A Season And A Half...

[G the Bee 639]

I hold a season ticket at Brandon most years. I didn't get one this year, but you'll be able to count the amount of home meetings I'll miss on one hand. I've been going to Brandon since I was 2. I'm 39 this year.

 

And...

 

I'm sick and tired of it. Tired of the collective group of promoters, riders and other stakeholders who, together, seem determined, with every week that passes, to drive another nail into the proverbial coffin of what was once a great sport.

 

We can debate the rights and wrongs of what happened at Coventry tonight until the cows come home. But the fact is, this is happening too often. Meetings starting with a determination to get to heat 10 then pack up. Teams involved in gamesmanship trying to get meetings called of or continued when it's raining depending on whether they are winning or not.

 

If there is a genuine doubt that the meeting cannot get to heat 15 - the amount of heats the paying supporter pays to see - then the meeting should not start. The thought should not be 'I reckon if we get a shift on, we can get to heat 10 and then call it off'. Tonight there was not a chance of this meeting getting through to heat 15. It was always going to descend into a farce.

 

If the time-scales we were told last season are kept to, then we have another season and a half at Brandon before the stadium is closed. I think it's fair to say that the chances of Bees having a new home to move into for the start of the following season are slim.

 

And do you know what. When the 'closed' signs go up at Brandon, I'll walk away from a dying sport with a sense of relief... And I doubt I'll give domestic speedway a second thought.

Edited June 1, 2015 by G the Bee

[bruno 1,790]

A very sad and honest post but very true

[Crazy robin 2,963]

I hold a season ticket at Brandon most years. I didn't get one this year, but you'll be able to count the amount of home meetings I'll miss on one hand. I've been going to Brandon since I was 2. I'm 39 this year.

 

And...

 

I'm sick and tired of it. Tired of the collective group of promoters, riders and other stakeholders who, together, seem determined, with every week that passes, to drive another nail into the proverbial coffin of what was once a great sport.

 

We can debate the rights and wrongs of what happened at Coventry tonight until the cows come home. But the fact is, this is happening too often. Meetings starting with a determination to get to heat 10 then pack up. Teams involved in gamesmanship trying to get meetings called of or continued when it's raining depending on whether they are winning or not.

 

If there is a genuine doubt that the meeting cannot get to heat 15 - the amount of heats the paying supporter pays to see - then the meeting should not start. The thought should not be 'I reckon if we get a shift on, we can get to heat 10 and then call it off'. Tonight there was not a chance of this meeting getting through to heat 15. It was always going to descend into a farce.

 

If the time-scales we were told last season are kept to, then we have another season and a half at Brandon before the stadium is closed. I think it's fair to say that the chances of Bees having a new home to move into for the start of the following season are slim.

 

And do you know what. When the 'closed' signs go up at Brandon, I'll walk away from a dying sport with a sense of relief... And I doubt I'll give domestic speedway a second thought.

Well put😀

[mdmc82 2,878]

A lot of people over reacting to a bad night.

 

The problem cannot be resolved because the powers that be are far too selfish. They don't care about the product on display because they already get paid a hell of a lot more than I ever will! If a meeting reaches a conclusion then GSI get paid and that's all that matters to them. If British speedway goes down the tubes tomorrow they will still be very well off men. They couldn't give a s**t. If they did, they wouldn't treat the fans like this.

 

Name a problem in British speedway, and 9 times out of 10 that will be the root cause.

You may think people are "over reacting" Arya but if you had been at the meeting then I'm sure you would have a very different view. It's hard to get the full picture watching it at home. The rain was pouring and the wind was gale force

Was the worst conditions I have seen riders race in.

[mdmc82 2,878]

 

And what did you expect? The precedent was set a long time ago and for as long as fans keep tuning in and turning up then nothing will ever change.

 

This outcome was obvious from this morning.

 

The fact of the matter is speedway in this country is dying and the only people with the power to fix it simply don't want to. They want their money and that's it.

I have seen meetings called off for a lot less than this. Tonight was shocking with little concern for riders safety 😞

[woofers 467]

I understand all the points being made above, it is difficult not to agree with them, but......from what I have seen in the last 6 months it's Elite League speedway that has a problem.

I support Eastbourne. Not the most popular club on here I know.

When they quit the Elite League last year I was disappointed.

However I thought that some speedway is better than no speedway, so I went along to see the National League.

What a revalation - close racing, no prima donnas or theatrics, just young men wanting to race and keen to get on with it. Sure, the skill levels are different but there is more passing and excitement than any recent Elite meeting.

Don't walk away from speedway .... give the Premier or National League your support when you tire of the Elite circus.

[INCOGNITO 357]

It would be very interesting to hear what Barry Hearn would do with the sport as he has bought back sports from the brink of death and Speedway in Britain at the top level is struggling to survive as it is.

 

 

Get an independent review done and a panel of experts and fans to debate with the promoters at the end of the season to try and keep it alive or shut it down and concentrate on lower level racing on or off TV

[Humphrey Appleby 13,953]

 

Call a spade a spade. British speedway is run by the minority who hold the power (money), who care only about their personal wellbeing and financial gain, whether it's legal, illegal or detrimental to the sport.

 

I don't think most promoters would get into speedway for their personal wellbeing, nor financial gain. The sport might be run in a totally amateurish fashion, but why anyone would want to promote speedway in return for a load of grief is quite beyond me.

[Game On 1,117]

 

I didn't say anything about the promoters. It's not the promoters who are destroying the sport and stealing from the fans.

Well if that was the case we should be getting a refund for last night.

[jenga 2,998]

forgive my ignorance if this has been mentioned before but, if the meeting does/cannot run its full course. then the points awarded should reflect on the number of heat run ( 10 ) before the cancellation of the meeting. i for one don't think its right that poole were awarded the full 4 points for a 10 heat meeting.

 

i would have thought the points should reflect the heats raced. why not have it , say 00.35 for every race completed IF the meeting does not run its course.

 

poole were very happy to go out in heats 9/10 knowing they had already had 4 points in the bag due to door handle head havelock instructing his riders not to ride.

every heat result should be looked at and awarded a % of the points. therefore not allowing the full points on offer to the winning team when the meeting is called off. this rule will give poole say, 2 points for the win and coventry 0.( because of the eventual point difference between the 2 teams ) and not the full 3/4 points on offer if the meeting had run its course.

 

i can see both sides of the coin and havvy trying to get the meeting off and middle witch trying to carry on..

 

can see this meeting call off last night having a reduction in the attendance for the following week. a lot of fans are down at least twenty quid after last nights meet. cant be a lot of room left in that coffin lid...

[Humphrey Appleby 13,953]

It's not the promoters who are destroying the sport and stealing from the fans.

Who is this minority getting rich from speedway then?

Edited June 2, 2015 by Humphrey Appleby

[SCB 0]

Who is this minority getting rich from speedway then?

Engine tuners. They add nothing to the sport either.

[John44 3]

I hold a season ticket at Brandon most years. I didn't get one this year, but you'll be able to count the amount of home meetings I'll miss on one hand. I've been going to Brandon since I was 2. I'm 39 this year.

 

And...

 

I'm sick and tired of it. Tired of the collective group of promoters, riders and other stakeholders who, together, seem determined, with every week that passes, to drive another nail into the proverbial coffin of what was once a great sport.

 

We can debate the rights and wrongs of what happened at Coventry tonight until the cows come home. But the fact is, this is happening too often. Meetings starting with a determination to get to heat 10 then pack up. Teams involved in gamesmanship trying to get meetings called of or continued when it's raining depending on whether they are winning or not.

 

If there is a genuine doubt that the meeting cannot get to heat 15 - the amount of heats the paying supporter pays to see - then the meeting should not start. The thought should not be 'I reckon if we get a shift on, we can get to heat 10 and then call it off'. Tonight there was not a chance of this meeting getting through to heat 15. It was always going to descend into a farce.

 

If the time-scales we were told last season are kept to, then we have another season and a half at Brandon before the stadium is closed. I think it's fair to say that the chances of Bees having a new home to move into for the start of the following season are slim.

 

And do you know what. When the 'closed' signs go up at Brandon, I'll walk away from a dying sport with a sense of relief... And I doubt I'll give domestic speedway a second thought.

 

 

 

I started going to Hyde Rd in 1973 as a 10 year old. I had a season ticket for a few years with the last one being 2013. I have not been to a meeting since 'that night' against Poole, another 10 heat meeting. Sad thing is though after 40 years of going to Belle Vue I can honestly say im not really missing it.

[Skidder1 7,634]

 

The company who's bank account Sky deposit the money in to after every match. You can bet only a small fraction of that money makes its way to the club

When Sky sponsored the EL (they don't now), monies were paid to the BSPA who released it to the clubs periodically through the season.

 

Not sure if it works the same way with money only for TV meetings?

[steven101 103]

Do not give up on speedway, do give up on the elite league the only thing it has now is the names and they dont make great racing, as someone said, down at eastbourne it is 100 times better than ever. I think you should go along to a birmingham or cradley home match and see the difference, you will fall in love with speedway all over again i promise you because i did, now i try to follow the eagles away as much as i can and it is so enjoyable, during the elite days i never even wanted to as it didnt interest me that much but now theres nothing id rather do.