Stadium Admission Prices

[Teromaafan]

There is a lot of talk about admission prices and the correlation with attendance figures. If prices were a couple of quid lower, would a few more of hundred spectators show up? Trying to apply simple business economics in this sport in its current state is pointless. If prices went up or down by around £3 to £5 next season I do not think it would make much difference to attendances, due to the fans age demograph. The sport relies on die hards in the 60 plus age group who will always moan about prices but will still pay to watch the sport because ‘we always have done’. Being brutally honest, even when some clubs have offered serious discounts on certain meetings, the number of additional attendees is usually underwhelming. Getting people through the turnstile is one thing, but then delivering a product to want the casual supporter to return is another. Club’s are not naive enough to think that there are queues of people waiting for admission price tweaks to visit their tracks. Fact of the matter is, the people that could make an impact financially aren’t aware of the sport and worse still, are not aware of a track that might be local to them. Promotion of the sport in the UK on the whole sums up all of the above.

 

[The White Knight]

17 hours ago, Teromaafan said:

There is a lot of talk about admission prices and the correlation with attendance figures. If prices were a couple of quid lower, would a few more of hundred spectators show up? Trying to apply simple business economics in this sport in its current state is pointless. If prices went up or down by around £3 to £5 next season I do not think it would make much difference to attendances, due to the fans age demograph. The sport relies on die hards in the 60 plus age group who will always moan about prices but will still pay to watch the sport because ‘we always have done’. Being brutally honest, even when some clubs have offered serious discounts on certain meetings, the number of additional attendees is usually underwhelming. Getting people through the turnstile is one thing, but then delivering a product to want the casual supporter to return is another. Club’s are not naive enough to think that there are queues of people waiting for admission price tweaks to visit their tracks. Fact of the matter is, the people that could make an impact financially aren’t aware of the sport and worse still, are not aware of a track that might be local to them. Promotion of the sport in the UK on the whole sums up all of the above.

 

Great Post.

[DaveWayne]

On 10/16/2024 at 8:43 AM, heathen52 said:

I am one of your pensioners living only on state pension, I paid my NI and Taxes from when i left school until I was about 70 actually i paid Tax as Ni stopped at retirement but has changed again recently, lets get this straight most of my generation expected the state pension would be enough to live off, other gold plated pensions were/are for civil servants, council workers, NHS etc etc they are the ones that have a decent standard of living, neither am i one of the pensioners of which there are more and more that has had a property or such like left in a will, so yes some pensioners have never had it so good but others have to rely solely on state pension, and then you have those on pension credit who for various reasons did not pay enough into the system yet end up better off (housing benefit, council tax paid, free dental care, optical care, winter fuel payments) than those that did, don't say i didn't plan ahead it's the people that abused the system (Mental Health is the new lazy ) then and now that need sorting out but none of our politicians will grasp the nettle.

Well if you thought the state pension would be enough to live on then you weren't paying much attention to all the advice being given.

Always good to see someone quoting the good old 'gold plated pensions' for civil servants and the like - that great myth bandied around by the right wing media. You do know that those people had to make contributions from their salary don't you ? Just like you could have done into a private pension.

[steve roberts]

6 hours ago, DaveWayne said:

Well if you thought the state pension would be enough to live on then you weren't paying much attention to all the advice being given.

Always good to see someone quoting the good old 'gold plated pensions' for civil servants and the like - that great myth bandied around by the right wing media. You do know that those people had to make contributions from their salary don't you ? Just like you could have done into a private pension.

Unfortunately not everyone was/is able to pay into a private pension. Those that were/are on low salaries had/have difficulties enough paying bills never mind finding that bit extra to have paid into a private scheme. 

[DaveWayne]

3 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Unfortunately not everyone was/is able to pay into a private pension. Those that were/are on low salaries had/have difficulties enough paying bills never mind finding that bit extra to have paid into a private scheme. 

It's all about choices. How many of those who claim to have those difficulties drink or smoke ? I'm not saying everybody does, but literally one less pint a week could have made a big difference to retirement income if invested into a private pension for the last 30+ years.

[steve roberts]

1 hour ago, DaveWayne said:

It's all about choices. How many of those who claim to have those difficulties drink or smoke ? I'm not saying everybody does, but literally one less pint a week could have made a big difference to retirement income if invested into a private pension for the last 30+ years.

I'm fortunate in that I have a small private pension and was able to pay into a savings plan.

Having moved to York some years ago I worked within the tourism industry where generally salaries are barely above minimum wage. How my younger ex-colleagues will cope in years to come is questionable and I don't envy them. York is a tourist centre and prides itself on same but that isn't reflected in salaries unfortunately. 

[SandyLaner]

With well over 30 meetings this year at Oxford, my initial concerns about costs and so on were disproved. We had an incredibly solid core. We're talking 700-900 every Sunday for the Chargers, 1200-1500 for the Cheetahs, and 1800-2200 for the Spires.

 

The only real changer in the crowds this year was, without a shadow of a doubt, the weather. You'd lose hundreds off the gate if the weather looked dodgy, which lets be honest, it was throughout the whole year. 

 

What does it show? People will find a way. There is of course a saturation point, but my genuine view is that sport tickets in general haven't tracked inflation costs over the years, and indeed probably *should* cost more - not that I want to pay more of course!

 

I can't see a £2 increase making a lot of difference at Oxford, though the question of course always has to be asked - is the extra money being brought in going to inflate riders wages, or is it going to help stabilise the clubs? 

[1 valve]

12 hours ago, DaveWayne said:

Well if you thought the state pension would be enough to live on then you weren't paying much attention to all the advice being given.

Always good to see someone quoting the good old 'gold plated pensions' for civil servants and the like - that great myth bandied around by the right wing media. You do know that those people had to make contributions from their salary don't you ? Just like you could have done into a private pension.

I write as a person of pensionable age who considers himself lucky & fortunate enough to have had a career with associated remuneration/pension and investments to comfortably afford retirement....as I say, I am both lucky & fortunate.
Now onto my post inspired by the the points you have made which appear to be both insensitive and inaccurate.
Please consider that the vast majority of folk retiring in 2024, started work back in 1974  (with folk over 66 starting work even earlier) when types of pension schemes were limited and yes,  the state pension was a sum which was considered & promoted to be sufficient to live on. That said, many larger companies did provide a contributory defined benefit scheme based on accruals of 1/70 or if you were lucky 1/60. Of course many of these schemes are now closed as a result of the disappearing business's with the funds (if remaining) managed by the Pension Protection Fund offering fixed rates of income that are not in line with final salary.  This scenario currently effects some 9.6million folk which is 74% of current pensioners.
So although many folk had made provisions in addition to the state pension they have been greatly affected by the collapse of such schemes with little time left to make up via other means.  
Conversely, there is no "myth" about civil servants/local government pension schemes. Example, The Local Government Pension Scheme is a salary related benefit scheme (not affected by stock markets/investment fund performance etc) based on 1/49 accrual rate with employees contributing 25% and the employer 75% of the required contributions. This is a long established and exceptional scheme in comparison to anything available in the private sector and one of the main attractions to working in local government and similar public sectors and as previously stated - no myth. 
 

[ArchiePelago]

1 hour ago, 1 valve said:

 lucky & fortunate enough to have had a career with associated remuneration/pension and investments to comfortably afford retirement....as I say, I am both lucky & fortunate.
 

I hear this so often. You, almost certainly, also made some wise decisions along the way. Many who spent all of their earnings instead of thinking of a private pension, are now supported by the state while those who used their own money to plan ahead are now ignored by the state. The 'luck' and 'good fortune' is experienced by those who spent their money and now need government support. 

[Teromaafan]

Sorry to hijack the pension discussions but this topic is about the cost of attending speedway meetings. For a professional (don’t laugh) sport admission costs are not unreasonable compared with other sports. Should you wish to spend your disposable income on live music as an alternative, you could sacrifice your speedway season ticket and pay to watch a rock or pop band perform a one off gig at a stadium for a couple of hours. Life is expensive in case some people aren’t aware.

[old bob at herne bay]

34 minutes ago, Teromaafan said:

Sorry to hijack the pension discussions but this topic is about the cost of attending speedway meetings. For a professional (don’t laugh) sport admission costs are not unreasonable compared with other sports. Should you wish to spend your disposable income on live music as an alternative, you could sacrifice your speedway season ticket and pay to watch a rock or pop band perform a one off gig at a stadium for a couple of hours. Life is expensive in case some people aren’t aware.

Don't know what other sports you are comparing with professional speedway ....... £25  for  120 minutes of standing around in the cold in a usually decrepit dirty "stadium" , for  15 minutes of actual action interspersed with tractor racing,and  interminable delays due to any number of excuses ... I cannot think of another sport that compares.  (and don't for Christ's sake say Premiership football) 

I am an OAP and the ever increasing costs didn't put me off attending (when I did have a local track) but in my last season of attending I didn't have either the patience or stamina to stand around waiting for paint to dry before the next heat, trying to listen to garbled pit interviews to fill in time.

Yes, they might as well abandon the OAP discount.... there are ever fewer of us able to attend as the years slowly catch up on us. Squeeze the pips out of us berfore it's too late. 

Seems "The Undertaker" Sir K Charmer has the same idea.

 

[IainB]

49 minutes ago, Teromaafan said:

Should you wish to spend your disposable income on live music as an alternative, you could sacrifice your speedway season ticket and pay to watch a rock or pop band perform a one off gig at a stadium for a couple of hours. Life is expensive in case some people aren’t aware.

I just paid £110 to see Maiden at the London Stadium... puts SGP & SoN tickets into perspective

[DaveWayne]

1 hour ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Don't know what other sports you are comparing with professional speedway ....... £25  for  120 minutes of standing around in the cold in a usually decrepit dirty "stadium" , for  15 minutes of actual action interspersed with tractor racing,and  interminable delays due to any number of excuses ... I cannot think of another sport that compares.  (and don't for Christ's sake say Premiership football) 

You have obviously never been to Stock Car racing ?

Tomorrow night I will be at Kings Lynn. Admission is £22 for adults, there are 12 races, start time is 5pm, and I will be lucky to be leaving there before 10pm.

There will be far more tractor events than you will ever see at a Speedway meeting.

About an hour of actual racing in 5 hours or more.

[Teromaafan]

12 hours ago, IainB said:

I just paid £110 to see Maiden at the London Stadium... puts SGP & SoN tickets into perspective

Bargain! Tickets still available range from £160 to £800. Had me running to the hills when I saw that!

[Steve Shovlar]

Speedway is a £10 sport. Yes. In 1977. Speedway is certainly not overpriced. 

[tyler42]

9 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Speedway is a £10 sport. Yes. In 1977. Speedway is certainly not overpriced. 

Do you honestly think, match ups between the likes of Connor Coles, Jack Smith and Hagon against the riders Lawson Cook and Masters in the same races is value for money. Yes its money for old rope for the heat leaders, but not for the supporters!. You only have to look at Hagon. Hardly scored a point when promoted into the team and what points he does score, are when someone falls or has an E/F. So if these boys go into the main body of the team and we have riders moving up from the NDL of the calibre of Sam Mcgurk. £10 would be too much!!!!

[piston197]

The price admission is relative to the amount of interest there is in live attendances at motorsport, speedway while once a crowd pleaser has been watered down to a less promotable product, youth interest in speedway and motorcycling in general is now mostly negligible. 

As a youngster I rode motorcycles around the woods/fields from the age of 10, with no interest from any family members, walked across 2 fields and a wood to get to my nearest scramble track ( not MX) to watch my heroes, from the age of 16 I had a job/income and a motorcycle, that motorcycle took me to Hawkstone Park, Farleigh Castle, Tirley scrambles, Local grass tracks etc.,not seeing my first speedway match until I was in my late teens.

At school there were dozens like me with old bikes being thrashed every evening and weekend, when I started my apprenticeship there were 24 of us, 2/3rds of which rode motorcycles to work. I am still hooked and past pensionable age still work with motorcycles, organise a motorcycle event 3 times a year ,sell bikes and parts.

The price of entry will make little difference to the crowds at speedway, unfortunately there are so many other attractions available which are more appealing to the "yoof", we have to face it, the product just does not appeal to the majority of the public these days and entry prices will not address this.

[poole keith]

All BSB rounds are £47 admission covering all three  days plus free parking,think that's good value.

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, poole keith said:

All BSB rounds are £47 admission covering all three  days plus free parking,think that's good value.

And isn't shoehorned into some "contrived" team competition...

The way the sport is basically "made up as we go along" over here does definitely impact attendances .

You see the way the play offs bring many "out of the woodwork" (like me!), who attend simply because we know the crowds will be "decent" and the events themselves will have some atmosphere..

Both things lacking most weeks during the play off qualifiers..

With no "tribal element", and any real rewards, kudos, or recognition for winning any of the trophies on offer, it really must be a difficult "sell" for the clubs in trying to engage more fans firstly through the doors, and then to maintain them as regulars..

Price increases will be more designed to offset a forecasted lower number of attendees I would think, rather than be a tactical business growth decision based on elasticity of price .

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 09:15 AM by mikebv

[old bob at herne bay]

You know when a sport is dying when you can charge what you like to attend and the crowds more or less remain ever dwindling. If they halved the price doubt it would make much difference to attandances. Most of the posters on here for example would pay £50 a ticket to see there league team race. Always 15 heats   4 riders 4 laps per race clutch start in an anticlockwise direction. Tractor racing every 4 heats.  oh yawn and so it trundles along until the p.offs when all of a sudden lots of people turn up and get excited. 2 meetings in a season. The "product" is stale, little or no innovation.

Individual SGP events charge a fortune but people pay and they attract a huge crowd. ENTERTAINMENT. 

Even cricket with its T20 games has a family atmosphere  with kids getting  4 and 6 cards to wave during the game, and firworks dotted around the grounds gaoing off at regular intervals. Traditionals cringe .... but this has saved cricket from the dustbin.