Survival of The Premiership?

[Ben91]

18 hours ago, truthsayer said:

Now it feels like it is the same riders week after week, and there's no special nights.

When Rye House moved into the Premiership I saw a bloke I know and he said “amazing, we get to see Chris Harris every week,” as we had signed him. 

I told him we’d actually been short changed, even if we’d not signed Harris we’d still have seen him most weeks. 

[mikebv]

2 hours ago, truthsayer said:

I don't have any inside information, but I would expect putting on a speedway meeting costs more than £4k, a lot more than £4k. 

And you shouldn't be running a business just to break even, those investing in it should be able to take a wage and make a profit (and have some contingency for rain offs).

I cannot see speedway being paid to be on TV, if anything I can see the sport having to pay for the production in future years. I doubt it is much, if anything, anymore.

Travel for 14 riders, even without coming from other countries, is likely £2k a night. Medical cover will be at least £500 (probably a good bit more) and insurance won't be cheap for a motorsport event. Stadium hire, I have no idea, but must be at least £2k a night before the lights are even turned on.

I have no idea how speedway clubs remain even remotely solvent based on their expenses and income.

 

 

 

There seems to not be any need to even break even for many...

Writing it off as part of a wider umbrella business seems to be quite the norm..

The biggest thing I find baffling is that some will lose six figure sums trying to win something that their very own operating model condemns to being pretty much irrelevant...

Maybe pooling such huge investment into the collective greater good would see them all prosper? 

Trying to out do each other to win something so few care about, and spending well over a million collectively to do it, is an incredible plan..

That level of huge yearly collective investment should see the sport move forward season on season, not regress..

Rinsing and repeating, and lurching from one "most important AGM ever" to the next "most important AGM ever", 12 months later, surely must, (by definition of always using that phrase as they seem to always do), eventually have them thinking " we need another plan"...

Edited July 26, 2023 by mikebv

[Hackett]

8 hours ago, mikebv said:

Rinsing and repeating, and lurching from one "most important AGM ever" to the next "most important AGM ever", 12 months later, surely must, (by definition of always using that phrase as they seem to always do), eventually have them thinking " we need another plan"...

It has been like this for decades. If you look in the Speedway Star in the noughties or 90's I would imagine much the same was being said then. This is what happens when a professional sport is run by amateurs and only looking after themselves not the collective good of the sport. 

The positive progressive stories of Oxford, Workington and Belle Vue are totally undermined by the farcical situation at KLynn and Pboro. The shadow over Wolves, Edinburgh's future. 

Needs a progressive and forthright CEO to lead the sport without the connection to any club but for the greater good of the sport. The reality of that happening ........

[Pitch]

I see it has just been announced that Leicester speedway is up for sale now!

Edited July 27, 2023 by Pitch
Correction

[Roger Jacobs]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:27 AM, mikebv said:

Six man teams...

8 teams in the flagship top league..

No makeweights in the teams..

So. No one under a 4.5 average.. 

8 x 6 = 48, which is roughly the total number of different riders currently gracing 16 teams in the Prem & Championship - so your hope of a 4.50 minimum is impossible.

Guests? R/R? Squads?

[Roger Jacobs]

20 hours ago, truthsayer said:

I don't have any inside information, but I would expect putting on a speedway meeting costs more than £4k, a lot more than £4k. 

And you shouldn't be running a business just to break even, those investing in it should be able to take a wage and make a profit (and have some contingency for rain offs).

I cannot see speedway being paid to be on TV, if anything I can see the sport having to pay for the production in future years. I doubt it is much, if anything, anymore.

Travel for 14 riders, even without coming from other countries, is likely £2k a night. Medical cover will be at least £500 (probably a good bit more) and insurance won't be cheap for a motorsport event. Stadium hire, I have no idea, but must be at least £2k a night before the lights are even turned on.

I have no idea how speedway clubs remain even remotely solvent based on their expenses and income.

Way back when Ipswich nearly went to the wall, it was confirmed that John Louis, as promoter, was the only person (other than the riders), who took a wage out of the club.  All clubs are totally reliant on volunteers, and most clubs have no tangible assets.

There doesn't appear to be viable operating model, and certainly no opportunity for investment.

 

[Roger Jacobs]

On 7/25/2023 at 1:54 PM, Wardey said:

Bring Speedway back on Terrestrial TV would help - never gonna happen though.

It has never been on terrestrial TV, apart from highlights. People have rose-tinted, and very distant, memories.

[Gambo]

13 minutes ago, Roger Jacobs said:

It has never been on terrestrial TV, apart from highlights. People have rose-tinted, and very distant, memories.

There were many matches on ITV. Coventry Cradley always a spicy affair.

[IainB]

6 minutes ago, Gambo said:

There were many matches on ITV. Coventry Cradley always a spicy affair.

Central/ATV used to cover Speedway (Cov, CH & Leicester) quite a bit, often in a graveyard slot though, add in Anglia (KL, Ippo & Peterborough) and regionally Speedway did quite well. Nationally World of Sport covered Speedway across a Saturday afternoon. So we did quite well really

[scoobydoo]

On 7/26/2023 at 10:25 AM, Daniel Smith said:

Wolves & Peterborough likely gone, concerns over Edinburgh & Poole's longevity, I just don't see how a 'top league' can be sustainable. 

And now there's even doubts about Leicester as it seems its up for sale also 

[topaz325]

Who is 100% committed to the Premiership (?) next year Belle vue, Ipswich , Sheffield .

[kevin bass]

34 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

Who is 100% committed to the Premiership (?) next year Belle vue, Ipswich , Sheffield .

At this rate it's looking more like a 3 or 4 team tournament rather than a top league

[SteveLyric2]

10 minutes ago, kevin bass said:

At this rate it's looking more like a 3 or 4 team tournament rather than a top league

Sheffield have their own issues - especially over stadium availability

[Roger Jacobs]

2 hours ago, iainb said:

Central/ATV used to cover Speedway (Cov, CH & Leicester) quite a bit, often in a graveyard slot though, add in Anglia (KL, Ippo & Peterborough) and regionally Speedway did quite well. Nationally World of Sport covered Speedway across a Saturday afternoon. So we did quite well really

But it was never to the extent that people remember.  ITV was, as pointed out, localised.  World of Sport showed highlights of some big meetings.

[IainB]

39 minutes ago, Roger Jacobs said:

But it was never to the extent that people remember.  ITV was, as pointed out, localised.  World of Sport showed highlights of some big meetings.

Good though wasn't it... all packed into 1 hour with some of the more embarrassing bits edited out

[topaz325]

Last team standing wins the League .

[TTT]

It's done after this year imo.

[KevtheRev]

Terrestrial TV is not the answer. Young people these days are moving away from it and going doing the streaming and Apps for watching shows.

Apart from some of the GP's, with well prepared tracks, Speedway never comes across that well anyway.

[RS50]

2 hours ago, topaz325 said:

Last team standing wins the League .

And retains it

[Derrickn]

6 hours ago, iainb said:

Central/ATV used to cover Speedway (Cov, CH & Leicester) quite a bit, often in a graveyard slot though, add in Anglia (KL, Ippo & Peterborough) and regionally Speedway did quite well. Nationally World of Sport covered Speedway across a Saturday afternoon. So we did quite well really

Yorkshire television used to show the odd event,and sponsored the Yorkshire TV trophy,usually from Hull.Some of the footage is still on You Tube.