Newcastle Diamonds 2021

[ruffdiamond]

9 hours ago, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Would there be much interest in putting together a package of support from the fans? Would there be any value in a meeting upstairs in the bar after the Birmingham meeting... are there enough like-minded people who have funds to invest in a lost cause to try and save the Diamonds?

Something along the lines of a Debenture say.... however unlike a Debenture there are very limited assets to repay the loan... people would have to loan the money on the understanding that if the new venture is unsuccessful the money is lost and there may (probably) be the need to top up this Debenture on a regular basis...

However this would be on the premise that we leave for our own home ASAP and a share issue is made against loans?

Is it worth a try or do we just roll over and pray to the Gods that someone comes in on an off chance...

Any thoughts or interest from other like-minded companies or individuals?...

Regards 

THJ

Good idea mate, probably won't be able to make the bar, (will be busy),,, but as mentioned the the 'GoFundMe' raised good money. Wouldn't be able to stump up much, but if there was 100 of me we might get somewhere. Al be good for the cash (ask Rob). Keep us in the loop and I will work on some of the guys, which might be persuaded to put a little bit in, av managed it before.

[mikebv]

27 minutes ago, diamonds7 said:

i like the £25.00 a week idea Good idea , but would that be keeping rob on board or finding a new promoter ?? 

I think you would need Rob on board and give him the security of guaranteed income, but dont know obviously how his Company is set up to be able to do a share scheme...

March to October would be 8 months of payments, £800 in total, (or do it over 10 months at £80 a month), like the Council Tax)...

250 putting £20 a week over 8 months would generate £200k..

(Less than two packets of fags).

If it makes money (I laugh), then each get a dividend...

Basically you would be buying "free admission" but these 250 could get access to the VIP suite, with each getting at least two matches in there, free programmes each week, free car parking etc.

And maybe give them a free ticket each week to invite their partner, and up to five tickets a match to sell at a tenner to their family and friends? People who wouldnt ordinarily be there.. 

Ambassadors for the club if you like..

Another 400 a week paying "£x" to get in might then be enough if you are starting with a £200k guarantee, and the price to get in could come down if the guarantee covers enough of the costs..

Pipe dream I am sure but maybe worth at least a coat of looking at..

 

 

[Gaz]

All good ideas being mentioned.. this maybe also need to be posted on Facebook at some point when further forward and can be put forward to supporters club.

Hopefully Rob would stay on board as he deserves another crack at it and with a bit of assistance from the fans hopefully we could stay open and have a decent season. 

[MartinBSN]

50 minutes ago, mikebv said:

I think you would need Rob on board and give him the security of guaranteed income, but dont know obviously how his Company is set up to be able to do a share scheme...

March to October would be 8 months of payments, £800 in total, (or do it over 10 months at £80 a month), like the Council Tax)...

250 putting £20 a week over 8 months would generate £200k..

(Less than two packets of fags).

If it makes money (I laugh), then each get a dividend...

Basically you would be buying "free admission" but these 250 could get access to the VIP suite, with each getting at least two matches in there, free programmes each week, free car parking etc.

And maybe give them a free ticket each week to invite their partner, and up to five tickets a match to sell at a tenner to their family and friends? People who wouldnt ordinarily be there.. 

Ambassadors for the club if you like..

Another 400 a week paying "£x" to get in might then be enough if you are starting with a £200k guarantee, and the price to get in could come down if the guarantee covers enough of the costs..

Pipe dream I am sure but maybe worth at least a coat of looking at..

 

 

How would it be possible to give away entry, VIP, programme etc for £20 a week! It's literally £20 for entry and a programme...

[Gaz]

8 minutes ago, Marshall07 said:

How would it be possible to give away entry, VIP, programme etc for £20 a week! It's literally £20 for entry and a programme...

Because we don’t race every week.. so the weeks we don’t race everyone would still be paying and money increasing. 
These are just ball park figures really until we know how many are serious about putting money in.

[IainB]

I know everybody has good intentions with offers of money etc. but surely you're postponing the inevitable. All the money you're willing to stump up is going directly out of the sport never to be seen again. As difficult as it is, maybe it's time for the club to take a sabbatical until the operating model of the sport is changed as it HAS to. It's totally unsustainable while the outgoings are more than the incomings and until the outgoings are addressed it will remain the same.

Unfortunately the people in charge need to take a reality pill

[Argos]

Surely the Promotion will be inviting all past riders to this meeting, 

[Parsy29]

The above  all sound like really good ideas with fans trying to save a iconic club.

My main issue ( for what its worth which is zero ) would be the getting out of Brough ASAP. It has to happen as for a long time now the racing at Newcastle has not been great as the bikes have got faster. Yes I remember Andre Compton and James Grieves blasting around the boards on the 3rd and 4th bend but those races are few and far between and the stigma that goes with the track certainly does not help the cause. 

My worry is that Speedway as a whole is no longer 2021 compliant and one of those is the noise level. You tell me when the last new track was opened ? Its nearly impossible because of housing estates spreading at a alarming rate meaning Betty does not want to hear annoying bikes while she sits out in her garden any longer. Sound travels far and wide on a evening and a new track within 20 miles of Newcastle would be a massive surprise to me if it could get past the noise brigade.

I had a conversation only a few months back with one of the owners at Redcar and he even said that if they were to apply for permission now for the track which is on a motor sports complex he believed it would not get the go ahead.They get regular complaints from residents miles away but luckily because they have the licence they don't come to much.

We all whinge about electric bikes etc and with no noise and no smell the sport would die. The problem is the way the sport is now is on a life support machine with no magic wand to recover at present. 

Yes riders wages and bike costs have grown way more than crowd levels which has caused a huge financial gulf.

Yes the sport as some say is probably a £10 sport having to charge £18 to try and cover the difference between the above.

Yes the shortage of riders and doubling up makes it a bit of a joke trying to explain it to the public.

BUT the noise issues also will STOP 99% of new ventures ever getting past the first hurdle.

I love this sport as a rider ( loose term ) as a Manager of Redcar Cubs but most importantly as a supporter for the last 49 years. I hate as much as anyone to see it struggling in so many places around the country. Yes at Redcar we are fortunate that crowds are up and we don't have huge rents to pay but Im a SPEEDWAY FAN and without clubs we won't have this wonderful sport of ours for that much longer in its present capacity.

[Mamapotts]

I would be happy to do a monthly DD for 100 and maybe another 1 person possibly 2. I would love to do something to keep the club alive. I would then happily pay a reduced admission of say 10.00 per meeting and a programme/hog roast/burger or something included. That way the club is still getting further income from ticket sales but we get a reward of food/programme which could then be off set through other profits from the van, 50/50 draw, supporters club etc. Then maybe a yearly get together where we can chat to Rob and team. One negative is we need to stop the clickyness. I've been coming for over 30 years and never feel involved, miss the interaction with the riders and a chat with Rob to let us know updates etc. I think there needs to be disclosure of the situation the club was truly in when Rob took over to stop the rumour mill and get the facts out there of just how all those interested in Newcastle Diamonds were screwed over by the previous promotion. Maybe then a clean slate for 2022 where we start a fresh and move forward.

[ruffdiamond]

55 minutes ago, iainb said:

I know everybody has good intentions with offers of money etc. but surely you're postponing the inevitable. All the money you're willing to stump up is going directly out of the sport never to be seen again. As difficult as it is, maybe it's time for the club to take a sabbatical until the operating model of the sport is changed as it HAS to. It's totally unsustainable while the outgoings are more than the incomings and until the outgoings are addressed it will remain the same.

Unfortunately the people in charge need to take a reality pill

I sort of get what you say, but as THJ was saying, its about leaving Brough and finding a new venue. IMHO, racing from Brough will never move forward or be sustainable, worrying each season as to whether you go on the next, also track/stadium access/availability probably loses, or involves costing in it's own way.

Bit a bit if a silly idea, but would a temporary track share work, with say Redcar, whilst a new home could be found?

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, Marshall07 said:

How would it be possible to give away entry, VIP, programme etc for £20 a week! It's literally £20 for entry and a programme...

It would have to be factored in, of course, however getting "guaranteed money", rather than "maybe they will turn up"...

Or "if we run tonight the crowd will be crap'...

Is a much better option I would suggest..

£800 is effectively 40 matches you are paying for in real terms, at £20 a match, however, there only will be around 20, so the money will go a long way to paying all the costs of staging the home meetings with the excess to help pay the away matches salaries.

Edited September 16, 2021 by mikebv

[Gaz]

People are mentioning postponing the inevitable etc, but if people want to continue to contribute over years and keep speedway in Newcastle alive I am all for it.

Also regarding brough, yes the rent is high and we all want a new track, but for now until we find one if it’s Brough or nothing then it’s Brough every day of week for me.

The racing isn’t the best by any means but can still see decent meeting, racing isn’t great at Berwick and also Wolves and Edinburgh tracks are similar to ours but you just have to get on with what you have until can find something better.

[IainB]

3 minutes ago, ruffdiamond said:

Bit a bit if a silly idea, but would a temporary track share work, with say Redcar, whilst a new home could be found?

It's been shown not to in the past, Cradley Heath being the obvious example at Stoke and then latterly at Wolverhampton & Birmingham. It will help keep the name alive, but if there is no track or willingness to build one somewhere I think it's doomed to fail. Will Brough Park be sold/demolished if there is no Speedway? 

[IainB]

1 minute ago, Gaz said:

People are mentioning postponing the inevitable etc, but if people want to continue to contribute over years and keep speedway in Newcastle alive I am all for it.

Also regarding brough, yes the rent is high and we all want a new track, but for now until we find one if it’s Brough or nothing then it’s Brough every day of week for me.

The racing isn’t the best by any means but can still see decent meeting, racing isn’t great at Berwick and also Wolves and Edinburgh tracks are similar to ours but you just have to get on with what you have until can find something better.

Maybe it'd be better to put the money in some kind of trust fund whereby it could be used at some point in the future to resurrect the club if a suitable piece of land could be found to build a track on, hopefully in a better economic climate (globally/nationally and in Speedway)

[ruffdiamond]

1 minute ago, Gaz said:

Also regarding brough, yes the rent is high and we all want a new track, but for now until we find one if it’s Brough or nothing then it’s Brough every day of week for me.

But that's a big problem, Brough isn't everyday of the week, it's one day access. There is guys in on a Saturday evening, all day Sunday and even Monday mornings. A don't suppose the majority will see the amount of graft being put in just to get the track available. 

[Gaz]

2 minutes ago, iainb said:

Maybe it'd be better to put the money in some kind of trust fund whereby it could be used at some point in the future to resurrect the club if a suitable piece of land could be found to build a track on, hopefully in a better economic climate (globally/nationally and in Speedway)

If enough people contribute it may be enough to get through the future seasons and look for a piece of land also.

If it closes that could be it forever as it will be tough and take time to find somewhere new (if that ever happened).

[Gaz]

2 minutes ago, ruffdiamond said:

But that's a big problem, Brough isn't everyday of the week, it's one day access. There is guys in on a Saturday evening, all day Sunday and even Monday mornings. A don't suppose the majority will see the amount of graft being put in just to get the track available. 

And I agree but for now and especially next season, it’s brough or close (maybe forever).

[ruffdiamond]

5 minutes ago, iainb said:

 Will Brough Park be sold/demolished if there is no Speedway? 

A wouldn't have thought so, whilst theres dog racing rights. Also, a don't think the speedway is keeping the stadium afloat.

[IainB]

4 minutes ago, Gaz said:

If enough people contribute it may be enough to get through the future seasons and look for a piece of land also.

If it closes that could be it forever as it will be tough and take time to find somewhere new (if that ever happened).

Gaz, fair play to you, but maybe you're flogging a dead horse in the current climate. On a positive note there are many clubs that have taken time out (for whatever reason) and come back successfully, my own team Leicester to name one. It doesn't help you get your Speedway fix in the short term though I'll agree

[Deano]

7 minutes ago, Gaz said:

If enough people contribute it may be enough to get through the future seasons and look for a piece of land also.

If it closes that could be it forever as it will be tough and take time to find somewhere new (if that ever happened).

I agree Unfortunately once you close, people find other things to do. While a stadium is there it’s the best you have. No stadium and you only have to look at other teams as a guide in how successful they have been in finding that “piece of land”. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Deano