Cardiff Saturday 9th July 2016

[speedibee 3,091]

The Olympic stadium hasn't been given away to a football club they are merely tennants for the next 100 years for X amount of days per year and thus are treated as such, London is where the big business is at and I feel that Speedway needs to be there to have a big positive impact on the sport here.

 

Maybe they could retain Cardiff as a European round?

 

The Olympic stadium hasn't been given away to a football club they are merely tennants for the next 100 years for X amount of days per year and thus are treated as such, London is where the big business is at and I feel that Speedway needs to be there to have a big positive impact on the sport here.

 

Maybe they could retain Cardiff as a European round?

yes and what you would find .is people will still go to cardiff and London will be played in front of about 5,000 . Have you ever been to Cardiff ?

[Seymour Dix 1,997]

We have speedway in one of the World's greatest Stadiums, the meeting cannot be rained off, there are loads of bars, resturants etc in the City Centre, The Stadium is an easy walk from the main Railway Station - the racing is always enjoyable. It's a magnificent occasion , and still people moan !!! I dont get it.

[speedibee 3,091]

 

 

THE roof just isn't about the weather. Being able to darken the stadium in the middle of a summer's ( ) day helps massively with the pre-meeting parade, fireworks, atmosphere, etc.

and its a guarantee that the meeting will go ahead . so no fears about travelling to a rainoff . or having to cancel flights because of re-stages . speedway has been treated well by the owners and by Cardiff . unlike it ever was in London .

 

 

 

We have speedway in one of the World's greatest Stadiums, the meeting cannot be rained off, there are loads of bars, resturants etc in the City Centre, The Stadium is an easy walk from the main Railway Station - the racing is always enjoyable. It's a magnificent occasion , and still people moan !!! I dont get it.

Only 1 plonker moaning . everyone else is more than happy . can't get rained off , of course not it's not Gelsenkirken :lol:

[New Science 1,059]

One of the best GPs and people still find reason to moan. Having been around Cardiff all weekend, I still think its by far the best GP on the circuit for the fans. The stadium is bang in the city centre, the atmosphere is superb all the weekend because the majority of the fans/riders/officials congregate in the same bars and restaurants over the weekend. The stadium has a roof so we don't have to worry the weather.

League speedway is dying in this country and I think if the GP was taken away from Cardiff to London it would be fatal for the sport. Alongside the fact that Wembley and the Olympic Stadium is miles outside central London so the weekend would be poorer as a result these stadiums have no roof.

You only have to look at what happened at Gothenburg to realise how damaging one bad meeting could be, I very much doubt you would have as many fans paying hundreds of pounds to travel to one of these GPs with lack of facilities for fans and the potential of a rain off.

Totally agree, Cardiff takes some beating as a venue for the British SGP. Having done Stockholm there was no evidence in the city centre that a GP was in town,not the case in Cardiff. In Stockholm similar to London you would have to take a train miles away from the city centre. Cardiff may not be perfect for everyone to get to but where is,might get a few more from overseas in London, but a lack of roof cancels that as advance ticket sales would be hit. Cardiff is a great city with all the attractions but small enough to feel like an event in a small town ,keep it there. Only downside is lack of hotels which inflates the cost of those that are there. Not sure if there is any way round that as its supply and demand and there are plenty who are prepared to pay the price on offer

Edited July 11, 2016 by New Science

[Christopher Bcmma Cook 33]

Who is the plonker moaning?

[racers and royals 8,723]

 

Yes there will always be casual supporters, but most sports like to arrange their premier event to be held at a FULL stadium, not a half-full one. About time speedway sorted out its aspirations. The problem is that many of us have still got that 1970's soundbyte in our heads that speedway is the second biggest spectator sport in the country. It might have been when we first heard it as kids but it no longers applies today, and we need to get realistic. The SGP needs to be in a stadium that can be filled, and if that means downsizing to a smaller venue then so be it.

I`m sorry but I just can`t agree with you- the GP series now is in some great stadiums in some great cities- Melbourne, Stockholm, Cardiff , Warsaw and Prague. These are big stadiums(apart from Prague) and the GP attendances are on the rise again. Despite what other people have said I thought this year`s Cardiff attendance was the biggest I`ve seen for many a year. I like you love Polish speedway but I have been to GP`S in Poland at all these tracks where there have been many seats unsold- Leszno, Bydgoszcz, Gorzow and Torun.

Edited July 11, 2016 by racers and royals

[SCB 0]

I don't like Tai he has a tattoo, I dont like Tai he has piercings, I don't like Tai he raced the car around the track, I don't like Tai he swore.

 

Christ people, get over it! They are, IMO, the things going for Tai. He's a bad boy, a rebel and pretty "cool" to young people. So a load of 50+ speedway fans think he's naughty and should be punished etc. Thats why speedway is dying on it's arse. Speedway needs to get over this "lovely" imagine it try to portray. Get with the dirty, loud and BAD. It's a high adrenaline, dangerous sport FFS.

 

Anyway, bets Cardiff every in terms of racing. Many good heats. I love the whole day, meeting up with so many friends, a few drinks and then a good speedway meeting. Can't wait for next year.

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

No disrespect to Wales & Cardiff

 

However, The British GP needs to be taken to the Olympic Stadium in London for the sport to progress in the future in the UK, so it has a 60,000 capacity with retractable seating to allow a running track, unsure what would be lost capacity wise but you could end up with 40-50,000 seats being filled.

NO way ... for all the reasons spouted on too numerous occasions and specifically the lack of a roof which ensures against the weather and also helps create the atmosphere so vital for a speedway event like the British GP.

Edited July 11, 2016 by PHILIPRISING

[Shadders 4,134]

Yes there will always be casual supporters, but most sports like to arrange their premier event to be held at a FULL stadium, not a half-full one. About time speedway sorted out its aspirations. The problem is that many of us have still got that 1970's soundbyte in our heads that speedway is the second biggest spectator sport in the country. It might have been when we first heard it as kids but it no longers applies today, and we need to get realistic. The SGP needs to be in a stadium that can be filled, and if that means downsizing to a smaller venue then so be it.

If that's the case then they'll lose me. The Cardiff GP is about the social side as well as the speedway. Walking around the city bumping into old friends and acquaintances in the numerous bars, cafes and restaurants is a huge part of the Cardiff experience. I can't think of a better location more suited to the social side of speedway. How many speedway tracks can offer that, not to mention all the hotels, guest houses and student digs a few minutes walk away.

[tyke 275]

If that's the case then they'll lose me. The Cardiff GP is about the social side as well as the speedway. Walking around the city bumping into old friends and acquaintances in the numerous bars, cafes and restaurants is a huge part of the Cardiff experience. I can't think of a better location more suited to the social side of speedway. How many speedway tracks can offer that, not to mention all the hotels, guest houses and student digs a few minutes walk away.

Couldn't agree more

[Shadders 4,134]

I don't like Tai he has a tattoo, I dont like Tai he has piercings, I don't like Tai he raced the car around the track, I don't like Tai he swore.

 

Christ people, get over it! They are, IMO, the things going for Tai. He's a bad boy, a rebel and pretty "cool" to young people. So a load of 50+ speedway fans think he's naughty and should be punished etc. Thats why speedway is dying on it's arse. Speedway needs to get over this "lovely" imagine it try to portray. Get with the dirty, loud and BAD. It's a high adrenaline, dangerous sport FFS.

 

Anyway, bets Cardiff every in terms of racing. Many good heats. I love the whole day, meeting up with so many friends, a few drinks and then a good speedway meeting. Can't wait for next year.

People moan about the lack of personalities in modern speedway. He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but he's box office. The sport needs more like him

[pointsmeanplayoffs 417]

I don't like Tai he has a tattoo, I dont like Tai he has piercings, I don't like Tai he raced the car around the track, I don't like Tai he swore.

 

Christ people, get over it! They are, IMO, the things going for Tai. He's a bad boy, a rebel and pretty "cool" to young people. So a load of 50+ speedway fans think he's naughty and should be punished etc. Thats why speedway is dying on it's arse. Speedway needs to get over this "lovely" imagine it try to portray. Get with the dirty, loud and BAD. It's a high adrenaline, dangerous sport FFS.

 

Anyway, bets Cardiff every in terms of racing. Many good heats. I love the whole day, meeting up with so many friends, a few drinks and then a good speedway meeting. Can't wait for next year.

Hit the nail on the head.

 

You think Monster Energy disapprove of Tai's 'antics'?!? I bet they love it!

[thrillpool 67]

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Cardiff and there's no way would I support a move away from the Welsh capital.

It was a great event and I was able to meet fellow speedway fans from all over the world including Swindon, Coventry and King's Lynn.

The only downside to the weekend was when I inadvertently found myself in the Fantasy Lounge, a new Gentleman's Club on St Mary Street. Apart from being charged £75 to have a young Latvian girl called Ludmila sit with me for five minutes, my advice to anyone thinking of going in there next year...don't take an inflatable leek in with you, they'll only use it as a prop.

[speedibee 3,091]

If that's the case then they'll lose me. The Cardiff GP is about the social side as well as the speedway. Walking around the city bumping into old friends and acquaintances in the numerous bars, cafes and restaurants is a huge part of the Cardiff experience. I can't think of a better location more suited to the social side of speedway. How many speedway tracks can offer that, not to mention all the hotels, guest houses and student digs a few minutes walk away.

 

If that's the case then they'll lose me. The Cardiff GP is about the social side as well as the speedway. Walking around the city bumping into old friends and acquaintances in the numerous bars, cafes and restaurants is a huge part of the Cardiff experience. I can't think of a better location more suited to the social side of speedway. How many speedway tracks can offer that, not to mention all the hotels, guest houses and student digs a few minutes walk away.

how do you find and book Student Digs . I have heard of this but never could find any details

[rusky 113]

Totally agree, Cardiff takes some beating as a venue for the British SGP. Having done Stockholm there was no evidence in the city centre that a GP was in town,not the case in Cardiff. In Stockholm similar to London you would have to take a train miles away from the city centre. Cardiff may not be perfect for everyone to get to but where is,might get a few more from overseas in London, but a lack of roof cancels that as advance ticket sales would be hit. Cardiff is a great city with all the attractions but small enough to feel like an event in a small town ,keep it there. Only downside is lack of hotels which inflates the cost of those that are there. Not sure if there is any way round that as its supply and demand and there are plenty who are prepared to pay the price on offer

Certainly in 2015 there were numerous posters in Stockholm City Centre on the Saturday, with many around Central Station. However, by the Sunday they were all down and replaced with poster for a concert....

 

Remember that in Stockholm the big shopping Mall next door is open now, and that will add an extra dimension