The Voice Of Reason 2,124 Posted January 17, 2013 I agree with so much of what's been said. However, the single most important issue in my eyes, is the price of admission. Particularly in these austere times, it's one hell of a lot of money to pay; particularly for a family. Despite an argument to the contrary, at the end of the day we are actually getting around 15 minutes of sport to watch for our £16+. Now I'm a Speedway die-hard, but even I can appreciate that's a lot of dosh to pay out - particularly in The Elite League whereby the increasing number of 6 man teams consist of, what appears to be, a never-ending stream of guests and lower league riders (no offence intended to these blokes). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E I Addio 15,843 Posted January 17, 2013 Dog racing, stock-cars, and grass track racing have all declined a lot in the last 20 or 30 years. County cricket generally gets poor crowds and maybe wouldn't survive if not for the one day game Pubs have fared even worse, so have a whole range of other things.To assess speedways decline we have to look at a whole range of factors outside as well as inside the sport. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soul Crew 87 Posted January 17, 2013 There was an article in the Daily Mail the other day regarding Mr Judd Trump who is currently Snookers World Number 2, the poor little mite is moaning that Snooker players are not paid what they are worth, this is a man who has "won" over £750,000 pounds in prize money in his career so far. Snooker has been kept stable as the prize money paid out is no more than what Sponsorship, attendances bring in. Now if only Speedway could adopt that attitude, sure we may lose some "star" riders, but in time they will be replaced, new "stars" will be created, its about time promoters started sitting down at the start of the season and asking what they can afford and not how much they are willing to lose. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g13webb 4,254 Posted January 17, 2013 Having read all the comments, everyone has their own opinions why the sport is in the state it is today. It’s a shame but nothing will ever change. We go from one issue to the next and nothing is ever learnt from the problems we have. Just recently, we have had issues about rider assets and the problems it creates for some of the clubs. But instead of sorting it out in the long term, a short term answers are given hoping the problem will go away. If we had an independent body, with no bias towards certain clubs, solutions could be sort to overcome all the problems that exist. Long standing supporters have problems, understanding some of the rules and the decision made. If we have these problems, imagine what new supporters must think. Having followed this sport for nigh on 50 years, I’ve given up hope it will ever change. Just except it for the way it is run knowing one day there will be no more speedway to watch.. At least I will be fortunate to be able to reflect back to the wonderful sport we once had… 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BluTiger 21,661 Posted January 17, 2013 Speedway's decline is mirrored by quite a few sports, and i can only tell you what my son tells me. He knows of very few people at his school that go to speedway, but when i was at school most of the lads in my class always went. Youngsters are no longer into sports like angling either, they all save their money to buy the new PS3 game or latest iphone. Times have changed im afraid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cockney Rebel 97 Posted January 17, 2013 Have just read an article about how riders today just treat the sport like a business and there are not so many "characters" about like there were in the "old days" and they forget as well as being sportsmen they are entertainers. Oh by the way this was an article in a January edition of the Speedway Star from 1963 on Speedway Star Xtra online mag. Things don't change much in Speedway do they? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,939 Posted January 17, 2013 Have just read an article about how riders today just treat the sport like a business and there are not so many "characters" about like there were in the "old days" and they forget as well as being sportsmen they are entertainers. Oh by the way this was an article in a January edition of the Speedway Star from 1963 on Speedway Star Xtra online mag. Things don't change much in Speedway do they? But it wouldn't be wrong would it?Obviously if we want to be pedantic about this we just have to look at when speedway was at it height(post war period) and state the decline started just after.We know the sport went downhill after that into the period you mention when speedway was in 1965 re-organised and started to improve and then hit a peak again and then went into another decline,which we are currently not out of...... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elephantman 196 Posted January 17, 2013 If you accept that the boom years were immediately after WWII in to the mid 1950's it is clear that arrival of televison is the single event that has changed the entertainment business. Not just speedway has been affected, the dogs, stock cars, dance halls, cinema audiences, bingo all affected by TV. Speedway had a revival in the late 1960's early 1970's; that may have been the supporters from the 40's & 50's taking their kids along, but pretty much it has been downhill ever since. The problem now is that the core support is ageing and there dosen't appear to be enough money in the sport to relaunch or refresh the product. It is a concern. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanmuffe 105 Posted January 17, 2013 Hello, promoter. What's that? No, I don't have any ideas to boost revenue. Here, aren't you're the promoter, can't you think of some? Anyway, I'm already in your stadium, why are you hounding me? Buy a what? A 50/50 ticket? Well, OK. AND a programme? Three quid? What is this, a ski resort? Oh OK give me one then. Anything else? No sorry, I don't have any friends left. You see, after an eternity of careful badgering about how this amazing sport really was the best show in town, I then made half of them stand around for an hour and a quarter watching a tractor re-arrange dirt while the person who failed to book the ambulance, booked the ambulance. Pardon? No, they threatened me with an injunction so we don't speak now. However the other 50% heard the tale and when I convinced them it was a rare, nay freak, occurance they agreed to come. But then it...no, I don't want a raffle ticket, thanks... rained for 24 seconds at start time and we all had to go home leaving our cash on...yeh I'm sure and I've got a 50/50 thanks...deposit for another day. They won't be back though, which is a real shame because I'd spent fourteen hours going through the basics of speedway and they were definitely beginning to get it. Except for that part where the rider can ride for any team who pays him. And that double points rule thing. And the fact the points limit is less than the points needed to win a match. All that trivial stuff, you know? Some members of the group felt slightly perturbed at the thought of requiring a miners lamp and a divers' helmet to visit the toilet but you know newbies - always finding something to complain about... Now what's this you're pressing into my hand? A leaflet eh? O M G! This says you're really skint and on the brink of closing? Not again surely? Did you not tell me this last year? And the year before. Come to think of it have you not been telling me this since the day I first darkened your doors? Ah, but this time it's absolutely really for totally real is it? And you want me to help you out? Oh right, not help as such just to give you money. OK, so you want me, who has faithfully handed over the requisite readies at your turnstile since Adam was a boy, to give you even more? Hang on a minute here. How much does it actually cost to stage a meeting? THUMP... Sorry, passed out there. How much? For what? Everyone's a volunteer surely? Well, yeah we've all got utility bills and rent and maintenance to pay but where does the rest of it go? The riders' wages? Aye I know it's a dangerous sport and they deserve adequate compensation but there's only 500 folk in your midden - who does your budget, Imelda Marcos? So let me just see if I've got this correct. You want me to give you money over and above what I pay every week because you can't do your job and facilitate enough bodies to cover the outrageous wage bill you persist in paying when you don't, frankly, have a styrofoam cup to fill with yon stuff? And if I don't you'll take away my men on motorbikes? Hmmm, I'm not sure I care for your tone... Tell you what. You do some promoting. Aww don't give me the petted lip routine you'll enjoy it once you've started. Why not talk to the guy at the bowling club that gets 400 through his door to watch a man dressed as Elvis singing, he seems to know how to get them in? And reduce that wage bill a bit and you won't need to keep begging the 500 for a handout. Oh, and stop talking about 'bringing in the kids' will you? This is an adult sport in which adults compete for adult prize money run by, and I use this word advisedly, adults. They're not poncey holiday park entertainers - they're hard men, in a hard sport, where when the going gets tough, the tough punch you in the face even though you're still wearing a helmet. You can't get tougher than that. Any sport peddling 'family' as a byword is either desperate or coughing its' last, doomed to eeking out a meagre existence amid deserted crumbling stadia to the decaying strains of the announcers' favourite band. Sell the sport to the grown ups and then worry about the weans later. No mummies and daddies (other parenting options are available) equals no kiddies but not vice versa. This isn't Crackerjack you're punt...oh, you've gone. Bye, promoter. So in answer to the question posed by this thread - the day promoters stopped promoting and began huddling for warmth around the begging bowl. Bikes, tracks, telly, weather, stadia, music, prices. All irrelevant. The buck stops at the person who's sole purpose in speedway life is to get as many paying customers through the door and maximize revenue at every possible opportunity. Happiness was once 40-38, now it's five quid off. Go figure. Only an hour and a quarter!!! Some tracks that seems to be the norm when the ambulance is in situ anywhere!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
keef 105 Posted January 17, 2013 Attendances started falling in the 80s when the Danes and Yanks took over from the Brits as top dogs. Admission prices have gone up faster than inflation, but facilties have hardly improved. Britain is now well behind Poland and Sweden for quality of line-ups and training facilties. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedy bill 154 Posted January 17, 2013 some of the rules today are ruining the sport there are two many god its four blokes going round a track try to keep it simple and easy to understand.there are no interval attrractions anymore and allot of delays between races, and riders allowed to return to the pitts when in most cases they should be sent stright back to the starts,speedway should be run slicker and the meeting kept moving,i know some times delays can not be helped.what is the point of having a interval when there is only 4 or 5 races to go,use if a rider as two on the trot for tractor racing or when a delay can not be helped. get some more war cries going get the crowd involved its to quiet at speedway these days no atmosphere at most tracks bring back the old announcer get the crowd going lets liven things up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cockney Rebel 97 Posted January 17, 2013 But it wouldn't be wrong would it?Obviously if we want to be pedantic about this we just have to look at when speedway was at it height(post war period) and state the decline started just after.We know the sport went downhill after that into the period you mention when speedway was in 1965 re-organised and started to improve and then hit a peak again and then went into another decline,which we are currently not out of...... No not wrong Iris123 but, I did find it amusing that it has been mentioned, quite understandably, that there are no characters in the sport nowadays compared to years ago and years ago they were saying the same thing. I do think that speedway because of it's, for want of a better word "originality" will never have the mass support that us hardcore fans would like and that it will always have good times and bad. Some bikers don't see it as a bike sport because they only go round in circles and not that quickly compared to MotoGP or Superbikes and you can't buy a GM or a Jawa road bike.Before anyone leaps down my throat I know Jawa used to make a road bike but don't know if they still do. Non bike fans see as just a noisy dirty biker sport and always think the stadium will be packed with Hells Angels and their like. Like most on here who have all made valid points in trying to pinpoint the decline I have no idea how to stop the yo-yoing. For what it's worth I don't think there is a decline in Global speedway it's just this country and I think that can be largely put down to two things. The fall of the Iron curtain enabling Polish Speedway to really take off and, I know this is old ground and not every body will agree, the increasing impact of the ever larger Grand Prix. Riders cannot compete in all the leagues and the Grand Prix so they leave out the least profitable, the poor old Elite League. If only I had a magic wand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foamfence 2,917 Posted January 17, 2013 No not wrong Iris123 but, I did find it amusing that it has been mentioned, quite understandably, that there are no characters in the sport nowadays compared to years ago and years ago they were saying the same thing. I do think that speedway because of it's, for want of a better word "originality" will never have the mass support that us hardcore fans would like and that it will always have good times and bad. Some bikers don't see it as a bike sport because they only go round in circles and not that quickly compared to MotoGP or Superbikes and you can't buy a GM or a Jawa road bike.Before anyone leaps down my throat I know Jawa used to make a road bike but don't know if they still do. Non bike fans see as just a noisy dirty biker sport and always think the stadium will be packed with Hells Angels and their like. Like most on here who have all made valid points in trying to pinpoint the decline I have no idea how to stop the yo-yoing. For what it's worth I don't think there is a decline in Global speedway it's just this country and I think that can be largely put down to two things. The fall of the Iron curtain enabling Polish Speedway to really take off and, I know this is old ground and not every body will agree, the increasing impact of the ever larger Grand Prix. Riders cannot compete in all the leagues and the Grand Prix so they leave out the least profitable, the poor old Elite League. If only I had a magic wand. Polish speedway has declined dramatically, they used to claim it was bigger than football but it's nowhere near it now, look at the crowd figures they publish in the Speedway Star results, they are now a fraction of what they used to be, which is probably the reason why some clubs have gone bust and some riders never got paid. It's still a lot bigger than here but it certainly has problems. Some riders have indicated that they would consider the Elite league if there were less fixtures or they could share places (as Darcy Ward suggested). When you have Premier League teams made up almost entirely of overseas riders, something is wrong, other countries discriminate in favour of their own riders and we should do the same. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny the spud 2,281 Posted January 18, 2013 Last year I made a return to several UK speedway tracks ofter a 23 year absence, same 4 guys racing round, Same noise, (roughly), same atmosphere . Down side....... Same stadium facilities, same music (really), same amateurish "promotion", no other interval entertainment. In short nothing new on offer. That's it basically, i may be missing something but i cant think of anything in the last nigh on quarter of a century that's a great improvement for the customer to make a night out more enjoyable or appealing to a new audience. Now look at other forms of motorcycle sport and see what's happened in the last 20 odd years. Quite sad really . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HAMMER57 27 Posted January 18, 2013 if we lose Sky coverage????????? Will armchair fans want the real deal???????? Who knows but we need to do something before our beloved sport dies in front of our eyes............ I like you do not want too see are beloved sport die so I pay entry for me and the wife to watch the Hammers as I have done for many years. I cannot get to away matches so get my speedway fix on sky when I don,t get to Arena Essex Will i miss it if speedways not on sky yes But i think we may need to go back to basics a little and have teams only paying out what they can afford yes we may lose a few top riders but new ones will come up the ranks. Lets try and build our sport up again and be positive I for one would rather see 4 up and coming riders than no speedway at all.Nothing beats the thrill of a live meet RP Opps messed that post up sorry lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
