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mikebv

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Posts posted by mikebv


  1. 7 hours ago, Phil The Ace said:

    Piotr and Millik maybe 

    If so, all the best to Brum in seeing the season out....

    That TV money must be really worth it for survival f they think that those two will make a competitive team...

    Piotr as a 3rd HL (at a push, 2nd HL) would be OK given his level in Poland...

    Millik is "best second string" level, or (again at a push), 3rd HL level...

    As a spearhead, absolutely no chance with those two, especially given their signings to date...

     

     


  2. 8 minutes ago, uk_martin said:

    Sponsorship is a commercial undertaking where the cash investment is expected to produce a revenue benefit. That means that you need the people exposed to the sponsor to buy their products. It's a difficult thing to do with an aged fan base living on their old age pensions and a wider speedway supporter base that is renown for its penny pinching "thriftyness".

    Are you expecting charitable contributions, or for these companies just to subsidise the fortnightly entertainment of some senior citizens out of the goodness of their hearts?

    Hence so many sponsors are individual fans, or businesses of individual fans, or businesses involved in the sport who benefit directly from their involvement, (eg travel companies, insurance companies, engine tuners/sellers etc).. 

    Getting "someone else" interested will be the challenge that could start to turn round the sports' fortunes...

    As you say though, the age demographic, and the phyiscsl lack of punters in the stadiums, isn't going to attract too many "modern" businesses unfortunately...

    SAGA, Tena or Steradent maybe? :D

    In about five years, I will defintely be a potential customer...;)


  3. 14 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

    Standard Colts side namely be alright at home and chalk up decent wins and will look bang average or worse on thier travels

    Fair comment, and the correct thing for the Aces to do I would suggest..

    It keeps the Colts going and offers opportunities for new or young riders..

    Winning at home (or narrow defeats), keeps punters turning up...

    And the odd hammering away helps to keep the bank balance in the black...

    • Like 2

  4. 17 hours ago, Col said:

     

    I'm still here!  But I'd rather travel *4 the distance to see racing at the best racetrack in the country (NSS) than go to Perry Barr weekly (same could have been said for Monmore in the last few years).  If Brummies get the track right and the team is competitive I'm sure more ex-Heathens & ex-Bee's fans would attend.  But a dusty track and a team getting hammered every week isn't much fun, especially when it's not the team you grew up supporting.

    There were enough people wearing Bees merchandise when I visited Leicester a couple of times last year.

    Spot on...

    Uniquely, Speedway, quite possibly due to the way is ran (in the UK), means it is more "sports entertainment" rather than a bona fide "sports championship", which means plenty who attend are generic Speedway fans first and foremost, rather than "tribal followers" of a team...

    The smell, the noise, the lights, the speed and the atmosphere got most of us hooked, well before forming any team allegiance, (the word "team" in UK Speedway being as tenuous as it could be)..

    The issue in attracting ex fans of the tracks closed down "locally" will be more down to the target marketing of these fans to get them there, rather than any major reticence on their part I would suggest...

    Brum hopefully have already trawled any FB Groups and any Supporter Groups of the ex tracks and made contact...

    Might as sell offer up some free and £10 tickets through the season to these fans, just to see if they can become "regulars" ongoing, or, at least until they get their respective tracks' back..

    As, if they ever do return, you can almost guarantee that these fans will all be there that night they reopen, meaning they will have kept a healthy interest in the sport in the interim..

    Therefore, try and get them to Brum.

    And healthy crowds at a track "local" to Wolves, Cov and Cradley, could also help in convincing their respective local authorities that the sport has a part to play in the local community and is vibrant and viable..

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  5. 16 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

    Can see. a slow progression in stadium facilities and team structure , Rome was not built in a day , if we can win home meetings be entertaining to watch then that is the main thing.

    And Bachelor's name will resonate more with the "old teams'" followers than someone they may never have heard of..

    They can advertise him a an "ex GP rider, who has been twice on the rostrom, Twice World Cup Silver medalist, and a former Elite League and Australian Champion". which can only help get some interest..

    • Like 1

  6. 1 hour ago, iainb said:

    Seasons in the past would often start with a touring team from Sweden or somewhere...

    Each season does seem to start with a "whimper" rather than a "fanfare" doesnt it...?

    And then just seems to "amble on", in a disjointed fashion, to its conclusion in September...

    I mean October...

    Or possibly November..:rolleyes:

    Even the first TV meeting is usually a fair old while after the season has started which doesnt help any "launch"..

    A five match Ashes series with £150k prize fund in total, split £90k/60k, whilst not "big money" in the grand scheme of sporting reward, should get some wider publicity surely? And kick start the UK version of the sport..

    Traditional 6 man Test teams over 18 heats..

    £10k each for the losers for five nights riding isnt too shabby either, and £15k each for the winners even better..

    The PCMM each season shows that getting a decent line up can bring in a large crowd early doors, with usually over 2000 there, which, with sponsorship added to it, brings in around £50k I would think given the slightly higher than usual entrance fee..

    A more structured national launch for the sport, with a well planned and executed national marketing strategy, surely would give the whole season a kick start and positive momentum..? 

    • Like 3

  7. 11 hours ago, topsoil said:

    Try getting riders to leave their Polish clubs for the weekend and getting all the other tracks in Britain to cancel their fixtures on a Bank Holiday. Good luck. 

    Maybe do a five meeting series BEFORE Poland opens up? Over a week...

    Glasgow to Poole, calling at the NSS, Birmingham, and Ipswich.

    Brum simply to get their season up and running with big publicity behind it which might get more punters in to watch their own output. And, being central, could get a decent amount of Wolves, Coventry, Cradley, Leicester and even Swindon fans. 

    Glasgow and the NSS for the racing and Poole and Ippo for the crowds they can generate...

    A major start to the season which gets momentum into it which can be then built on..

    • Like 3

  8. On 12/31/2023 at 9:25 AM, iainb said:

    But the whole operation has been subbed out, surely it's down to the company it has been subbed out to to stage some home test matches in conjunction with current promoters backed by their current sponsors. Maybe holding a test match series in this country would attract some new sponsors?

    I don't know but are there any targets set for the team GB operation? What happens if they don't meet those targets? There doesn't seem to be a threat of it being taken back in house. In fact I'm pretty sure BSPL were pretty happy to get rid of it, so they could (shortsightedly) concentrate on their own clubs. 

    It was a great move when it was first subbed out and a great start, things seemed to have stagnated a bit off track though. Just look at the social media post in the run up to Christmas, a printed Christmas greeting and a picture of Robert Lambert with a list of the sponsors below... so what? Who cares? Scroll on by... Where's the engagement? Where's the video message from the England captain with a review of the year and looking forward on things to come, it's nearly 2024 and this should be the easiest thing in the world to produce and generate a few views for the sponsors!

    Things really should be pushing forwards in terms of engagement with the fans,  home matches and merchandise etc

    When the sport was "very popular" it wasn't domestic speedway that stimulated the interest..

    It was the very regular national success at both individual and team level, being beamed into millions of homes several Saturdays a season...

    Domestic speedway then lived off the back of that publicity and interest, and, with no social media, its "Mickey Mouse"' rules, and ad hoc last minute rider changes, which existed even then, didnt impact crowd levels the way they do today. 

    (eg. You would find out PC was riding in Germany in a LT meeting, or that a team had four guests and RR, after you had paid to get in, now you would know well in advance)..

    Then the promoters started training up all the rest of the worlds riders, and reduced opportunities to UK riders, which had the inevitable conclusion that UK success on the international scene dwindled to virtually nothing...

    And domestic crowds therefore naturally dwindled off the back of it...

    As Italia 90 showed, and the England Rugby success in 2003, and the Ashes victory in 2005, international success stimulated each sports' domestic success by the interest it created in the sports' as a whole.. 

    Maybe a test series against the Aussies might engage a few more to attend their local tracks..? (And, such is the relatively low crowd numbers, just a hundred more at most tracks would be a double digit growth)...

    You would think a 2,000 crowd on a BHM, a GF, or a Saturday or Sunday would be possible at several tracks wouldn't you?

    Max £25 a ticket and that's circa £50k..

    Maybe a £25k prize money fund per test if that crowd size was possible? 

    A "properly ran" speedway meeting/series ran with credibility and something worth winning, might also draw some sponsorship from others outside the sport too, rather than, as so often happens currently, much of the sponsorship coming from those who follow it, or benefit in some way, from being involved in the sport...

     

     

     

    • Like 2

  9. 6 hours ago, iainb said:

    Yes, 100% It's an absolute scandal really. You have to question who the GB Speedway team is run for? The riders? The Sponsors? Certainly not the fans! Whenever GB have ridden in the UK they have attracted a decent crowd. It's all well and good subbing out the national team to a private company but we hardly ever get to see them in the UK, riders are generally representing GB most weekends throughout the year and all the fan gets to see is a Twitter post, usually giving more exposure to the sponsor than the actual results and scorers. They seem to be more interested in running lottery's than putting on Speedway matches.

    When Team GB was first subbed out, I thought what a great idea, yes it has brought results at the top tier of the sport, but the younger riders results are pretty woeful. These 2nd and 3rd tier GB riders really need to be riding with their tier 1 colleagues in test matches to help bring them on internationally. It's doing no good them riding separately imo

    That's the big question in UK, who is Speedway run for? And until the promoters answer "the fans" Speedway in the UK will probably continue to decline

    The clear and obvious answer, given the way UK Speedway is ran, is that it is for people who want to finance an expensive hobby...

    Hence the rules get consistently "made up" to ensure this hobby can take place regularly...

    No "independent body" would ever sanction a large amount of the regs and rules that get signed off by those who "self police"...

    Test Matches would have a huge novelty factor nowadays given the fact they don't take place almost ever in the UK..

    And with many top class Aussies over here, an Ashes series would stimulate interest in the sport I am 100% sure...

    The only watch out would be that the promoters would allow Bomber to guest for the Aussies if GB didn't pick him...

    Only in the first test though obviously...

    He could ride for GB in the others...

    Alongside Emil...:D

     

     

     

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1

  10. 1 hour ago, Nickinho said:

    Most teams will probably sign one in future years simply because of their gender which doesn't help at all it's just tokenism and is happening in all walks of life but I was hopeful that it would pass speedway by but i was obviously fooling myself.

    I'm not surprised by all the celebrations about this but I doubt that any of the male NDL riders who have missed out on a Championship place are happy. I seem to remember all the Edinburgh fans complaining about Dayle Wood at the expense of younger riders because he wasn't very good yet I guarantee he isn't any worse than the Comets new rider.

    So much for encouraging young British riders...

    Nothing stopping any of them coming out as "trans", or identifying  themselves as a female....;):D

     

    • Haha 1

  11. 33 minutes ago, Nickinho said:

    Giving a place to a female didn't help Nascar bring in extra fans although in Danica Patrick's case she was fully deserving of a place in that motorsport, this is just tokenism in this particular case. Interest will be garnered for a few weeks over the Comets new signing then everyone will see her trail in last and soon get over their excitement and realise that it was just a bad team signing.

     

    It really doesnt matter if it turns out that way..

    Any semi decent marketeer will see the huge opportunity for a bit of hype and publicity to get your name out there off the back of it...

    And NASCAR has tens of thousands of fans already at each venue, so bringing in a female racer wouldnt have meant tens of thousands more..

    (And given the following demographic of NASCAR if may have even turned a few away):D... 

    Worky would be delighted with just an extra couple of hundred on the opening night I am sure, as that would be circa  20- 30% more than a "usual" crowd I would imagine..

    A very healthy uplift given the small starting point at most tracks..

    • Like 1

  12. 9 hours ago, Mr Blobby said:

    Crash helmet on here.
     

    Great bit of publicity but don’t think she’ll even average her assessed average. Only average over a point a meeting in the polish U24 league.

    Quite possiblly...

    Meaning she will be similar to hundreds of others over the decades who have done the same..

    The important message is the back story which will help sell Workington Speedway to an audience who will have their ears pricked up by what the promotion team have done..

    And, if it doesnt all work out, then those who have been interested enough to go along, may still stick with the sport regardless of her being there or not..

    Nothing to lose, and everything to gain by both rider and promoters....

    Great to see some proper, modern thinking, promotion of the sport...

    Obviously, for some others, using "why not bring a friend?" as their marketing plan, is still available....

    • Like 3

  13. Great call...

    A "decent rider" from what I have read of her scores and performances, but, far more importantly, what a story to tell...

    Plenty of column inches locally I would suggest in the local media and maybe even local TV interest....

    Outstanding work from the Comets leadership team...

    • Like 2

  14. 58 minutes ago, Petecc said:

    Parking isn't the responsibility of the club. Most sporting venues have some Parking which is usually limited,  (perry barr is no different ) however once that is full, its up to you, the car driver to park your car. Ring a major football club and ask, where to park, and they may wet themselves laughing at you. At least some speedway clubs try to make an effort. 

    Spot on...

    If you want to go badly enough, you will find somewhere to park...

    Park in a side street..

    Park in a public car park and get an Uber from there..

    The "event" will deliver the crowd it deserves, just like all events do..

    Events that are well ran, well marketed and promoted, have credibility, and offer excellent value for money, will usually generate plenty of punters...

    Regardless of whether car parking is on their "doorstep" or not..

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