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Eastbourne 2020


Hackett

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9 minutes ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Very sad for the Eastbourne fans. 

The more I read the more baffled I am about this sorry mess. Tom Brennan quoted in Star today saying riders owed money for SEVERAL  meetings. 

Alleged rent arrears to stadium owners. 

Then EB statement promising everyone refunds on tickets , merchandise for future events, donation to air fence fund etc etc So they must have some money in the bank ??

So with a ludicrous 1000 breakeven crowd target one wonders whether they ever got 1000 and every meeting in 2021 ran at a loss? 

Desperately sad that the late Charlie Dugard’s Speedway site didn’t quite make its 90th Anniversary

It will be a brave man/woman to take on EB speedway again, stocks to continue this season then I wonder about  the planning status of the Arlington site ?

Like Rye House Swindon Coventry Oxford does anyone seriously  really believe these tracks will ever be revived ??

There's little I can add really,saw Eastbourne at Leicester the other Saturday and if that's the last time it will be a very sad occasion,my heart goes out to the management,riders and most of all the passionate supporters of Eastbourne speedway,I loved my time watching the Tigers down there,very welcoming  and warm people and I loved the set up.Really hoping that you can come to the tapes next season.jesus.....what is happening to our wonderfull sport...it's so damn sad...

Edited by Moranboys
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1 minute ago, cityrebel said:

Oxford might have a chance, if someone can be found to take it on. Who would though, when the sport is on it's last legs.

There is a circus promoter based in Oxford I believe...

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On the Eastbourne website it says

 

Quote

Eastbourne Eagles Ltd will continue to trade until all financial commitments are paid off in full over the next 4-6 weeks.

Doesnt sound as if they will be back next year

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9 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

I've no sympathy for the current 'management'. It's the fans i feel sorry for, they are the big losers. Promoters and riders can move on. For some people it's a lifetime of support for a club. As an Arlington regular, I'm devastated by the news.

I'm still gutted.  I've been an Arlington regular for a couple of years, despite the 2 hour journey each way.  Every club I've supported has gone starting with West Ham, followed by Rye House and now Eastie not to mention all the others I've visited regularly over the years, Hackney, Wimbledon, Romford, Lakeside to name just a few. Where do us supporters go now, my nearest track is now Kent but the Dartford crossing journey traffic wise makes that almost a no go.

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1 minute ago, hammer1969 said:

I'm still gutted.  I've been an Arlington regular for a couple of years, despite the 2 hour journey each way.  Every club I've supported has gone starting with West Ham, followed by Rye House and now Eastie not to mention all the others I've visited regularly over the years, Hackney, Wimbledon, Romford, Lakeside to name just a few. Where do us supporters go now, my nearest track is now Kent but the Dartford crossing journey traffic wise makes that almost a no go.

Ippo? Peterborough?

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1 minute ago, iainb said:

Ippo? Peterborough?

Ipswich is reachable and I went when they were in the Championship but much as I love speedway and enjoy watching all riders but supporting a club that is in a league with so few teams and racing against the same teams on numerous occasions for league points is just not for me on a regular basis.

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9 hours ago, Gambo said:

Current GSA's could change if the rumours of the sad demise of Eastbourne turn out to be true.

I believe that all Eastbourne matches would be expunged from the records with Eastbourne riders reverting to their 2021 starting average.

So any team that has raced against Eastbourne would therefore probably have their averages re-calculated too.

Unlikely, as

a) it is impractical

b) goes against the 2018 precedent when Rye House withdrew.

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It does seem strange that a couple of poor crowds has resulted in such a financial mess.  Eastbourne had 7 English riders, several of them were local, so the travel expenses must have been around the lowest in the league.  The stadium is owned by a family with a lot of speedway history, so would not imagine that the rent would be more than other tracks.  Were the promoters being too optimistic budgeting for a crowd of at least 1000?.    

 

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9 minutes ago, hammer1969 said:

Ipswich is reachable and I went when they were in the Championship but much as I love speedway and enjoy watching all riders but supporting a club that is in a league with so few teams and racing against the same teams on numerous occasions for league points is just not for me on a regular basis.

Could be one league next season at this rate anyway

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2 minutes ago, iainb said:

Could be one league next season at this rate anyway

That has got to be the way forward, with clubs now so far apart in travelling distance in days gone by it was the local derbys that were the best and drew the best crowds, booing the other team, just for the fun of it, West Ham v Hackney, wish we could turn back the clock.

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1 minute ago, hammer1969 said:

That has got to be the way forward, with clubs now so far apart in travelling distance in days gone by it was the local derbys that were the best and drew the best crowds, booing the other team, just for the fun of it, West Ham v Hackney, wish we could turn back the clock.

If there are to be 2 professional leagues surely regional is the way to go

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7 minutes ago, shippy22 said:

It does seem strange that a couple of poor crowds has resulted in such a financial mess.  Eastbourne had 7 English riders, several of them were local, so the travel expenses must have been around the lowest in the league.  The stadium is owned by a family with a lot of speedway history, so would not imagine that the rent would be more than other tracks.  Were the promoters being too optimistic budgeting for a crowd of at least 1000?.    

 

Possibly basing calculations on 2019, pre pandemic.  Covid has unfortunately  changed many things in this Country for everyone. 

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11 minutes ago, shippy22 said:

It does seem strange that a couple of poor crowds has resulted in such a financial mess.  Eastbourne had 7 English riders, several of them were local, so the travel expenses must have been around the lowest in the league.  The stadium is owned by a family with a lot of speedway history, so would not imagine that the rent would be more than other tracks.  Were the promoters being too optimistic budgeting for a crowd of at least 1000?.    

 

Now that we've reached the endgame it would be helpful to understand what went wrong. Looking from the outside, at the start of the season, if asked to rank tracks most at risk of closure I think Eastbourne would have been quite low in my list (and most people's standings too)

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