Grand Prix Ticket Sales

[SUPERACE]

48 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

They did hold tickets back in grandstand for the one day sales. 
 

they have to. They can’t tell you there will be one day tickets and then say there isn’t any when they are on sale. 
 

I worked it out that there is around 400 tickets saved for Wednesday for the one dayers. 
 

pricing I thought was a little steep in the grandstand but Bloodyhell they sold way quicker than I thought so they got the pricing right. 
 

all they got to do now is use the money they got from this to improve the south facilities before the GP hopefully 

Stop talking sense Phil, the locals don't like that on here.  This post is far too positive for this forum lol.

[IainB]

15 minutes ago, SUPERACE said:

Jesus Christ you've lost me now, I don't why you even bother with Speedway your so negative.

Come on you need to take your Belle Vue blinkers off... holding a GP at Belle Vue after 25 years at Cardiff is like holding the FA Cup Final at a non league ground!

If you think that losing Cardiff is a positive then the sport in this country really is finished. 

And by the way, I have got my tickets and I will be going along and enjoying myself despite the cost which I will have forgotten about by then. 

Edited Saturday at 10:20 PM by IainB

[SUPERACE]

M

Edited Saturday at 10:25 PM by SUPERACE

[SUPERACE]

12 minutes ago, IainB said:

Come on you need to take your Belle Vue blinkers off... holding a GP at Belle Vue after 25 years at Cardiff is like holding the FA Cup Final at a non league ground!

If you think that losing Cardiff is a positive then the sport in this country really is finished. 

And by the way, I have got my tickets and I will be going along and enjoying myself despite the cost which I will have forgotten about by then. 

Cardiff has gone unfortunately, time to move on .

[IainB]

1 minute ago, SUPERACE said:

Cardiff has gone unfortunately, time to move on .

By on, you of course mean backwards 

[PotteringAround]

4 hours ago, IainB said:

Or it says the capacity wasn't enough... it may be a harder sell next year when the prices will undoubtedly be higher and all those that have given Cardiff a miss because "the racing was crap" realise that watching a GP at the NSS is just like watching the PCMT or British Final, absolutely nothing "special" about it at all. 

You comment is silly.   The capacity is the capacity.  The variable factor is the price.  Since it sold out so quickly, the price seemingly could have been higher.   That's how supply and demand economics works.

"What you are saying is like saying, if Ferrari worked harder and made an extra 30 million cars every year, we could all buy a new Ferrari for £10,000.     In reality, the supply of Ferraris is limited, and those that can afford to pay for them, get them at the market-clearing price.

Re Cardiff, I think it has run its course.  The novelty has worn off, and Manchester will be massively better.

The big draw of Cardiff was the social side, and when it drew 40,000 the streets were swarming with people and the stadium had a great atmosphere.  We used to go every year, but last year was the first time I'd been for 5 years.  The atmosphere, both in the city centre and in the stadium was noticeably more subdued. 

Cardiff's racing is never that great, and its notorious problem of not having enough hotels is a problem when Cardiff is so out-of-the-way for many people.    Belle Vue doesn't have the same problems as the racing is superb, and being more central in Britain makes it more accessible.

I'm looking forward to these very special meetings on a superb track I can get to in under an hour.

 

 

[SUPERACE]

24 minutes ago, PotteringAround said:

You comment is silly.   The capacity is the capacity.  The variable factor is the price.  Since it sold out so quickly, the price seemingly could have been higher.   That's how supply and demand economics works.

"What you are saying is like saying, if Ferrari worked harder and made an extra 30 million cars every year, we could all buy a new Ferrari for £10,000.     In reality, the supply of Ferraris is limited, and those that can afford to pay for them, get them at the market-clearing price.

Re Cardiff, I think it has run its course.  The novelty has worn off, and Manchester will be massively better.

The big draw of Cardiff was the social side, and when it drew 40,000 the streets were swarming with people and the stadium had a great atmosphere.  We used to go every year, but last year was the first time I'd been for 5 years.  The atmosphere, both in the city centre and in the stadium was noticeably more subdued. 

Cardiff's racing is never that great, and its notorious problem of not having enough hotels is a problem when Cardiff is so out-of-the-way for many people.    Belle Vue doesn't have the same problems as the racing is superb, and being more central in Britain makes it more accessible.

I'm looking forward to these very special meetings on a superb track I can get to in under an hour.

 

 

Great Post.

[r8gdp]

Won’t be going not bothering trying to get a ticket wouldn’t have been that bad as i d be coming over from Sheffield . But to me the whole thing as been diluted with the point scoring system the fact that anyone finishing in the top ten on the night can win the meeting and that this is not the top riders in the world the gp in my opinion has become a joke .But that said I hope that anyone who has got tickets enjoys a great  night out 

[IainB]

11 hours ago, PotteringAround said:

You comment is silly.   The capacity is the capacity.  The variable factor is the price.  Since it sold out so quickly, the price seemingly could have been higher.   That's how supply and demand economics works.

"What you are saying is like saying, if Ferrari worked harder and made an extra 30 million cars every year, we could all buy a new Ferrari for £10,000.     In reality, the supply of Ferraris is limited, and those that can afford to pay for them, get them at the market-clearing price.

Re Cardiff, I think it has run its course.  The novelty has worn off, and Manchester will be massively better.

The big draw of Cardiff was the social side, and when it drew 40,000 the streets were swarming with people and the stadium had a great atmosphere.  We used to go every year, but last year was the first time I'd been for 5 years.  The atmosphere, both in the city centre and in the stadium was noticeably more subdued. 

Cardiff's racing is never that great, and its notorious problem of not having enough hotels is a problem when Cardiff is so out-of-the-way for many people.    Belle Vue doesn't have the same problems as the racing is superb, and being more central in Britain makes it more accessible.

I'm looking forward to these very special meetings on a superb track I can get to in under an hour.

 

 

To, in your first sentence, say that my comment is silly and in the very next paragraph go on about Ferrari's is quite absurd, we are talking about a working class sport that is struggling to attract a new generation of fans. Of course the capacity is variable, that's why they've got the East Stand! If they didn't the capacity would be around 4,000!

To say the draw of Cardiff was the social side, well that may have been the case for you, but it wasn't for me and who's to say it was for anybody else, that's quite an assumption. 

The fact of the matter is that even at Cardiff's worst attendance there'll be around 15,000 less people attending the British Speedway GP this year, result!

Edited Sunday at 10:22 AM by IainB

[RoundTheBoards]

35 minutes ago, IainB said:

To, in your first sentence, say that my comment is silly and in the very next paragraph go on about Ferrari's is quite absurd,

Your comment was silly.    And his analogy with Ferraris was a well-illustrated explanation of the ecomonics of supply and demand.   Shame you still don't understand.  Thankfully those at WBD/FIM/Belle Vue (whoever set the prices) had a better grasp of economics.

Surprised you found the racing at Cardiff to be the draw rather than just the social atmosphere of the occasion.  (although I expect you are trolling rather than admitting to having no social life).   Racing clearly will be 10 times better at Belle Vue.

 

 

[PhilTheAce]

8 hours ago, IainB said:

To, in your first sentence, say that my comment is silly and in the very next paragraph go on about Ferrari's is quite absurd, we are talking about a working class sport that is struggling to attract a new generation of fans. Of course the capacity is variable, that's why they've got the East Stand! If they didn't the capacity would be around 4,000!

To say the draw of Cardiff was the social side, well that may have been the case for you, but it wasn't for me and who's to say it was for anybody else, that's quite an assumption. 

The fact of the matter is that even at Cardiff's worst attendance they'll be around 15,000 less people attending the British Speedway GP this year, result!

When Cardiff was dropped and Manchester was announced 90% of comments, threads, posts etc, were all about the social side which suggests most people that went went for the social side. 

[IainB]

13 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

When Cardiff was dropped and Manchester was announced 90% of comments, threads, posts etc, were all about the social side which suggests most people that went went for the social side. 

To be fair we don't really know do we? Who knows if the few hundred on here represent the 40,000 that used to turn up at Cardiff?

[IainB]

9 hours ago, RoundTheBoards said:

Your comment was silly.    And his analogy with Ferraris was a well-illustrated explanation of the ecomonics of supply and demand.   Shame you still don't understand.  Thankfully those at WBD/FIM/Belle Vue (whoever set the prices) had a better grasp of economics.

Surprised you found the racing at Cardiff to be the draw rather than just the social atmosphere of the occasion.  (although I expect you are trolling rather than admitting to having no social life).   Racing clearly will be 10 times better at Belle Vue.

 

 

The comment was not silly at all and to call comments silly and accuse people of being trolls are normally the comments that are reached for when somebody has no real cogent case to put forward. A better analogy was my holding the FA Cup Final at a non-league ground.

Speedway is not in the business of economics (or selling Ferrari's), it's in the business of Sports Entertainment and it's a shame you do not understand that, if it were purely down to economics they should concentrate on the Financial Services industry or something and get out of Speedway. 

Did I ever say I found the racing at Cardiff a draw? No, I did not, that's something you've assumed. What attracted me to Cardiff was the sense of event, thousands of people being at the same place I was because of a shared passion and while we're on the subject of the racing, I never thought it was quite as bad as some of the naysayers on here claimed (but then I do watch my Speedway at Leicester 😉). For me it was very much like a music concert event, I've seen Dave Grohl murder his Foo Fighters songs for 2 hours live, the quality was shocking but the experience was unforgettable... and by the way that was with 80,000 others at the MK Bowl and not the local Village Church Hall.

The NSS has the best Speedway race track in the world in my opinion... it's just not fit for purpose as a SGP venue.

Edited Sunday at 10:24 AM by IainB

[ouch]

I think a packed NSS will give an equally or better communal feel than a third full Principality stadium. 

The fanzone on City Hall Lawn was 0.7 miles from the stadium using google maps. This equates to a 15-20 walk. I would imagine the fanzone this year will be a lot nearer and with the addition of festival style marquee bars and catering it shouldn’t be too difficult to replicate the booze, food and social aspect of Cardiff. If you do fancy the 15-20 minute walk as has been the norm then there is loads of bars to choose from. 

One other advantage of Manchester is the nightlife following the event as this is at a different level to Cardiff. A short trip on public transport would have you in the heart of the city where, if you want you can party on until morning.

[Neila]

Would suspect the fan zone will be on the hockey pitch behind bend 3-4, which is not very big, was busy last year for SON with not a lot going on.

I've decided not to go, yes the cost is high, but i can afford it. The main reason is the lack of a socialising area anywhere near the stadium, lack of nearby parking, and belle Vue Stadium does not have the best infrastructure to support a large crowd., and the GP field is weak this year, the point system is unfair in my opinion,  where someone can finish 10th and still win the GP. A good bus system is on during the day but after 7pm is restricted back into the city, so big queues,  like at the 1st SON a few years ago, if you decide to walk to the city centre, 40 minutes it is not a very desirable area to walk through.  Hopefully will watch on TNT if I can find it or a pub/club th watch it at

[IainB]

9 minutes ago, Neila said:

Would suspect the fan zone will be on the hockey pitch behind bend 3-4, which is not very big, was busy last year for SON with not a lot going on.

I've decided not to go, yes the cost is high, but i can afford it. The main reason is the lack of a socialising area anywhere near the stadium, lack of nearby parking, and belle Vue Stadium does not have the best infrastructure to support a large crowd., and the GP field is weak this year, the point system is unfair in my opinion,  where someone can finish 10th and still win the GP. A good bus system is on during the day but after 7pm is restricted back into the city, so big queues,  like at the 1st SON a few years ago, if you decide to walk to the city centre, 40 minutes it is not a very desirable area to walk through.  Hopefully will watch on TNT if I can find it or a pub/club th watch it at

A lot of nails hit squarely on the head there... but I'm still going! I must be bloody mad 😂

I think the "novelty factor" of it being at the NSS will wear off a lot quicker than it did with Cardiff especially at the prices they are charging.

Edited Sunday at 10:18 AM by IainB

[SaddlebowRoad]

IF the racing is as good as it can be at bv then i think how good cardiff was as a weekend will be forgotten

at the end of the day the track action is what it is and should all be about 

that is what will leave memories and a legacy 

[PhilTheAce]

2 hours ago, IainB said:

To be fair we don't really know do we? Who knows if the few hundred on here represent the 40,000 that used to turn up at Cardiff?

You just said it yourself. That use to go. 40k people attending stopped years and years ago sadly. As an event it became stale. Show by the stay away numbers 

[IainB]

1 hour ago, PhilTheAce said:

You just said it yourself. That use to go. 40k people attending stopped years and years ago sadly. As an event it became stale. Show by the stay away numbers 

Okay, let's dig into this a little bit.

The last "big" Cardiff attendance was in 2019, that's only 3 events ago. In 2019 it was the penultimate GP in the series with Zmarzlik (103pts), Sayfutdinov (94pts) and Madsen (92pts) battling it out for the World Championship, the series line-up was:

#	Riders	2018 place	GP Ch place	Appearance	Previous appearances in series
108	Tai Woffinden	1	—	8th	2010, 2011, 2013–2018
95	Bartosz Zmarzlik	2	—	4th	2012–2015, 2016–2018
66	Fredrik Lindgren	3	—	10th	2004, 2006–2007, 2008–2014, 2016, 2017–2018
71	Maciej Janowski	4	—	5th	2008, 2012, 2014, 2015–2018
45	Greg Hancock	5	—	25th	1995–2018
222	Artem Laguta	6	—	3rd	2011, 2018
69	Jason Doyle	7	—	5th	2015–2018
89	Emil Sayfutdinov	8	—	8th	2009–2013, 2017–2018
692	Patryk Dudek	9	—	3rd	2016, 2017–2018
55	Matej Žagar	10	15	9th	2003–2005, 2006–2007, 2008–2009, 2011, 2013–2018
54	Martin Vaculík	13	—	4th	2012, 2013, 2017–2018
333	Janusz Kołodziej	—	1	2nd	2006, 2010, 2011
88	Niels-Kristian Iversen	14	2	8th	2004–2005, 2006, 2008, 2009–2010, 2013–2017, 2018
85	Antonio Lindbäck	—	3	9th	2004, 2005–2007, 2009–2010, 2011–2013, 2015, 2016–2017
30	Leon Madsen	—	—	1st	2013

Cut to 2022, 1st post covid event with many people still suffering the consequences of that (financial, fear etc.) and a total disaster of a track in a meeting that very nearly didn't start and was very nearly abandoned, 2023 many people put off by the 2022 track and finally cut to 2024 and here's your line-up:

#	Riders	2023 place	GP Ch place	Permanent rider appearance	Previous appearances in series
95	Bartosz Zmarzlik	1	—	9th	2012–2015, 2016–2023
66	Fredrik Lindgren	2	—	15th	2004, 2006–2007, 2008–2014, 2016, 2017–2023
54	Martin Vaculík	3	2	9th	2012, 2013, 2017–2023
25	Jack Holder	4	—	3rd	2016, 2020, 2022–2023
30	Leon Madsen	5	—	6th	2010, 2013, 2019–2023
505	Robert Lambert	6	4	4th	2015, 2018–2019, 2021–2023
99	Dan Bewley	7	—	3rd	2018, 2022–2023
69	Jason Doyle	8	1	10th	2015–2023
108	Tai Woffinden	11	—	13th	2010, 2011, 2013–2023
155	Mikkel Michelsen	12	—	4th	2015, 2018–2019, 2020, 2021, 2022–2023
29	Andžejs Ļebedevs	16	7	1st	2013–2014, 2022–2023
744	Kai Huckenbeck	17	—	1st	2017–2019, 2022–2023
415	Dominik Kubera	=21	—	1st	2021, 2023
48	Szymon Woźniak	=26	3	1st	2018, 2022–2023
201	Jan Kvěch	=31	5	1st	2020–2023

Looking at that, yes the whole thing has become a little stale, I watch the GP series now more through a sense of duty rather than any excitement on who is going to walk away with the top prize. Add into that a non-sensical point scoring system and it's no wonder that the fans have given it the thumbs down.

WBD adopted a if you build it they will come mentality and have fallen asleep at the wheel, they've done the usual Speedway thing and have just tinkered around the edges again, 2 minutes scrapped in favour of 90 seconds, Sprint races in front of empty stadiums, anyone from the top 10 can win the meeting.

The whole series needs a massive overhaul. Maybe the field needs culling to 12 riders? Look at what UEFA have done with the Champions League, that was radical and from what I've heard it's been somewhat of a success. 

Edited Sunday at 12:13 PM by IainB

[ouch]

2 hours ago, Neila said:

Would suspect the fan zone will be on the hockey pitch behind bend 3-4, which is not very big, was busy last year for SON with not a lot going on.

I've decided not to go, yes the cost is high, but i can afford it. The main reason is the lack of a socialising area anywhere near the stadium, lack of nearby parking, and belle Vue Stadium does not have the best infrastructure to support a large crowd., and the GP field is weak this year, the point system is unfair in my opinion,  where someone can finish 10th and still win the GP. A good bus system is on during the day but after 7pm is restricted back into the city, so big queues,  like at the 1st SON a few years ago, if you decide to walk to the city centre, 40 minutes it is not a very desirable area to walk through.  Hopefully will watch on TNT if I can find it or a pub/club th watch it at

 

Socialising and the fanzone will be just fine imo. Parking is on a par with Cardiff. 

Just incase anyone was put off by the bus comment these are the actual times a 10-15min walk from the stadium. (The duplicate times are when 2 buses are available). Buses 192, 201, 202, 203.

19.00

19.02

19.02

19.07

19.09

19.12

19.14

19.17

19.22

19.22

19.26

19.28

19.30

19.31

19.35

19.40

19.44

19.48

19.50

19.52

19.52

19.57

19.58

Later hours are very similar. 

I take on board your other points and respect your decision.