How Do We Attract A New Young Audience?

[E I Addio 15,843]

I asked my brother in law, who likes most sports, why he didn't go anymore after I had generated his interest a bit in Speedwáy. His answer was: " I don't like Speedwáy, it's corrupt ".

 

Unless the question of cheating and even the perception of cheating is addressed I think the sport will always struggle to increase its base of hardcore fans.

Edited December 28, 2015 by E I Addio

[steve roberts 9,242]

I asked my brother in law, who likes most sports, why he didn't go anymore after I had generated his interest a bit in Speedwáy. His answer was: " I don't like Speedwáy, it's corrupt ".

 

Unless the question of cheating and even the perception of cheating is addressed I think the sport will always struggle to increase its base of hardcore fans.

Not quite sure whether I agree with this assumption or not? There was obviously the Sunday People article back in the eighties (which personally I felt was over played) but overall I think that the sport is no worse than others that get prime time coverage. Two that instantly come to mind are cycling and athletics.

Edited December 28, 2015 by steve roberts

[Skid Sprocket 243]

Interesting. Quite a lot of similarities to my 12 year old. And they both like crashes.

 

Also interesting that so far we've had the opinions of 2 young people and both like filling in the scores, which is the thing that Philip and Kelvin think youngsters don't want to do.

Make that 3. We took a friend and her 13 year old son to a meeting and by the 3rd heat he was filling in the scores as though he had done it for years, he thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

 

You cant class all youngsters the same, some will be bored before they get through the gate. Like promoting any event I would think a 30% uptake would be taken as a great success.

[steve roberts 9,242]

Make that 3. We took a friend and her 13 year old son to a meeting and by the 3rd heat he was filling in the scores as though he had done it for years, he thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

 

You cant class all youngsters the same, some will be bored before they get through the gate. Like promoting any event I would think a 30% uptake would be taken as a great success.

Trying to think back to the days when I was a youngster (a long, long time ago!) the thing that grabbed my attention was seeing riders broadsiding (not the usual procedure on a motor bike) and throwing up a combination of dirt and dust...and of course the smell of castrol 'R' Seeing four riders jostling for position at the first bend throwing their back wheels out was, for me, a truly spectacular experience!

[g13webb 4,254]

'How Do We Attract A New Young Audience' a very difficult and serious question, but one which ought to open many others equally important issues...... I think first we should look at the problems of keeping the few supporters we have left. If the sport cant retain those hard core fans of past years, there is no hope of enticing new young blood.

We at Kings Lynn are fortunate to have a Promoter like Buster. He shows the others up when it come to promoting the sport, Since he acquired the ownership of Saddlebow Rd, he has turn it around to one of the best arena in the country. In the past few years alone he has doubled the size of the Grandstand, Built New Clubhouse with state of the art toilets, New offices quarters with patio area. , New VIP areas, with selected seating for sponsors, New Turnstile Areas, New Referee / Timekeeper box, Two new VIP suite raised high for vantage viewing all with high level access from the overhead walkways. The fact he has done wonderful improvements to attract new supporters and also to encourage new sponsors.

I have always travelled to away matches and some of the stadia now are really disappointing. Remember years ago, first going to Brandon, I was in awe of the terrific venue, filled to the rafters. It really made our place look decidingly second rate. How times have changed.

 

Before we can attract new blood we have to be far more professional and Stadium need to be modern and inviting. We have to encourage those fans and sponsors. There will be those who say we only rent the stadium and its not our responsibility . Buts that just a cop-out. A lick of paint and a make-over wouldn't cost the earth but would really make a big difference to the appeal.

 

There's an olde saying: You only reap what you sow.............

Edited December 28, 2015 by GRW123

[Trees 2,814]

Yes, GRW, he has improved the stadium without a doubt but the club doesn't have a great feel about it at the moment, hopefully things will change in 2016 ..... just little but really important stuff for the fans.

[Star Lady 5,400]

GRW, I wonder just how much speedway revenue as opposed to revenue from Bangers and Stocks have contributed to the improvements. I'm not knocking Buster's efforts at all but to put them all down to speedway is very misleading.

 

As Trees says the atmosphere around speedway at Lynn at present is far from good. It could easily be remedied but attitudes of a couple of people need to change fast or it could be too late to get it back to what it was a few short years ago.

[E I Addio 15,843]

Not quite sure whether I agree with this assumption or not? There was obviously the Sunday People article back in the eighties (which personally I felt was over played) but overall I think that the sport is no worse than others that get prime time coverage. Two that instantly come to mind are cycling and athletics.

 

Whether the sport is worse than any others is not the point. We are talking about what deters new fans from coming through the turnstiles. Cycling and Athletics consist mainly of amateur competitors and generally speaking have small crowds except for occasional big meetings, just as Speedwáy gets big crowds at Cardiff.

 

You have said on another thread that you haven't been to a Speedwáy meeting for years so perhaps you are unfamiliar with things that have gone on, but there seems to be controversy in every area from team building to rain offs to the tactical ride. More often than not there has been no actual cheating but things are handled so badly people question the integrity of the sport. When there is cheating the sports controlling body are so limp wristed about enforcing the rules it only leads to more discontent among the fans.

[steve roberts 9,242]

Whether the sport is worse than any others is not the point. We are talking about what deters new fans from coming through the turnstiles. Cycling and Athletics consist mainly of amateur competitors and generally speaking have small crowds except for occasional big meetings, just as Speedwáy gets big crowds at Cardiff.

 

You have said on another thread that you haven't been to a Speedwáy meeting for years so perhaps you are unfamiliar with things that have gone on, but there seems to be controversy in every area from team building to rain offs to the tactical ride. More often than not there has been no actual cheating but things are handled so badly people question the integrity of the sport. When there is cheating the sports controlling body are so limp wristed about enforcing the rules it only leads to more discontent among the fans.

I'd be interested in the views of other contributors regarding this topic? I followed the sport for over thirty years and there was always a certain amount of manipulation regarding the rulebook and/or team strengths (averages) and points being 'bought' and 'favours' asked and given (Malcolm Simmons' and John Berry's most excellent books covers this in some detail) but is it any worse now than it was back in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties when speedway, generally, enjoyed better attendances and, certainly in the seventies, better media coverage? Has the sport become more discredited within the last ten years or so therefore (I stopped attending in 2003)? Have fans become less gullible and, frankly, suspicious of the sport and the people who administer it? As my initial post highlighted other sports (not just cycling and athletics) down the decades have been shown up as being not totally 'squeaky clean' (football, for example, many of us have read of financial 'irregularities' that have led to some clubs having points deducted) but still demand massive coverage by the mass media and interest amongst the general public.

Edited December 29, 2015 by steve roberts

[Daniel Smith 5,658]

I feel I need to address some things here.

 

I can't go along with the below at all. Yes, Buster has transformed the NA from a ramshackle to a tidy venue but still lacks tremendously compared to modern stadia / arenas

 

Toilets - state of the art my fart box. They're cleaned portakabins. Nothing else.

New bar - portakabins

VIP boxes - portakabins

Referees box - portakabin

New turnstiles - no better than the old version, still 2 entrances with guys tearing off stubs as you walk in

Grandstand - We have seats, wow. These are exposed to the elements and for that privilege you're charged an extra £1. Seating should be a given and is inclusive at any venue within the admission charge. In fact, I'd say there's less seating than the old stadium in the 90's. Both either side of the referees box and under cover.

 

In terms of where the Adrian Flux Arena is now compared to stadium expectations, we're maybe at around the early to mid 1990's. We're still 2-3 decades behind being 'state of the art', let's be realistic about that.

 

In fact, during the World Cup (to which my mrs and her friends came along) they still referred to the AFA as "a s#!+ hole".

 

There complaints were the queues for the food outlets and the toilets. Outrageous compared to concert venues at stadiums / arenas they visit every year.

 

I went to Old Trafford a couple of weeks back for the 1st time in about 10-15 years. Not a single queue in sight, dealing with almost 80,000 punters.

 

That is the customer service speedway is up against.

 

'How Do We Attract A New Young Audience' a very difficult and serious question, but one which ought to open many others equally important issues...... I think first we should look at the problems of keeping the few supporters we have left. If the sport cant retain those hard core fans of past years, there is no hope of enticing new young blood.

We at Kings Lynn are fortunate to have a Promoter like Buster. He shows the others up when it come to promoting the sport, Since he acquired the ownership of Saddlebow Rd, he has turn it around to one of the best arena in the country. In the past few years alone he has doubled the size of the Grandstand, Built New Clubhouse with state of the art toilets, New offices quarters with patio area. , New VIP areas, with selected seating for sponsors, New Turnstile Areas, New Referee / Timekeeper box, Two new VIP suite raised high for vantage viewing all with high level access from the overhead walkways. The fact he has done wonderful improvements to attract new supporters and also to encourage new sponsors.

I have always travelled to away matches and some of the stadia now are really disappointing. Remember years ago, first going to Brandon, I was in awe of the terrific venue, filled to the rafters. It really made our place look decidingly second rate. How times have changed.

 

Before we can attract new blood we have to be far more professional and Stadium need to be modern and inviting. We have to encourage those fans and sponsors. There will be those who say we only rent the stadium and its not our responsibility . Buts that just a cop-out. A lick of paint and a make-over wouldn't cost the earth but would really make a big difference to the appeal.

 

There's an olde saying: You only reap what you sow.............

 

[Gemini 4,894]

 

 

.....GRW123........We at Kings Lynn are fortunate to have a Promoter like Buster. He shows the others up when it come to promoting the sport, Since he acquired the ownership of Saddlebow Rd, he has turn it around to one of the best arena in the country. In the past few years alone he has doubled the size of the Grandstand, Built New Clubhouse with state of the art toilets, New offices quarters with patio area. , New VIP areas, with selected seating for sponsors, New Turnstile Areas, New Referee / Timekeeper box, Two new VIP suite raised high for vantage viewing all with high level access from the overhead walkways. The fact he has done wonderful improvements to attract new supporters and also to encourage new sponsors.

 

If I was a regular at Kings Lynn the one thing I would want before any of the above is some sort of screen built so no 'sun breaks' were needed. At the Coventry match it was ten past eight before the riders came out for the first race so we were standing around in the cold waiting for 40 minutes and yes it was cold in spite of the sun as there was a biting wind. Sorry but I couldn't regularly put up with that and it was enough to put me off going again.

[g13webb 4,254]

Well, it seems there are many, who are far from happy with the post I wrote. Thankfully we are not all of the same opinion. ('TREES No.171') goes on about the feel of the place, while ('STAR LADY No.172') questions the source of the money. The feel has to come from within and the fans and supporter have to play their part as well. We have been unfortunate in both of the last two years when injuries took a massive toll. we have to remember that. As for the finance, whether it came from Speedway, Football, Stockcar is irrelevant. The fact is Buster choose to plough it into the stadium in the hope of making it more attractive and that it will attract more people, hoping they appreciate the more Up-Market facilities.

 

(SCREAMER No 175) makes some ridiculous comments. Comparing AFA with Old Trafford are about extreme as one can get. The costs and Numbers are at each end of the scale and no one with any sense could ever contemplate a comparison. The question was originally about attracting young blood to the sport, of which I asked the question about the ability to keep those fans have. If you want to compare the AFA to comparable venues, I suggest to go to away meetings and see some of the others. You rubbish the installations as just 'Portakabins' but the improvement is noted by many if not you. The cost and application is regarded as modern and many houses are today made that way. In life you meet some people who can never be pleased. I reckon you must be one of those.

 

(GEMINI No 176) I agree with your posting and yes it represents a big problem. The screen as you suggest has been looked into and the size of it is the main issue. No way could one be mounted as a permanent fixture the height would be horrendous . Other options like two cranes holding a sheet and gradually lowered was another option considered but it would take away most of the pit area. It appears that over the years the course of the sun has gradually moved, this coinciding with the demolishing of buildings and trees in the distance.......Rest assured the problem is uppermost for the promoters to resolve.

 

Finally, the bottom line of my original post about 'You reap what you sow'' does not just apply to Speedway Promoters, it applies to us all , in whatever walk of life, each is at.

[Shale Searcher 1,264]

Yes, I'm sure the sun breaks didn't exist in the 1970's and 1980's because of structures that have since been demolished. Don't know the answer to this one, it's a big problem at our track (Leicester) Again, what's the answer? I don't know, if you planted semi-mature trees such as Leylandi, they still would not grow to a usable height within the next 5 to 10 yrs, maybe not even 15 years.. high fencing would have to be massive, and would no doubt get vandalised or burnt down, or the wind would uproot it!!!

It's the massive change from blinding sun to darkness in under a second which is the main problem, even me at amateur level noticed it, and its very unnerving, and dangerous. Tinted goggles can't react quick enough, either way.... bright to dark and back again.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Shale Searcher

[Stoke Potter 242]

Wouldn't it be true to say that the sport has been on a long slow decline since the Sunday People article in the 80's?

And was that also the last time the sport got any significant, sustained mass-media coverage?

The corruption high-lighted in the Sunday People may not have been the start of the sport's decline but it's probably fair to say it hastened the demise and is an event the sport has never really managed to recover from.

[OGT 612]

" How do we attract younger audience".... Basically, it's too late in my opinion. Too many opportunities in recent years to change the sport and propel it forward have gone unchallenged. Until promoters sign up to a single business idea, stick to it and sell it to it's audience. An idea that images the kind of changes that happened back in the late sixties. Changes that make it attractive to 6 years olds.

 

Speedway = "Meccano".... it needs to be like "Lego".

 

 

As a 40 year fan of speedway I think unfortunately the end is nigh and it's too late for Speedway in the UK. After dabbling at a semi pro level I turned my hand to sponsorship manangement with various riders. Then into the music at various tracks and finally presenting. I was also involved in the hugely popular BIKERfm Speedway Show which whilst I was involved was getting a peak listenership of approx 20,000 listeners each week because it was edgy and dared to go where others wouldn't. But the show was seen as a threat by the powers that be and they did everything they could to mess it up. The only way to in my opinion to bring back the crowds in the UK would be a huge cash injection, sell it as a dangerous sport, stage manage it in respect to entertainment but not results a bit like wrestling, and a global brand sponsor. But I know unfortunately that none of this will ever happen. I attended one meeting in 2015 compared to a usual 100+ and in 2016 the only match I will go to is Coventry's last home meeting if it really is their final season. When die hards like myself give up who have it in their blood what hope is there of capturing new recruits. Enjoy it while you can and best wishes to everyone for 2016.

These are good points. Many fans (me included) have drifted away from speedway over the years and maybe the "powers that be" need to address this issue just as much as attracting new supporters, after all, at least they loved the sport once in the first place.