British Speedway to be reborn??

[MatthewAiden]

The top two leagues of British speedway has for many years relied on cheap airlines to enable riders to race in multiple leagues around Europe, however with the aviation industry collapsing the knock on effect for British Speedway is simple….. it will not have access to riders who wish to race in more than just the British league as the logistics will just not allow it.

No star riders will mean a significant drop in crowds (I am guessing levels of 50% pre CV19) which will lead to lower revenues from ticket sales along with a significant drop in sponsorship/advertising revenue as well. If clubs have less money to spend then riders will also be paid less and some will probably turn their back on the sport as they cannot afford to ride, thus reducing the pool of available riders down even further.

In my opinion British Speedway needs to give up on the idea of their rider assets holding any financial value and press the reset button to create a new blueprint to survive post CV19 ready to be launched in March 2021 (subject to government restrictions).

I believe now is a great opportunity for supporters to share their thoughts and ideas on what British Speedway ‘reborn’ should look like and which clubs should be part of it so I can send them on to the current guardians of each club.

I look forward to reading the thoughts you may share on this. VidMate Mobdro word counter

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Edited September 8, 2020 by MatthewAiden

[IainB]

On 9/2/2020 at 11:13 AM, MatthewAiden said:

I believe now is a great opportunity for supporters to share their thoughts and ideas on what British Speedway ‘reborn’ should look like and which clubs should be part of it so I can send them on to the current guardians of each club.

I think you'll find they're not interested in listening to any ideas other than their own. If I were you I wouldn't waste my time and just choose another sport to follow

[25yearfan]

I don't think crowds would drop by 50 % by not having "star" riders about because in reality not many of the Worlds top 30 riders compete in the UK anyway, haven't done for a number of years now and In real terms the smaller amount of fans (compared to years gone by) )that still go to British speedway meetings have long since gotten used to the idea. Also theirs probably not enough interest from current non speedway spectators to potentially come along just cause some foreign guy who finished in the top 10 of previous seasons GP has signed for their local club.

 

Likewise I don't think that most fans nowadays necessarily view watching the highest level of speedway as the be all and end all. The better the rider, the less mistakes they make, the faster they become which both add up to overtaking become much harder and less likely which is a key element to good racing. This is why NL racing is often better entertainment.

 

My local NL track Mildenhall have in my opinion made the correct decision in staying in the lower cost, mainly amateur 3rd tier of British speedway because moving up into the Championship (2nd tier) would increase outgoings on rider wages and travel costs massively but crowd levels wouldn't go up enough to cover these extra costs. This was proved in the 2006-08 spell when Mildenhall moved into the 2nd Division. Likewise 2nd Division clubs moving up to the top flight have found the same thing as well for years now!

 

I do get your theme of British speedway being reborn cause I think sooner rather than later British speedway will have to evolve into a mainly part time, lower level status and clubs and riders will have to cut their respective cloths accordingly. This will involve not paying out big time wages if the crowds can't pay for it, less expensive overseas and/or top level riders and riding on racenights that suit the individual clubs not the F.I.M.

 

While I can't see British speedway returning to the halcyon days of the 70's I do think theirs enough interest for it to be sustainable if run within its limitations and more locally based riders are found that would help to stimulate interest!   

 

  

Edited September 7, 2020 by 25yearfan

[cityrebel]

The clubs most at threat are those that rent greyhound stadiums. Dog racing is another cloth cap sport, like speedway, that is dying on its feet.

[Spl77]

During lockdown I managed to find quite a bit of speedway from the 70s and 80s on you tube.

As I was too young to remember those days I have been massively suprised how big the sport was. Lots of speedway on world of sport but was was suprised to find team racing was also featured I found Ipswich v Cradley heath highlights. 

Bruce Penhall holding out for a new contract and being offered 30k a year extra, Kenny Carter on tvam. 

The way speedway and its riders were portrayed on mainstream tv it seem like they were house hold names. 

It's even more sad to see where this sport is today and how far it's fallen. I wonder if anyone involved in the sport looks at it now and thinks 'we f:%ked it right up' 

[Shrub]

17 minutes ago, Spl77 said:

During lockdown I managed to find quite a bit of speedway from the 70s and 80s on you tube.

As I was too young to remember those days I have been massively suprised how big the sport was. Lots of speedway on world of sport but was was suprised to find team racing was also featured I found Ipswich v Cradley heath highlights. 

Bruce Penhall holding out for a new contract and being offered 30k a year extra, Kenny Carter on tvam. 

The way speedway and its riders were portrayed on mainstream tv it seem like they were house hold names. 

It's even more sad to see where this sport is today and how far it's fallen. I wonder if anyone involved in the sport looks at it now and thinks 'we f:%ked it right up' 

You're right, no comparison between then and now. The only thing the same is King's Lynn are still waiting to win the league...

[Crump99]

On 9/6/2020 at 1:27 PM, cityrebel said:

The clubs most at threat are those that rent greyhound stadiums. Dog racing is another cloth cap sport, like speedway, that is dying on its feet.

Good: " there are no verifiable statistics on the ultimate fate of Greyhounds who survive racing but are disposed of each year when injured or no longer competitive."

[Pieman72]

As usual nobody is listening.

[topsoil]

4 hours ago, Pieman72 said:

As usual nobody is listening.

pardon

[Baldyman]

Simple answer,,,, it won't be reborn 

[Ray Stadia]

It surely has to be the case, going forward, riders expecting promoters to give them big bucks to turn up and ride, will, in many respects go. The money just won't be there, not sure it really was there anyway. The current situation, could mean, promoters 'setting out their stall' in a 'reboot' way and looking at things from a fresh angle, with the emphasis on the sports survival.  

[ch958]

2 hours ago, Ray Stadia said:

It surely has to be the case, going forward, riders expecting promoters to give them big bucks to turn up and ride, will, in many respects go. The money just won't be there, not sure it really was there anyway. The current situation, could mean, promoters 'setting out their stall' in a 'reboot' way and looking at things from a fresh angle, with the emphasis on the sports survival.  

that is possible but we still get the 'big names' people. In Newcastle the basketball team had a guy called Fabulous something or other. He was a big namr round here and i guess people went to watch the team to see him. In.world basketball terms he was a nobody really. You can promote and make big stars out of what's available if you do it properly.

[Fortythirtyeight]

Somerset signed Jason Doyle , a World Champion, and their crowd went up exactly zero %.

True speedway fans go to watch RACING not individuals. You could argue that racing should take place if a lesser rider tries to beat a ‘ star ‘ but the names don’t mean a thing, it’s the quality of the racing that counts.

A winning team also helps.

[Guest]

I read - with  quizzical look - all the preceding comments. It tends to remind me of an old remark something like "...it's dead but it won't lie down..." In many ways it applies to speedway IMO - the so-called  'great days' are unlikely to be rekindled. The modern day general public is much changed from that which was 'excited' by four men on a small track racing four laps which was the sport from the late 1920s to circa about the mid-1970s IMO.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Guest

[jenga]

Hull and Workington both had winning teams in their final seasons , but did not come to the tapes the following season .

worky even had cookie in the team when he was an out n out number one . being local , craig put a few more bums in the ground . but not that many to shout about .

the sport is too expensive to run with riders expecting full time wages . 

early days glory cannot be kept going in this day n age .

[martinmauger]

14 minutes ago, jenga said:

Hull and Workington both had winning teams in their final seasons , but did not come to the tapes the following season .

worky even had cookie in the team when he was an out n out number one . being local , craig put a few more bums in the ground . but not that many to shout about .

the sport is too expensive to run with riders expecting full time wages . 

early days glory cannot be kept going in this day n age .

Hull's most winning season was 2004, came to the tapes in 2005 but the financial issues from the pervious season were still ongoing and the season was not completed, with 2 home matches not raced (v Glasgow & King's Lynn).  But point taken, a sucessful winning season is often difficult financially due to an increased wage bill with more points being scored. ...

[HGould]

Go on to Facebook and look for "The Speedway Chat Show".

They did a live stream of an NDL level meeting last Tuesday at Plymouth.

Last heat decider won on last bend.

Super racing, plenty of passing, excellent track conditions. Track was not graded once.

Good quality streaming, interesting Commentary, not perfect but raw and entertaining.

That's 3rd tier , base level, small team trying hard.

That's got to be the template. Find the level where it's affordable, exciting, streamed and viable.

Edited September 12, 2020 by HGould
Predictive text issues

[jenga]

4 hours ago, martinmauger said:

Hull's most winning season was 2004, came to the tapes in 2005 but the financial issues from the pervious season were still ongoing and the season was not completed, with 2 home matches not raced (v Glasgow & King's Lynn).  But point taken, a sucessful winning season is often difficult financially due to an increased wage bill with more points being scored. ...

for some reason i thought hull did not come to the tapes after they had their great season . was dave peet in charge for that season ? had a few visits to hull over the years due to extended family ties . i found the hull fans chatty and very welcoming . (apart from one dipstick !  who  called out to stoney when he fell off. .get up ya bum ). stoney a bum , whatever next . maybe the early days will return ?

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by jenga

[Bagpuss]

Best view I’ve ever experienced at a speedway track at Craven Park, sitting in that big stand on the home straight was awesome. 

[martinmauger]

2 hours ago, jenga said:

for some reason i thought hull did not come to the tapes after they had their great season . was dave peet in charge for that season ? had a few visits to hull over the years due to extended family ties . i found the hull fans chatty and very welcoming . (apart from one dipstick !  who  called out to stoney when he fell off. .get up ya bum ). stoney a bum , whatever next . maybe the early days will return ?

 

 

Dave Peet was co-promoter in 2005, Stoney was a popular visitor at Hull but you always get the odd ill-advised comment anywhere....

1 hour ago, Bagpuss said:

Best view I’ve ever experienced at a speedway track at Craven Park, sitting in that big stand on the home straight was awesome. 

Yeah, great view from the CP main stand....