Defunct speedway tracks - and their resurrection

[25yearfan]

2 hours ago, Sotonian said:

Poole have run every season since 1948. The nearest they came to closure was the short open season of 1957.

PS I assume you mean inactivity or no activity!

That's exactly what I meant, cause I knew the Pirates had a year out of the Leagues!

 

Lets hope Poole speedway survives the present concerns about its future!

[Sotonian]

17 minutes ago, 25yearfan said:

That's exactly what I meant, cause I knew the Pirates had a year out of the Leagues!

 

Lets hope Poole speedway survives the present concerns about its future!

Having a year out of the leagues is not the same as coming back from being defunct though.

[RobMcCaffery]

23 minutes ago, 25yearfan said:

100%!

 

I still live in hope that I may just be around long enough to speedway back in Norwich!

 

Whilst speedway is seemingly on a one street to oblivion, I can still see a future for it cause at grassroots level it is just about sustainable cause theirs still much interest. The future may well be basic tracks in fields like Somerset/Scunthorpe/Buxton run by enthusiasts with facilities built up over time and riders being part time.

Over the past couple of decades or so we have seen new tracks at Somerset, Leicester, Scunthorpe, Redcar, Plymouth, Kent, Birmingham and Isle of Wight while tracks have come, and sadly gone at Newport, Carmarthen, St.Austell, Skegness and Weymouth. It's not been all one way traffic. 

There is hope at Oxford, Coventry, Exeter, Rye House and Brafield (Northampton) and Workington's Northside track so it's not all black. Speedway can survive and sustain but it needs positivity, sound planning and in a few cases some work by supporters to campaign and things can improve. While stadia still stand there is always hope, despite the obstacles. 

I've sounded out about the lazy negativity on this forum but ultimately few on here will have any real say apart from being cynical to appear clever but I've been involved in a successful campaign to reopen Rye House in the past and I've seen others achieve similar success.

People complain here about promoters failing to promote. Well, how about supporters actually supporting? You never know the future. Few would have predicted what we have gone through this year but if we are going to help the support recover the last thing needed is for people to pull out every obstacle they can think of.

Let's see what happens and try to do our best to help. If I can do it then plenty more can....

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by RobMcCaffery

[Ben91]

2 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Over the past couple of decades or so we have seen new tracks at Somerset, Leicester, Scunthorpe, Redcar, Plymouth, Kent, Birmingham and Isle of Wight while tracks have come, and sadly gone at Newport, Carmarthen, St.Austell, Skegness and Weymouth. It's not been all one way traffic. 

There is hope at Oxford, Coventry, Exeter, Rye House and Brafield (Northampton) and Workington's Northside track so it's not all black. Speedway can survive and sustain but it needs positivity, sound planning and in a few cases some work by supporters to campaign and things can improve. While stadia still stand there is always hope, despite the obstacles. 

I've sounded out about the lazy negativity on this forum but ultimately few on here will have any real say apart from being cynical to appear clever but I've been involved in a successful campaign to reopen Rye House in the past and I've seen others achieve similar success.

People complain here about promoters failing to promote. Well, how about supporters actually supporting? You never know the future. Few would have predicted what we have gone through but if we are going to help the support recover the last thing needed is for people to pull out every obstacle they can think of.

Let's see what happens and try to do our best to help. If I can do it then plenty more can....

 

Over the last two decades I would venture (without doing too much research) that we’ve lost a lot more tracks than we’ve gained. 

Due to a variety of reasons, opening a track now is a lot harder than it was in the past. Noise concerns, lack of interest from fans, Speedway being a black hole for money being just three. Opening a new Speedway track ultimately is more trouble than it is worth. That isn’t cynicism, I wish it was. But it’s realism. 

Blind positivity helps nobody in the same way that criticising for criticism’s sake helps nobody. What is becoming ever more apparent on this forum recently to my mind is that more and more fans are growing disillusioned with the way the sport is run here. But change seems to be a long way away, or non-existent. 

Supporters are customers. They don’t owe the promoters a thing. It is the promoter’s job (and business) to get numbers through the turnstiles. If those numbers are dropping off then they aren’t doing their job properly. If a promoter can’t promote then why do they deserve for supporters to support them? 

[Guest compost]

9 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Over the past couple of decades or so we have seen new tracks at Somerset, Leicester, Scunthorpe, Redcar, Plymouth, Kent, Birmingham and Isle of Wight while tracks have come, and sadly gone at Newport, Carmarthen, St.Austell, Skegness and Weymouth. It's not been all one way traffic. 

There is hope at Oxford, Coventry, Exeter, Rye House and Brafield (Northampton) and Workington's Northside track so it's not all black. Speedway can survive and sustain but it needs positivity, sound planning and in a few cases some work by supporters to campaign and things can improve. While stadia still stand there is always hope, despite the obstacles. 

I've sounded out about the lazy negativity on this forum but ultimately few on here will have any real say apart from being cynical to appear clever but I've been involved in a successful campaign to reopen Rye House in the past and I've seen others achieve similar success.

People complain here about promoters failing to promote. Well, how about supporters actually supporting? You never know the future. Few would have predicted what we have gone through this year but if we are going to help the support recover the last thing needed is for people to pull out every obstacle they can think of.

Let's see what happens and try to do our best to help. If I can do it then plenty more can....

 

To the gone tracks add Hackney, Wimbledon, Stoke, Arena Essex, Reading, Middlesbrough, Linlithgow, Long Eaton, Bradford and Cradley. To the hope list add Buxton & Iwade maybe ?

[Wee Eck]

My first year watching speedway was 1966 when there was one league with 19 teams. Had speedway run in 2020, there would have been 7 Premiership and 12 Championship teams which I make, erm, 19. Add in IOM, Plymouth and Mildenhall, and that makes 22. Yes, we’ve lost many venues, and 10 of the 19 from 1966 have gone (and 3 of the remaining 9 have not only changed location, but changed it more than once) but supporters have greater choice now than they had over 50 years ago.

[25yearfan]

11 hours ago, Sotonian said:

Having a year out of the leagues is not the same as coming back from being defunct though.

Certainly!

As a matter of interest, how many open meetings did Poole have in their "non League" season?

 

A poster mentions Middlesbrough on the "lost" list but Redcar is in all but name Middlesbrough speedway. I believe the Redcar name is used because the track is situated in Redcar just outside the Middlesbrough boundary and is a nod to the Redcar authorities who allowed the speedway facility there to be built. Certainly another track in Middlesbrough wouldn't be built in opposition to Redcar!

 

Is Iwade speedway still open for practice sessions?

 

My own personal viewpoint on the future of speedway in this Country is that eventually with land prices and poor crowds the sport will continue to decline until the professional League(s) will be down to about 10 teams at the most. Then any other tracks still about will all ride in an amateur, grassroots, low cost League and thats where seeds of growth can appear. Their is an urban myth among many that top level racing is the be all and end all but that isn't the case. Quite often lower level racing can provide more interest than the top level where riders make less mistakes and are too fast to overtake. Speedway in East Anglia is a prime example cause Mildenhall speedway in the 3rd Division more often than not provides better value for money than its two top neighbouring tracks King's Lynn and Ipswich. Indeed Lynn and Ipswich who have long traditions of staging top flight racing have had resurgences after dropping down into 2nd Division racing.

 

Hopefully one day sports venues will have more protection from the government if those in power will ever recognise the importance of having outlets for the population. Venues like Exeter, Cradley, Coventry, Arena Essex to name but a few should have had preservation orders on them ensuring their survival as sports venues.

Edited August 16, 2020 by 25yearfan

[Piotr Pyszny]

40 minutes ago, 25yearfan said:

Hopefully one day sports venues will have more protection from the government if those in power will ever recognise the importance of having outlets for the population. Venues like Exeter, Cradley, Coventry, Arena Essex to name but a few should have had preservation orders on them ensuring their survival as sports venues.

Little chance of that. The days when sports venues were used and appreciated by a large proportion of the population are long gone.

With demand for land so high, and houses needed desperately, sport will be one of the last things on any government's mind.

[RobMcCaffery]

2 hours ago, compost said:

To the gone tracks add Hackney, Wimbledon, Stoke, Arena Essex, Reading, Middlesbrough, Linlithgow, Long Eaton, Bradford and Cradley. To the hope list add Buxton & Iwade maybe ?

I was referring to the past couple of decades which eliminates half of those. So do we include Tamworth, Wombwell, Crystal Palace, Lea Bridge, Fleetwood and on and on just to emphasise the gloom?

 

[pvm]

I fall into the camp of thinking the sport governing body has failed the sport over the years.

Back in 1968 when the sport was re-invented, somebody should have looked to the future and thought, right the sport relies on the goodwill of stadium landlords, we need to build up an asset base of stadiums of our own. If a small levy had been included with-in the entry admission fee and administered by an independent body, over the years as stadiums became available to purchase the  sport could have been  in a position to snap some up. You wouldn't have been able to buy all stadiums, you probably wouldn't want to anyway, but you could have built up a core asset base over the years.  

We are now 50+ years later, and in the main, the sport is still reliant on the goodwill of stadium landlords to survive, and with a relatively small number of standalone tracks. The sport has had many millions of pounds pass through it's hands over the years, most of which has been wasted. 

[RobMcCaffery]

12 hours ago, Ben91 said:

Over the last two decades I would venture (without doing too much research) that we’ve lost a lot more tracks than we’ve gained. 

Due to a variety of reasons, opening a track now is a lot harder than it was in the past. Noise concerns, lack of interest from fans, Speedway being a black hole for money being just three. Opening a new Speedway track ultimately is more trouble than it is worth. That isn’t cynicism, I wish it was. But it’s realism. 

Blind positivity helps nobody in the same way that criticising for criticism’s sake helps nobody. What is becoming ever more apparent on this forum recently to my mind is that more and more fans are growing disillusioned with the way the sport is run here. But change seems to be a long way away, or non-existent. 

Supporters are customers. They don’t owe the promoters a thing. It is the promoter’s job (and business) to get numbers through the turnstiles. If those numbers are dropping off then they aren’t doing their job properly. If a promoter can’t promote then why do they deserve for supporters to support them? 

Of course we've lost more than we gained which is why we have to fight now.

Or do we simply post on forums, try to show how clever we are and wait for the sport to die? 

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by RobMcCaffery

[RobMcCaffery]

So, the BSF message is clear, do nothing, put off anyone who does try to make something happen and look for someone to blame.

And you people knock the promoters. Disgusting, ignorant negativity. 

 

 

[iris123]

5 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Of course we've lost more than we gained which is why we have to fight now.

Or do we simply post on forums, try to show how clever we are and wait for the sport to die? 

 

3 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

So, the BSF message is clear, do nothing, put off anyone who does try to make something happen and look for someone to blame.

And you people knock the promoters. Disgusting, ignorant negativity. 

 

 

Oh dear.......yet again, can't discuss, gets the message totally wrong, goes ott and starts to abuse

[RobMcCaffery]

Oh dear, oh dear, iris123 pathetically seizing an opportunity to carry on one of his nasty, sad little vendettas. I'm the current target.

This is a serious matter and far more important than a worrying need by him to bully people. I am so passionate about this subject because I cannot stand to see people just poising the sport with every excuse to spread doom and gloom. Yes there are serious problems to be faced, but that is the key, the need to be faced and acted upon. Fight for your sport and stop sneering at those who do. 

Anyway, now iris123 has stuck his knife in it's time to leave you to wallow in depression.See how many things are catastrophically wrong, what mistakes have been made, who to blame, how many tracks have closed and could well close soon. I won't be reading. Have your fun. 

Just sit there, proud that you were 'right' and just watch the sport die. - or just find a victim to constantly attack like iris23. I'm not the first and In won't be the last. Perhaps his isp needs to remind him of harassment policy? 

[Ben91]

23 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Of course we've lost more than we gained which is why we have to fight now.

Or do we simply post on forums, try to show how clever we are and wait for the sport to die? 

 

Forums are for debate Rob. 

So as fans we should fight because the people we would be fighting for seemingly couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery? It isn’t the job of the fans to save the sport, it is the job of the people running the sport to save the sport. For. The. Fans. No fans, no sport.

It amuses me that anyone who doesn’t agree with your opinion is apparently trying to “be clever” and trying to put people off the sport. How about some reasoned debate as opposed to toy throwing. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Ben91

[iris123]

4 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Oh dear, oh dear, iris123 pathetically seizing an opportunity to carry on one of his nasty, sad little vendettas. I'm the current target.

This is a serious matter and far more important than a worrying need by him to bully people. I am so passionate about this subject because I cannot stand to see people just poising the sport with every excuse to spread doom and gloom. Yes there are serious problems to be faced, but that is the key, the need to be faced and acted upon. Fight for your sport and stop sneering at those who do. 

Anyway, now iris123 has stuck his knife in it's time to leave you to wallow in depression.See how many things are catastrophically wrong, what mistakes have been made, who to blame, how many tracks have closed and could well close soon. I won't be reading. Have your fun. 

Just sit there, proud that you were 'right' and just watch the sport die. - or just find a victim to constantly attack like iris23. I'm not the first and In won't be the last. Perhaps his isp needs to remind him of harassment policy? 

How is it harassment to use your post and point something out, especially your usual abuse of people who disagree with your high opinion ? Strange

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

Oh dear, oh dear, iris123 pathetically seizing an opportunity to carry on one of his nasty, sad little vendettas. I'm the current target.

This is a serious matter and far more important than a worrying need by him to bully people. I am so passionate about this subject because I cannot stand to see people just poising the sport with every excuse to spread doom and gloom. Yes there are serious problems to be faced, but that is the key, the need to be faced and acted upon. Fight for your sport and stop sneering at those who do. 

Anyway, now iris123 has stuck his knife in it's time to leave you to wallow in depression.See how many things are catastrophically wrong, what mistakes have been made, who to blame, how many tracks have closed and could well close soon. I won't be reading. Have your fun. 

Just sit there, proud that you were 'right' and just watch the sport die. - or just find a victim to constantly attack like iris23. I'm not the first and In won't be the last. Perhaps his isp needs to remind him of harassment policy? 

I salute your sir.Comments that many - some of whom have quit BSF because of this poster - will heartily condone and support. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Guest

[iris123]

15 minutes ago, gustix said:

I salute your sir.Comments that many - some of whom have quit BSF because of this poster - will heartily condone and support. 

It's nice to have you back. I look forward to a positive post or three from you on the sport.

[cityrebel]

5 hours ago, gustix said:

I salute your sir.Comments that many - some of whom have quit BSF because of this poster - will heartily condone and support. 

Anyone who quits the BSF over a difference of opinion, must have very thin skin. I've had plenty of digs aimed at me over the years, and i couldn't give a monkeys. The forum's purpose is to debate, not to agree with everything someone might say, wether that be positive or negative.

[chunky]

10 hours ago, cityrebel said:

Anyone who quits the BSF over a difference of opinion, must have very thin skin. I've had plenty of digs aimed at me over the years, and i couldn't give a monkeys. The forum's purpose is to debate, not to agree with everything someone might say, wether that be positive or negative.

Dunno what kind of fantasy world you're living in, Tony???