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Speedway of Nations 2024


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24 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

My thoughts.

Thoroughly enjoyed the meeting , paid £95.00 to sit in a front row seat in the grandstand with a fantastic view (Block A) . Yes I realise the pricing has caused some issues and maybe £65/70 would have been better but the promoting of the event had been very expensive for the FIM/Discovery?

The issue of the tickets reminds me that sport and entertainment at the top level is not cheap, I paid £100 to see Joe Bonamassa about four years ago  but really enjoyed the show but in recent weeks have eaten out at various eateries and feel as though I had my pants pulled down with the pricing, when getting average to poor food for £45/50 for two people.....yes I know I must be getting old!

 

All the riders involved put on a tremendous show for the fans, special mention to Latvia who did very well.

Minor gripes , the PA was virtually inaudible in the Grandstand, long queues for drinks and food at the food outlet's.

 

Oh nearly forgot.....what a win for team GB !! 

It came home.;)

Trying to remember what I paid for my 1965 Wembley WF ticket. Sure it was less than £1.00. 

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2 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

Wembley 1978 £5.00 Wembley 1981 £6.00 , Cardiff 2018 £50.00, Cardiff 2022 £85.00 

Say 25,000 go to Cardiff this year. If they halved the ticket price would they get 50,000?. Even if they did they have not taken any more money, though 50,000 spend more on food, drinks, programmes etc. If I was setting prices I would rather have 50,000 people in the stadium, even though it produces no more ticket revenue than 25,000. More crowd noise, better atmosphere, looks better on tv etc..

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11 minutes ago, CHR2 said:

Say 25,000 go to Cardiff this year. If they halved the ticket price would they get 50,000?. Even if they did they have not taken any more money, though 50,000 spend more on food, drinks, programmes etc. If I was setting prices I would rather have 50,000 people in the stadium, even though it produces no more ticket revenue than 25,000. More crowd noise, better atmosphere, looks better on tv etc..

I think it’s more to do with hotel prices than ticket costs however the ticket pricing does not help, personally I prefer to sit in the middle tier at  Cardiff rather than the cheaper seats in the upper tier but thats a different topic.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

I think it’s more to do with hotel prices than ticket costs however the ticket pricing does not help, personally I prefer to sit in the middle tier at  Cardiff rather than the cheaper seats in the upper tier but thats a different topic.

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

I think it’s more to do with hotel prices than ticket costs however the ticket pricing does not help, personally I prefer to sit in the middle tier at  Cardiff rather than the cheaper seats in the upper tier but thats a different topic.

 

 

Think you have a point with Hotel prices in Cardiff,Stadium ticket wise a least you are guaranteed a dry  seats for you cash with is an attraction IMO.Imagine £85 in temporary stand on Sat if it was p#sing down,the meeting would probably been run judging by rest of week.

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12 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

Speedway is cheap in the uk IMO          Speedway is a technical motorised sport, and costly to compete

No it isn’t, there is nothing in a speedway engine today that wasn’t in a 1930s one  the materials are better, unlike other sports which are much vastly more expensive using injection systems and ECUs but as I’ve been banging on for years speedway doesn’t need half the BS that riders use today like the karger ignition which put the price up for no gain for the sport and then the expect the fan to pay for it, on the SON something is only worth as much as folk are prepared to pay for it and clearly the crowd showed it wasn’t worth what discovery think it’s worth, a good indication worth’s at the moment was the speedway auction at Ledbury last week, a lot of the bikes didn’t fetch half what they are worth and this is the case for classic cars too. Speedway needs a reality check to where it stands in society. The SON was despite the weather an exiting well run event and imo was the best sporting event in this country this year but such a shame that nobody saw it 

Edited by THE DEAN MACHINE
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5 hours ago, topaz325 said:

Wembley 1978 £5.00 Wembley 1981 £6.00 , Cardiff 2018 £50.00, Cardiff 2022 £85.00 

Who pays those Cardiff prices??

Buy the £20 tickets then move to the lower tiers after 4 heats, nobody checks

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9 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

No it isn’t, there is nothing in a speedway engine today that wasn’t in a 1930s one  the materials are better, unlike other sports which are much vastly more expensive using injection systems and ECUs but as I’ve been banging on for years speedway doesn’t need half the BS that riders use today like the karger ignition which put the price up for no gain for the sport and then the expect the fan to pay for it, on the SON something is only worth as much as folk are prepared to pay for it and clearly the crowd showed it wasn’t worth what discovery think it’s worth, a good indication worth’s at the moment was the speedway auction at Ledbury last week, a lot of the bikes didn’t fetch half what they are worth and this is the case for classic cars too. Speedway needs a reality check to where it stands in society. The SON was despite the weather an exiting well run event and imo was the best sporting event in this country this year but such a shame that nobody saw it 

I stand by my original statement, speedway IS a technical motorised sport AND costly to compete”. And it IS for the very reasons that you state, their technical and costly. But they are there, in weekly use, and yes…having to be paid for by the viewing public. Are these “advances” necessary…….NO. Racing was probably just as exciting in the 1930’s, as now. The JAP engine became the predominant engine up until around the mid 60’s……how simple an engine was that. I would imagine now engine tuning costs a small fortune. A new engine straight out of the box is no longer good enough, it has to be tuned. And as I read things different tracks “need” a different level of tune. Mmmmm. So I agree costs are ridiculous and, agree, unnecessary. But it adds to my statement “costly to compete”, it is what it is.                 
So what can be done reduce costs back to something more “sensible”, whatever that is. Back to a simple design, 2 valves. Fundin, Moore, Craven, Briggs etc won enough world championships on 2 valve JAPs. Technology moves on, R&D is BIG in any industry. Is advancement really necessary though?  Whatever individual views on that is logically money comes into, as Dean Machine says. I suspect letting technology run its course can be seen as an easy option to choose. The more restrictions that are put on engine development means more checks are needed.  Doesn’t seem to get mentioned much these days, but there were always suspicions that some engine were overbored, with correspondingly bigger pistons, engines exceeding 500cc type of thing. Put restrictions on technology and it could mean that official results of a meeting cannot be verified until hours/days? after a meeting.  It’s a big problem, and I don’t know the answer to it.                     

Certainly I would be happy to get rid of these lay down super rocket ship engines. Call me old fashioned, that’s alright, but I much prefer an upright engine in a speedway frame - it looks right. The ESO/JAWA engines of the late 60’s looked neat, 2 valves. Mid 60s to mid 70’s saw a flurry of 4 valve engines in the hands of mostly top riders. The likes of Neil Street and I think there was a Swedish engine (can’t remember who) followed but it sort of culminated in Weslake dominating the seen for a period.

So I am sticking to my words….speedway…… it’s technical and it’s costly…fact.  But it needn’t be, it shouldn’t be.

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17 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

Who pays those Cardiff prices??

Buy the £20 tickets then move to the lower tiers after 4 heats, nobody checks

Yes that s a good idea

A bit like buying an economy airline ticket then going in to business class 

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What was the capacity for the event, and how many does the main stand seat? Tickets seem a bit pricey to me.

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On 7/15/2024 at 6:09 AM, OveFundinFan said:

Speedway is cheap in the uk IMO                          
We just been away to “the seaside”. We enjoyed an ice cream cone each, just a single blob. It was very nice (cherry flavour with slices of cherry too). £9 for the two (and kept an eye on the seagulls).  Stayed a few night in a 7 bedroomed B&B, nothing cheaper than £75 per night, we paid £100 per night and was very happy, lovely place.   Snack lunch in a corner cafe near the seafront, just a panini and fresh salad, very nice, cup of coffee each after. £28 for two.    It’s today’s cost of enjoying yourself on a break. (I also got a £25 fixed price car park ticket that I appealed against and won).
Today, speedway tracks are closing down, have been for a long time, some due to environmental issues, or land development, but some because not enough money is being made to make a track a viable proposition. Up go the prices a quid or two and “foul” is shouted by the fans.  Speedway is a technical motorised sport, and costly to compete, riders travelling hundreds of miles each week, often this means it’s there only means of making a living. Lots of costs associated with running a stadium. All needs to be paid for, if the fans don’t/wont the track closes down.                  
There are those on here today who remember Wembley in the 60’s/70’s with a 80,000+ crowd. That was then, 50 or 60 years ago!  50 or 60 years ago.  At times I can’t get used to today’s prices when compared to how things were in the good ole days, but life has moved on. I’m careful what I spend money on, but sometimes get caught “by the moment” and buy something I later wish I hadn’t. That’s how it goes sometimes.                     
As for today, I can’t afford, nor do I want to travel 65 miles return to watch Belle Vue. I cannot afford all the subscription channels that may show all I want to watch. So I am happy to pay for a sub channel that gives me all the GP’s, events such as SON, British championship, some British league matches and a few others such as world championship Challenge. That cost me about the same as 4 admission prices to British Premiere league matches (for one person). Would be nice to be there in person, but apart from costs as a pensioner there’s the other reason of me or the wife not always feeling too good.

But at a speedway meeting you only get about 15 minutes of actual racing. I can pay a fiver to watch a film at the local cinema, even a decent local non-league football match is 10 quid, you can follow a football league team for around 12 quid a match if you have over 60s season-ticket. Speedway shouldn't be more than 12-15 quid, not over 20 quid as Oxford charge, far too much.

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1 hour ago, auntie doris said:

What was the capacity for the event, and how many does the main stand seat? Tickets seem a bit pricey to me.

If you go back to page 1 and come forward 67 pages you will then be able to answer your own question lol

It has been discussed ad nauseam

Edited by racers and royals
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1 hour ago, auntie doris said:

But at a speedway meeting you only get about 15 minutes of actual racing. I can pay a fiver to watch a film at the local cinema, even a decent local non-league football match is 10 quid, you can follow a football league team for around 12 quid a match if you have over 60s season-ticket. Speedway shouldn't be more than 12-15 quid, not over 20 quid as Oxford charge, far too much.

Probably 16 or 17 minutes, meetings often have one or two re-runs...;)

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3 hours ago, auntie doris said:

But at a speedway meeting you only get about 15 minutes of actual racing. I can pay a fiver to watch a film at the local cinema, even a decent local non-league football match is 10 quid, you can follow a football league team for around 12 quid a match if you have over 60s season-ticket. Speedway shouldn't be more than 12-15 quid, not over 20 quid as Oxford charge, far too much.

You'll be shocked at Belle Vue's prices if you think Oxford is expensive! 

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