pointsmeanplayoffs 417 Posted June 5, 2014 From an Elite League level, The increased costs for riders competing at the top level; travel, hardware, mechanics, tuners etc has to be the main reason why admission is high. The income has to be high enough so that the riders can be paid enough £££ to make a living and I don't see many riders/promoters driving around in Lamborghini's!!! Sure, riders could get more sponsors to subsidise their earnings but I would imagine in the current economic climate, that such sponsorship is getting harder to obtain. Yes there are superstars sponsored by energy drink companies but I imagine that an increasing amount of sponsorship is of the ‘donation variety’ from family, friends, supporters and associates. I know my company examines all such marketing expenditure more closely than ever before, with a real focus only on what activity will deliver a tangible return on investment. With no increase in cash from league sponsorship/tv rights in sight for teams, If you want to pay less to watch, then you will get an inferior product. There will be no more Niels Kristian Iversen and Darcy Ward, instead it will be more domestic based riders like in the lower leagues. Equipment is the other big thing. Standardized equipment for riders which, yes may be a little slower, could be much cheaper to buy/maintain could help and let’s face it, would it harm the racing? Would it be that bad if races were taking 65.00 seconds rather than 62.00 seconds as long as the racing is just as close? To work, such an initiative would need to be FIM led as speedway is an international sport. I have read about F2 speedway, but to work it would need to be the ‘norm’ for the sport not a new lower formula. Agreed with an earlier poster, this is an interesting topic : ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted June 5, 2014 I understand the time difference, but have you guys been to Asia ie China, India its not the west, if they want to bet the time difference wont make a great difference, China the market Football wants to crack, can anyone name me a Chinese Team.? India who is there Footy team ? so not having the sport in that country has an affect, but not to the extent you believe. but of course these markets take time to get established, and it needs the big multi nationals to be able to do this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arthur cross 492 Posted June 5, 2014 I understand the time difference, but have you guys been to Asia ie China, India its not the west, if they want to bet the time difference wont make a great difference, China the market Football wants to crack, can anyone name me a Chinese Team.? India who is there Footy team ? so not having the sport in that country has an affect, but not to the extent you believe. but of course these markets take time to get established, and it needs the big multi nationals to be able to do this. You're misunderstanding why speedway would find it much harder to crack the betting markets of India or the Far East compared to a sport like football. It's not a question of whether there are big Indian football teams or big Chinese football teams driving that region's interest in football betting (although domestic football in China is making considerable progress). But it is a question of famous clubs around the world like Manchester United or Real Madrid or Juventus having had significant fan bases in this part of the world for at least a couple of generations so that in the more recent expansion of betting opportunities, it's been a simple step for Asian fans of those clubs to want to bet on their games ... they're betting on teams with whom they (or their parents and grandparents) are already familiar just as fans rather than as gamblers. Look at how keen so many of Europe's top clubs are to squeeze Far East exhibitions into their pre-season schedules to cash-in on those fan bases even though the travel-time and the humidity don't do the whole concept of pre-season training any favours at all ... Manchester United are even exploring the idea of September or October friendlies during the midweeks they're not involved for once this autumn in the Champions League or Europa League. But you won't find many families with 3 generations of Swindon Robins fans in any Asian city ...hence why speedway's on a much tougher path when it comes to unlocking any lucrative aspects of the Asian betting market. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theblueboy 960 Posted June 5, 2014 The market is not aimed at Asia or the Far East. I think people are getting ahead of themselves in this respect. It is a cheap service laid on for bet365 for customers generally in the UK. I think people would be surprised how much is wagered on speedway. The very fact that there are many markets offered by bet365 should tell you that bet365 are on to a good thing. They have been offering markets for several years on all the major leagues so that requires plenty of effort from the trader and they are not going to invest that time if there is nothing in it for them. There are plenty of UK, Swedish and Polish customers who will have a 'little nibble'. As an example, my brother and I have bet £80 this evening on the Swindon match that we have both attended. Neither of us are rich but are knowledgeable and make money on the sport. So how many others have bet £10 or £20 on speedway this evening? The simple alternative, that bet365 could do is to stop the stream being made available in certain areas. You could try and restrict the stream by not making it available in certain areas or postcodes and that should stop people staying at home and watching. However, I am not sure how practical this would be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted June 5, 2014 Maybe a casual fan watching a stream of another sport will watch speedway and want to see it live. It can work both ways. The simple alternative, that bet365 could do is to stop the stream being made available in certain areas. You could try and restrict the stream by not making it available in certain areas or postcodes and that should stop people staying at home and watching. However, I am not sure how practical this would be. As Bet365 want people to bet wouldn't turning off the pictures shoot them in the foot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theblueboy 960 Posted June 5, 2014 Maybe a casual fan watching a stream of another sport will watch speedway and want to see it live. It can work both ways. As Bet365 want people to bet wouldn't turning off the pictures shoot them in the foot My comment was aimed at those fans who choose to stay at home and watch it on bet365 rather than go and support their local club. You only have to stop pictures being made available to those in certain areas. As I stated, I am not sure how you would do that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lukasdrymllukas 135 Posted June 6, 2014 On the issue of entrance costs, I am very fortunate that my income allows me do pretty much anything I want (even buy a club if I wanted). However I am not going to spend £50+ to take my family out for the evening in some shabby stadium, with poor food and watch sub standard (drawn out) racing. For much less (entrance) I can take my wife and kids to the T20 Cricket, go to the restaurant (spending more) and generaly be more entertained by the sporting fare on offer. Heartwarming to know that you've got so much money you can buy a club I'm struggling to work out how you think Speedway is dearer than T20 cricket though... Sussex Sharks T20 prices...Adult £20 Junior £10 Family £50 E'bourne Eagles prices... Adult £17 Junior £6 Family £40 Don't try buying a club unless it's a 4wood is my advice !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
