. Surely this is British speedway all over? 

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Even though most meetings finish before 9.15 there were certainly more youngsters at the NSS last year on a Friday night than this year on a Monday and more were there for the meeting last Wednesday at the start of the school holidays. 

These days most parents are not prepared to risk a late night for children when there is school the next day.

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40 minutes ago, Thornaby48 said:

Could one reason new young fans are not coming through is the time meeting finish?  They usually start at 7-30 and finish between 9-30 and 10 and then they have to  get home ,it could ,perhaps  be too late for many when they have school or college the next day or they want to get back to their computers. The most popular sports such as football and rugby are 9 times out of 10 played on a weekend afternoon so there isn't a problem, we never hear them comment about lack of support. So if this could be a factor lets try to finish the main match in good time. Why do we need an interval after heat 10 ? All we are doing is standing around for 15  minutes twiddling our thumbs waiting for  the last 5 heats get under way. Redcar do provide entertainment of a sort with a competition, interviews with any former riders who are there and the excellent Smoggie the Bear entertaining the kids but I would rather be watching the racing.Whilst the Redcar  stadium is very pleasant with a friendly atmosphere it is basic in places, no cover from the weather on the standing terraces for instance , and it can get chilly up here late on.

Last Thursday I attended  Redcar  v  Ipswich (a very good meeting) which was threatened by rain so the promotion got a move on and 15 heats, a couple of delays as the track was graded ,no interval until after heat 15 and the main match was over by 9pm, which if you had kids gets them home in reasonable time.

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

It would be interesting to know if a Saturday track ,like Berwick  starting at 7pm, pulls in more youngsters than a mid week track.

Berwick do pull in a lot of youngsters,here's hoping they become long term fans though.Being a Sat track is a big help in that respect IMO 

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Speedway and Pubs have a lot of similarities being expensive unprofitable and unfortunatley very lucrative for developers. It will become similar to our town/city centres, canals and railways that were lost in 1960's under so called re-devlopment. Our planners got it wrong the and have done so now. Oh well open a can and watch sky sports with an app !!

 

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On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 11:42 AM, foamfence said:

I would prefer the old 13 heat format with two nominated riders heats to finish.

Take a  look at the Polish Race format. A little tweaked from the UK but better IMHO

The only thing that is obvious is that the more the sport has downgraded itself with rider quality the more the attendances fall. A vicious circle

Many here seem to say lets have a national league excluding the very top riders. Regular racing, promotion, relegation and some resemblance of a serious sport

I still maintain there is a market for the top level of team racing as in Poland and Sweden. In reality, a few meetings a year. Look at this separately.

 

 

 

 

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58 minutes ago, Thornaby48 said:

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

 

Only interested in 13 heat matches if the cost is £9.99 ( or less ) and matches, without on-track problems, are finished in 75 mins ( as they should be ) so that those not interested in meaningless 2nd halves can get away if they so choose, as you suggest. Never much was unless the Next Great Thing was riding. Crisply run meetings seem to be high on the agenda of many fans ( definitely myself ). Not my first choice for speedway's next change of direction. which should be one upper league of 14 tracks running over 15 heats ( as now ) . Crisply run of course with no need for a 10 minute plus wait for heat 15.

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2 hours ago, Spl77 said:

Imagine if the eggs were not available because they were doubling up in the cafe over the road so beans were brought in as a guest meanwhile chips were forced to appear at mcdonalds to be rearranged as French fries so chip replacement was used..... You'd end up with a plate of beans instead of egg and chips. Surely this is British speedway all over? 

 

2 hours ago, waytogo28 said:

Only interested in 13 heat matches if the cost is £9.99 ( or less ) and matches, without on-track problems, are finished in 75 mins ( as they should be ) so that those not interested in meaningless 2nd halves can get away if they so choose, as you suggest. Never much was unless the Next Great Thing was riding. Crisply run meetings seem to be high on the agenda of many fans ( definitely myself ). Not my first choice for speedway's next change of direction. which should be one upper league of 14 tracks running over 15 heats ( as now ) . Crisply run of course with no need for a 10 minute plus wait for heat 15.

Are we starting to get to the crux of falling attendances ? After having the starter and main course at SP 177's cafe we are told there will be a 15 minute delay before the dessert because the chef wants a rest.

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4 hours ago, Thornaby48 said:

Could one reason new young fans are not coming through is the time meeting finish?  They usually start at 7-30 and finish between 9-30 and 10 and then they have to  get home ,it could ,perhaps  be too late for many when they have school or college the next day or they want to get back to their computers. The most popular sports such as football and rugby are 9 times out of 10 played on a weekend afternoon so there isn't a problem, we never hear them comment about lack of support. So if this could be a factor lets try to finish the main match in good time. Why do we need an interval after heat 10 ? All we are doing is standing around for 15  minutes twiddling our thumbs waiting for  the last 5 heats get under way. Redcar do provide entertainment of a sort with a competition, interviews with any former riders who are there and the excellent Smoggie the Bear entertaining the kids but I would rather be watching the racing.Whilst the Redcar  stadium is very pleasant with a friendly atmosphere it is basic in places, no cover from the weather on the standing terraces for instance , and it can get chilly up here late on.

Last Thursday I attended  Redcar  v  Ipswich (a very good meeting) which was threatened by rain so the promotion got a move on and 15 heats, a couple of delays as the track was graded ,no interval until after heat 15 and the main match was over by 9pm, which if you had kids gets them home in reasonable time.

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

It would be interesting to know if a Saturday track ,like Berwick  starting at 7pm, pulls in more youngsters than a mid week track.

Actually, football is having a similar problem to Speedway in that younger fans are not coming through the turnstiles. The average age of fans going to Premier League matches is 42 and is increasing. Compared to the season before the Premier League was born the average age was 30. The top 2 divisions are pricing families out of the market, relying heavily on the merchandise, sponsorship and television markets for income. It's expected that over the next 10 years the admission prices will only increase by 4% on season 2017/18. But by season 2027/28 the average age of fans is predicted to rise by 15% to just over 48. Clubs are being pressurised to reduce turnstile costs to encourage under 25's but many are not interested, instead increasing the numbers of corporate packages available. If things continue in the current trend, by 2035 the Premier League is to be played out to half empty stadiums or even, majority corporate venues

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10 hours ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

I think you are deliberately ignoring the underlying point in my analogy.....

Not really .if make a analogy it has make sense and logic .that's the whole point .try again

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14 minutes ago, orion said:

Not really .if make a analogy it has make sense and logic .that's the whole point .try again

Nah - Im more than happy with the point Ive made

I'll leave you to your fantasy world of attracting back the stars with the shirt buttons available

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3 hours ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

Nah - Im more than happy with the point Ive made

I'll leave you to your fantasy world of attracting back the stars with the shirt buttons available

 And I leave  you to keep to the same plan that has not worked for 20 years .

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14 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

Actually, football is having a similar problem to Speedway in that younger fans are not coming through the turnstiles. The average age of fans going to Premier League matches is 42 and is increasing. Compared to the season before the Premier League was born the average age was 30. The top 2 divisions are pricing families out of the market, relying heavily on the merchandise, sponsorship and television markets for income. It's expected that over the next 10 years the admission prices will only increase by 4% on season 2017/18. But by season 2027/28 the average age of fans is predicted to rise by 15% to just over 48. Clubs are being pressurised to reduce turnstile costs to encourage under 25's but many are not interested, instead increasing the numbers of corporate packages available. If things continue in the current trend, by 2035 the Premier League is to be played out to half empty stadiums or even, majority corporate venues

Interesting observation and suggests that nothing can be taken for granted...even football with all the media hype that exists!

Edited by steve roberts
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