Letter In This Weeks Speedway Star

[The White Knight 9,039]

Don't agree.Us old 'uns were used to crappy stadia.When we started going all stadia were pretty run down.There was hardly a new stadium built within a 30 or 40 year period.Football stadiums were more or less of a standard to compare to speedway stadiums and most cinemas were flea pits!!But that has all changed now and people are used to decent facilities at other sports and newbies will be put off by shabby facilities and crap food........The trouble is who is going to cough up for new stadiums?

Fair and good question.

 

Answers on a Postcard..........................................................................

[phillipsr 2,053]

Im not looking for brand new stadiums but not standing in a complete s##t hole would be nice. Its not that expensive to buy some paint and get a cleaner for the toilets is it? I realise some dont care as long as the track is good but many do care and i cant see any value of paying £20 ( admission + drink) to stand in a dump praying that i dont need to pee

[Guest]

Fair and good question.

 

Answers on a Postcard..........................................................................

Well, for a start it may be appropriate to study other sports and rationalise how they managed to turn things round.

 

A good example in my mind is Rugby League. It has a small base of support in 3-4 countries but has largely succeeded in turning from a winter sport played in poor stadia, to a well-funded, media-savvy sport with the majority of top clubs in modern 21st Century facilities.

 

If I was part of the SCB or BSPA, a phone call to the Rugby League HQ might be a good place to start.

[Fromafar 10,333]

Don't think the stadiums are a big factor in bike sport if you look at other forms such as BSB,Mx the spectators stand in a field to watch the racing,it's the value for money and the daft rules that need to looked at.the sport cannot be taken seriously as a Team sport IMO .

Edited October 19, 2014 by Fromafar

[moxey63 1,785]

Don't agree.Us old 'uns were used to crappy stadia.When we started going all stadia were pretty run down.There was hardly a new stadium built within a 30 or 40 year period.Football stadiums were more or less of a standard to compare to speedway stadiums and most cinemas were flea pits!!But that has all changed now and people are used to decent facilities at other sports and newbies will be put off by shabby facilities and crap food........The trouble is who is going to cough up for new stadiums?

 

I agree, speedway stadiums have stayed the same as back in the day or been allowed to fall behind the times. People expect more when they attend a sporting event... but we are simply talking about a sport that has its a*** hanging out.

 

Belle Vue's decision to be awarded a brand new place goes against the grain of a sport or perhaps any business that has continued to lose custom and money over many decades. Belle Vue's new stadium won't draw any beneficial increase in numbers at the gates... and newcomers won't come back because they were allowed to use a neat toilet. They can pop in a fast food place and use their facilities for free.

 

On the other hand, if it were a food outlet, seeing dirty toilets... now that would put me off going there again. I'd probably leave the grub that I'd ordered and make a swift exit. Attending a sporting occasion, a minority one, usually means you are attending for that one thing. Grubby loos won't put you off watching the racing; but they would turn your guts if you used neglected WC rooms at a fast-food place.

 

Belle Vue's new place will see the same faces that Kirky Lane has kept hold of. Perhaps a few old stagers will return, may remain or give it a future swerve, as the sport isn't what they remember.

 

Most fans stopped going, not because facilities went stinky, but because they were frustrated or they used their speedway cash on more needier things.

 

As for newcomers... personally I don't see any rush of newcomers. I feel most newcomers only come in the first place because they are brought along by family or friends. I suspect there aren't many that are persuaded by what dross they've seen from the Elite League these past few season, courtesy of SKY.

 

The sport, and not facilities, needs to be addressed fully. Hopefully, it'll keep what fans still attend, and they may live to introduce other people. Apart from that, speedway, or British Speedway, could go the same way as those sweets from the seventies, you no longer see because nobody bought them.

 

I, for one, don't care what is going on at a speedway meeting... as long as the sport's structure, line-ups, rules... as long as it is a product that your inner belief is in full trust of.

 

And that isn't the case right now.

Edited October 19, 2014 by moxey63

[Star Lady 5,400]

I don't think the state of the stadiums has that much effect to be honest.

Yes clean toilets should be a must. As should a safe environment, not crumbling terraces.

However some of my favourite venues are those that have grass banks, where in good weather you can sit on a blanket and have a picnic and enjoy the sun. You can wander round and talk to folk, some of whom you know and some you don't. Terracing is fine but not as nice as grass to sit on or look at.

I hate being confined to a seat in a stand. You are stuck next to someone you possibly can't abide or someone who smells and cannot escape without a fuss.

Half the fun of an away match is a wander round the terracing/grass banks trying to spot people you may not have seen for years or watching the racing from a different viewpoint.

Stadiums like Cardiff have their place but in all honesty I'm far happier on the back straight grass at Peterborough or Stoke.

Maybe I'm just strange

 

The sport needs to attract newcomers, of that there is no question but I doubt many will be tempted by a sparkly new stadium whilst the same old farcical rubbish is shown on TV. Once that is sorted out may be the time to reconstruct or build. Buster Chapman has turned what was more or less a ploughed field with terraces into a great smart, stadium with seating, accessible safe terracing, clean toilets and all that goes with it . Apart from the WTC round I doubt the attendances are any higher that they were before he started, probably less.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,935]

If I was part of the SCB or BSPA, a phone call to the Rugby League HQ might be a good place to start.

 

Rugby League's immense fortune was Rupert Murdoch (or his executives) looking around for a sport they could buy into relatively cheaply and control. I think it had very little to do with the marketing ability of the Rugby League, and whilst I'd agree that the sport was transformed, it still hasn't really managed to break out from its heartlands in the North of England and NSW/Queensland.

[iris123 20,935]

I don't think the state of the stadiums has that much effect to be honest.

Yes clean toilets should be a must. As should a safe environment, not crumbling terraces.

However some of my favourite venues are those that have grass banks,

 

The sport needs to attract newcomers, of that there is no question but I doubt many will be tempted by a sparkly new stadium whilst the same old farcical rubbish is shown on TV.

Like i said the traditional fan has grown up with crumbling stadiums.We take it as normal.New fans don't.They are not used to such things and i know from taking someone new to meetings that the state of the toilets(portaloos in one stadium)is a big turn off.Silly rules aren't as it generally takes a newbie a month or two or more before rules really play much of a part and most don't stay that long.If promoters owned their own stadiums they would be their own master and a large number of problems should be easier to solve.At the moment they get what they are given.Race days facilities and a chance to work on the track.....

 

As for King's Lynn i can't say,never having been there.I'd guess it is just in the wrong place anyway.A pretty quiet part of the country that my Aunt + Uncle retired to from London to get away from it all.Well they have a King's Lynn postcode and live in Narborough....

Edited October 19, 2014 by iris123

[uk_martin 1,606]

One of the best letters Ive read in the Speedway Star, couldnt disagree with anything he wrote. Just wonder whether the promotors read and took on board his points because thats what most fans think.

...and now that leaves you with two wishes left... If you believe in fairy godmothers then you can believe that they will all come true as well.

[pandorum 1,259]

.

It's all about impression and if they don't give a toss about the toilets then maybe the rest is pretty poor too.

[SCB 0]

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It's all about impression and if they don't give a toss about the toilets then maybe the rest is pretty poor too.

It's odd. As I'd have said one thing speedway promoters are very good at is taking the piss.

[LionsDen 124]

I was involved in the campaign to get Leicester back and went to each meeting that first year. I spoke with many, many visitors at that time who were either returning after 28 years away from the sport or were simply excited about having another Leicester sporting team to follow and keen to see the sport for themselves.

 

Sadly, so many of those tried it once, or even a few times, and then didn't come back. Even though they compare favourably to some tracks, Leicester's crowds aren't anywhere near what was expected in the original business plan. The most common thing I heard from those people was this... it's boring and not worth the money. Leicester is the perfect example of where a stadium (albeit one comprised of two tented stands and numerous portacabins) was put above the track. That was one reason, the racing was rubbish. The other thing that made it boring and was constantly moaned about were the long delays between the action, especially the endless laps by tractors, something experienced virtually everywhere as we all know.

 

People new to the sport, which is what speedway is crying out for just now, need to be convinced by the spectacle in order to consider spending their money on becoming a regular attendee. To see every stoppage accompanied by returns to the pits, referees who don't bother with using 2 minute warnings, lengthy track grades after every 3/4 heats, and so on. It all combines to make meetings drag on forever. Speedway should be fast, exciting and get the adrenaline flowing. It's capable of that but all too often we're stood around getting bored with nothing to watch other than a tractor going round. Throw in the constant team changes that remove any chance of continuity and affinity with your own team, the double points rule, the guest rule, rider replacement and the constant need to cross things out and re-write half your racecard and it all adds up to a product that simply doesn't attract people in the kind of numbers the sport needs to survive financially.

Surely it's not that difficult for the custodians of our sport to get right these basics, and think about what kind of product they're trying to sell to the wider public, and most of the above can be done without spending the aforementioned vast sums of money on new stadia. Sadly though, that appears to be exactly the case. I for one get extremely frustrated when I hear certain promoters speak utter nonsense in trying to convince the world at large that everything's great at their particular track. They talk the talk but then sit steadfastly on their backsides whilst the sport declines with each passing year as existing fans reduce in number and promoters do nothing to encourage new ones by making speedway meetings something that people want to buy.

Edited October 20, 2014 by LionsDen

[Shale Searcher 1,264]

I was involved in the campaign to get Leicester back and went to each meeting that first year. I spoke with many, many visitors at that time who were either returning after 28 years away from the sport or were simply excited about having another Leicester sporting team to follow and keen to see the sport for themselves.

 

Sadly, so many of those tried it once, or even a few times, and then didn't come back. Even though they compare favourably to some tracks, Leicester's crowds aren't anywhere near what was expected in the original business plan. The most common thing I heard from those people was this... it's boring and not worth the money. Leicester is the perfect example of where a stadium (albeit one comprised of two tented stands and numerous portacabins) was put above the track. That was one reason, the racing was rubbish. The other thing that made it boring and was constantly moaned about were the long delays between the action, especially the endless laps by tractors, something experienced virtually everywhere as we all know.

 

People new to the sport, which is what speedway is crying out for just now, need to be convinced by the spectacle in order to consider spending their money on becoming a regular attendee. To see every stoppage accompanied by returns to the pits, referees who don't bother with using 2 minute warnings, lengthy track grades after every 3/4 heats, and so on. It all combines to make meetings drag on forever. Speedway should be fast, exciting and get the adrenaline flowing. It's capable of that but all too often we're stood around getting bored with nothing to watch other than a tractor going round. Throw in the constant team changes that remove any chance of continuity and affinity with your own team, the double points rule, the guest rule, rider replacement and the constant need to cross things out and re-write half your racecard and it all adds up to a product that simply doesn't attract people in the kind of numbers the sport needs to survive financially.

 

Surely it's not that difficult for the custodians of our sport to get right these basics, and think about what kind of product they're trying to sell to the wider public, and most of the above can be done without spending the aforementioned vast sums of money on new stadia. Sadly though, that appears to be exactly the case. I for one get extremely frustrated when I hear certain promoters speak utter nonsense in trying to convince the world at large that everything's great at their particular track. They talk the talk but then sit steadfastly on their backsides whilst the sport declines with each passing year as existing fans reduce in number and promoters do nothing to encourage new ones by making speedway meetings something that people want to buy.

 

All this clatter about grading, in the "good ole days" see what I did there....

grading by tractor and by rakers was after EVERY race, not after 4,7, 10 and 14!! So grading is not new, just why is it a problem now.......?

[Trees 2,814]

Perhaps the promoters and riders don't make it clear how important grading is?

I'd like to see more in the hope of better racing and less falls which are caused by the build up of material on the outside of tracks/near the kickboards!

Edited October 20, 2014 by Trees

[moxey63 1,785]

Don't think Sky shows enough live grading, to be honest. Remember one meeting at Belle Vue, wait for it, when the tractor actually broke down in the middle of the track. My oh my, how we laughed. Worth the admission alone, even if we missed the last bus home and had to sleep in the depot.