Will the premiership start on time?

[acef]

3 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

Partly by agreeing a pay structure so that the cost are shared. Why is it on this forum you always have some one who cannot see the bigger picture and it is probably why Speedway today is in the mire which was not the case in the sixties and seventies when real supporters went to meetings to follow the sport and not like today where it is league racing or nothing and people  wonder why the sport is in the state it is in. Supporters are not what they used to be. You like speedway racing or you like team sport. Years back some of the best meetings which were well supported were individual events but today who knows what works. Lucky all U K supporters are not in Australia they would have so much to moan about the set up but it works and yet U.K. followers benefit from these riders who ply their trade in individual meetings and turn up on these shores for farcical league meetings where double up and down makes it a joke. Why cannot speedway supporters look at the positive options rather than the negative side of everything. Who would want to run a team and be a promoter with negative people like many on this forum.  Think outside the box for the sake of speedway not just the team/league racing.

That’s an awful lot of pointless noise in a post which, ultimately, completely misses the point.

The next steps for British Speedway will be decided by factors not in the hands of the association. This isn’t negative, and as has been pointed out to you already, it is the reality of where the sport currently sits.

There is no bigger picture, and with the greatest of respect to you, the absolute drivel in your post suggests that it is actually people like yourself who are the issue in the supporter base of our sport, which is quite ironic looking at what you said.

[acef]

Even 6 weeks will be damaging. I think pretty much every club here will be pulling out their rental agreements.

Without knowing the detail of any paperwork it’s difficult to say for certain how this will play out, but on the face of it, it doesn’t look good.

If costs and bills still need paying and there is no income in a sport where the pot is dry, well that’s pretty straightforward stuff to work out.

I was listening to Steve Worrall earlier today. His opinion was that speedway is a ‘top level sport’ and should follow the path of other professional motor sports.

From a health and well-being perspective he is right, but from a financial one I have to admit I laughed out loud. 
 

Speedway will not be able to swallow the financial implications and we seem to have riders within the sport who don’t seem to fathom this, which would suggest there is no forward planning on their behalf.

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by acef

[Speedtiger]

Speedway was in serious terminal decline well before the Coronavirus struck and I fear that the consequences of the virus could be the final nail in the speedway coffin. The sport does not have the vast financial reserves to weather this catastrophe out. The clowns in Rugby have spent any rainy day money they held on a hair brained engine scheme.

The way the pay structure of speedway is, i.e. riders only get paid when they race and score points, this will mean the majority of riders will have to go away from the sport to earn a living to pay their bills...clubs have rent and fixed costs to pay and with no income will rapidly become insolvent and go to the wall. 
 

Will the government help, I very much doubt it as they will have far bigger problems to deal with than spending tax payers money to save what is a minor (bankrupt) sport such as speedway.

[waytogo28]

6 hours ago, acef said:

From a health and well-being perspective he is right, but from a financial one I have to admit I laughed out loud. 
 

A top level sport has very large numbers of people whp pay to watch it and is constantly under the national media spotlight. Speedway has neither of those things. It struggles to be a minor level ( stable ) sport, With an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 maximum of active paying supoorters it struggles to compete with the popularity of .... even, beetle drives.

[HGould]

10 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

A top level sport has very large numbers of people whp pay to watch it and is constantly under the national media spotlight. Speedway has neither of those things. It struggles to be a minor level ( stable ) sport, With an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 maximum of active paying supoorters it struggles to compete with the popularity of .... even, beetle drives.

If there is going to be any speedway for the next few months (fear is it could be 3-4 months) and when it resumes, riders like Worrall (and I don't pick on him as there are many similar) may have to accept that their deals will have to be rewritten any way.

Promoters will have budgeted for 16-20 home matches in the season at least and may be left with 10 -12 if they are lucky. If there is a 3 month shutdown millions wont be earning anything like money they are used to. Speedway will be well down the pecking order. £100 a point may have to become £50 a point Clubs can't pay what they don't have but something is better than nothing.

Crisis time I'm afraid for Riders, Promoters and the Sport.  This time next year they may have killed off the NDL at a time when lots of Clubs will be clamouring to join it!

[Phil The Ace]

I'm sure I read somewhere that the government will compensate any sport clubs affected by this mass gatherings ban if it comes to that

[Phil The Ace]

So, say the season does get cancelled and somehow clubs survive and start again  next year. What happens????? 

 

Would you build a  new team or have to stick to the 7 riders you had for this year????

[hans fan]

6 minutes ago, Phil The Ace said:

I'm sure I read somewhere that the government will compensate any sport clubs affected by this mass gatherings ban if it comes to that

Why would government compensate speedway clubs all we ever hear is they lose fortunes

[2ndbendbeerhut]

Do many speedway clubs in the UK actually get 500 fans through the gates on a regular basis? 

Non league football gates increased yesterday as fans looked for a football "fix" 

Best thing to do .... quit social media and looking at the news as it's all doom and gloom. 

Remember those Chinese hospitals that had to be built in record time? Yesterday the final one was closed as there are not enough new cases of the virus to support them. The Chinese are now sending help to Italy. Italy have the biggest problem as they have the oldest population in Europe. The average age of deaths is 81 and of those that have died only 2% didn't have any existing medical conditions! 

[Phil The Ace]

6 minutes ago, hans fan said:

Why would government compensate speedway clubs all we ever hear is they lose fortunes

Yes, but this is going to hit them far worse than ever before. Through no fault of there own, 

[MattK]

14 minutes ago, 2ndbendbeerhut said:

Do many speedway clubs in the UK actually get 500 fans through the gates on a regular basis? 

 

Depends who's asking. Are you a potential sponsor or the taxman?

[greyhoundp]

The season has not really started yet apart from the one charity meeting last night, so what is there to actually lose, Its just an extended close season what do clubs lose in the close season ?. The biggest losers will probably be the riders who wont have any income for the months that its closed down. Medical services wont be required at Tracks, Track staff wont be needed, and i presume rent is paid as and when the track is used.

The big issue is when will large gatherings be allowed to be held again, when will riders be allowed to travel between countries again ?, that wont happen until such time that this pendemic is on a downward spiral, the fact is we are all in unknown territory and as such there is uncertainty everywhere the world over. Just look at the supermarket shelves that shows us how everyone is reacting.

[DC2]

11 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

 

This could finish Speedway as we know it for good in the UK. 

 

It’s a bit of a paradox though that most clubs claim to run at a loss so won’t no speedway this year be a saving grace?

 

[DC2]

1 hour ago, Phil The Ace said:

I'm sure I read somewhere that the government will compensate any sport clubs affected by this mass gatherings ban if it comes to that

 

Hmmm. Not sure it’s right that any business should be compensated.

After all it’s a capitalist free market and lower profits or losses will result in less tax or rebates in any event.

And we’re all affected in different ways.

 

[The Third Man]

12 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said:

“Will the premiership start on time ?”  is the title of this thread. 

Hawk127 and The Third Man ......on another planet? 

No it wont

[Daniel Smith]

I genuinely believe this will kill British Speedway stone cold dead. 

As said, most attending are over 60 & have been going for their lifetime. 

Once the habits are broken the majority will not come back to Speedway. 

This virus may not kill as many of the elderly as first expected but it most certainly will kill this sport. 

[scoobydoo]

Only goes to show that speedway was really reliant on paying customers being attracted though the turnstiles, its a pity its taken something like this for some promotions to finally realise this was the case. 

[Piotr Pyszny]

6 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said:

I genuinely believe this will kill British Speedway stone cold dead. 

As said, most attending are over 60 & have been going for their lifetime. 

Once the habits are broken the majority will not come back to Speedway. 

This virus may not kill as many of the elderly as first expected but it most certainly will kill this sport. 

I suspect this will hit badly a lot of sports. For many, watching sport is a habit. Plenty of opportunity, in the months to come, to get out of the habit.

[wealdstone]

10 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said:

I genuinely believe this will kill British Speedway stone cold dead. 

As said, most attending are over 60 & have been going for their lifetime. 

Once the habits are broken the majority will not come back to Speedway. 

This virus may not kill as many of the elderly as first expected but it most certainly will kill this sport. 

I think you are right

[Toto]

No.dont think the season will start at all