Kent Kings 2020?

[tocha]

2 hours ago, blueherb777 said:

He will not be laughing if it effects crowds....and by the feedback I have seen it has upset a lot of Kent supporters.

...especially if they march with their feet down towards the East Sussex coast.

[blueherb777]

27 minutes ago, tocha said:

Not necessarily. Some other clubs offer good deals by comparison, Ipswich for example:-

Full paying adult £18, 60+ £16, 16/17 year olds £5 15 and under free.

 

 

No reason why Kent cannot do a concession for the 60+.........me!

[waco]

I said ,,,whith prices like this,,,which was refering to Kent ,no one else,,just to clarify Tocha..

[The Doctor...]

16 hours ago, flipper11 said:

You can get a train to Sittingbourne station and walk to the track or if your short of time a taxi, I’m not sure of the cost. If you look like a speedway supporter someone may feel sorry for you and pick you up on the way. One of the benefits of the meetings finishing at 8.30 is no rush for the last trains.

Appreciated, thanks.

[TurnTwo]

Could Kent become defunct like rye house? Bitten off more than they can chew maybe? 

[East End Fan]

On 2/6/2020 at 1:39 PM, Sings4Speedway said:

Len turned 88 over the weekend. Lets face it he isn't chasing the profits (thats Roger Cearns) but he doesn't want to be pumping his own money into the project either. Kent have run a profit each season which is the right way to do business however not if the fans are those who are being forced out in the process.

Thanks for the info.  He's a bit older than  me, but not by much.  If, as you say, Kent has run at a profit each season, then the pricing must have been right. Is it now

too much ?  I will still go as my income will stretch to the extra bit and I still love my speedway even though the Hammers no longer exist and I am a transfer fan of Kent these days.

At Lakeside, even though I supported the team, I hated the stadium, nowhere for a pensioner like me to sit down unless you went into the upstairs bar which I didn't like. One of

the reasons I went to Kent was the excellent grandstand and facilities.  Maybe it's that which has allowed the club to show a profit in the past ?

[Sings4Speedway]

3 minutes ago, East End Fan said:

Thanks for the info.  He's a bit older than  me, but not by much.  If, as you say, Kent has run at a profit each season, then the pricing must have been right. Is it now

too much ?  I will still go as my income will stretch to the extra bit and I still love my speedway even though the Hammers no longer exist and I am a transfer fan of Kent these days.

At Lakeside, even though I supported the team, I hated the stadium, nowhere for a pensioner like me to sit down unless you went into the upstairs bar which I didn't like. One of

the reasons I went to Kent was the excellent grandstand and facilities.  Maybe it's that which has allowed the club to show a profit in the past ?

At £19 and the most expensive in the land i believe even more so for concessions as there is no discount i would certainly say its too much. A business approach of hiking the prices and buckling to riders demands is not sustainable. Offer a better product to attract higher numbers, say enough is enough to riders or offer them reasons to sign that are not purely financial. Last season the NL price went up with reasons quoted as Drew Kemps kevlars cost over £1000 (they didn't JC Pro are cheaper than that unless you throw in plenty of extras). Rye House ran in team suits for years without an increase. 

Ultimately it boils down to "its your money, its your choice" but i feel that Kent will need to be offering something extra special year on year to keep the crowd numbers where they need to be.

[crescent girl]

54 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Ultimately it boils down to "its your money, its your choice" but i feel that Kent will need to be offering something extra special year on year to keep the crowd numbers where they need to be.

Kent are indeed offering something special, called Championship speedway, which their public haven't seen previously. 

As for it being higher-priced that elsewhere, l'd gently point out the location in the wealthy bottom-right corner of the island. 

Local income, and personal wealth will be considerably greater than in and around (say) Newcastle, Redcar or Berwick. 

Thus, pro-rata, their pricing is maybe about the right level. 

Discuss? 

[gazzac]

30 minutes ago, crescent girl said:

Kent are indeed offering something special, called Championship speedway, which their public haven't seen previously. 

As for it being higher-priced that elsewhere, l'd gently point out the location in the wealthy bottom-right corner of the island. 

Local income, and personal wealth will be considerably greater than in and around (say) Newcastle, Redcar or Berwick. 

Thus, pro-rata, their pricing is maybe about the right level. 

Discuss? 

Personal weath/income maybe be greater in the south east, but disposable income is probably no greater, especially when property is concerned, purchase price or rent on an average 2 /3 bed property in the south compared to the north more than wipes out any gain in income. I know there are other factors, employment being the main one,  but I do think the north south divide is a bit of a myth, you only have to look around some of our southern coastal towns to see some deprivation.

Edited February 7, 2020 by gazzac

[cityrebel]

Wait for the dreaded curfew to kick in a few times. £22 will seem like daylight robbery.

[gazzac]

1 hour ago, Richard Weston said:

Yes deprivation is rife around the coast of Kent and into E. Sussex. Went to Margate one summer a few years back on a Monday and Margate was closed. No joke: the Turner Gallery, many shops also shut. No-one on beach and desolate place.

Did they know you were going? 

At least assume parking was ok and you got the space you wanted on the beach. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by gazzac

[HGould]

18 hours ago, crescent girl said:

Kent are indeed offering something special, called Championship speedway, which their public haven't seen previously. 

As for it being higher-priced that elsewhere, l'd gently point out the location in the wealthy bottom-right corner of the island. 

Local income, and personal wealth will be considerably greater than in and around (say) Newcastle, Redcar or Berwick. 

Thus, pro-rata, their pricing is maybe about the right level. 

Discuss? 

Don't agree with that at all.

Poole - next to Sandbanks (richest bit of real Estate in UK)  and in an area of higher net wealth than the part of Kent where Sittingbourne is.

Eastbourne - leafy East Sussex and the London Commuter belt

Both £17 Adults + Poole £14 Concessions (65+) Eastbourne £15 (60+ Ladies 65 Men)

Both have various Student Concessions + other perks for specific Groups. 

It's the OAP's Len is screwing over...

2 OAPS at Poole £28.00 / 2 OAPS at Eastbourne £30.00 / 2 OAPS at Kent £38.00.

Scandalous Pricing by Len!

 

[ragdoll64]

Glasgow scrubbed concessions for over 65’s which affected my pocket. I still go ‘cause I’m an ardent fan but lo and behold, the crowd levels have gone up. 

[East End Fan]

1 hour ago, HGould said:

Don't agree with that at all.

Poole - next to Sandbanks (richest bit of real Estate in UK)  and in an area of higher net wealth than the part of Kent where Sittingbourne is.

Eastbourne - leafy East Sussex and the London Commuter belt

Both £17 Adults + Poole £14 Concessions (65+) Eastbourne £15 (60+ Ladies 65 Men)

Both have various Student Concessions + other perks for specific Groups. 

It's the OAP's Len is screwing over...

2 OAPS at Poole £28.00 / 2 OAPS at Eastbourne £30.00 / 2 OAPS at Kent £38.00.

Scandalous Pricing by Len!

 

I have a suspicion that the curfew and start time might have something to do with it.  I know ( as everybody does) that the club wanted Saturdays

for Championship level speedway, but the Council turned them down twice.  Just thinking about the curfew and start time of 6.30, it happens to suit me as

an older person not going to work, but it must stop many younger people who commute to work from attending.  So far as I am aware, Kent is the only club#

in the country that has such a restriction.  It is scandalous that the Council act in this way. We should all bombard them with letters of complaint..

[tyretrax]

1 hour ago, ragdoll64 said:

Glasgow scrubbed concessions for over 65’s which affected my pocket. I still go ‘cause I’m an ardent fan but lo and behold, the crowd levels have gone up. 

Wouldn't think that there was an increase in OAP's though.

[phillipsr]

5 hours ago, HGould said:

Don't agree with that at all.

Poole - next to Sandbanks (richest bit of real Estate in UK)  and in an area of higher net wealth than the part of Kent where Sittingbourne is.

Eastbourne - leafy East Sussex and the London Commuter belt

Both £17 Adults + Poole £14 Concessions (65+) Eastbourne £15 (60+ Ladies 65 Men)

Both have various Student Concessions + other perks for specific Groups. 

It's the OAP's Len is screwing over...

2 OAPS at Poole £28.00 / 2 OAPS at Eastbourne £30.00 / 2 OAPS at Kent £38.00.

Scandalous Pricing by Len!

 

As has been said before its right that pricing reductions should be aimed at the younger generation and not OAPs.. Kent are to expensive but the idea of charging OAP’s more isnt a bad one 

[screm]

On 2/6/2020 at 3:06 PM, therefused said:

£19!? Lens laughing all the way to the bank with that, what a pisstake. 

IMO Championship speedway should be no more than £15 to watch.

[cityrebel]

Surely the season ticket price of £450 is an error. If you add up the 26 meetings it comes to £464, or does the deal include a free programme.

Edited February 8, 2020 by cityrebel
Spelling mistake

[mikebv]

Circa (at best) 20-25000 people visit Speedway in Britain each week on average.

My shop in a small part of Manchester has more customers than that..

That's the size of the sport.,

So..

Let the Promoters charge what they want and can get away with, supply and demand will dictate the business plan..

Most of those 20-25000 are complete die hards who will turn up every week regardless of price so fair play to the Promoter who can make money out of them.. 

[old bob at herne bay]

Seems each year UK speedway continues its downward spiral to the bottom..... less entertainment and lower quantity teams  for more money. Kent’s pitch at CL speedway is just a reflection on how few people are bothered to go and watch. 

Sadly it’s reflected in the sports magazine offering, with increased costs and less detail on match reports. The sport is slowly failing. 

Reducing attendances will continue to reduce still further ..... initiatives to attract a new generation of fans will fail unless the accompanying adults turn up with their kids. As for the OAPs .... they are a significant % of fans attending the sport, not sure it’s good business to not offer any concessions. 

Price comparisons with other tracks don’t mean much in speedway.....people who don’t go rarely to save money don’t suddenly start supporting another team. They just find other things to sped money/time. 

Not sure Kent can support Championship speedway at these prices with the draconian curfew still in place. Let’s hope the track delivers entertaining racing without the all too regular incidents seen at NL level last season.