cowboy cookie returns? 747 Posted April 6, 2017 Hi First off sorry I'm sure this has been asked & covered many times however I will ask the question. My first season of watching speedway was 1989 so I missed the golden years of the early 1980's. However being off work for a few weeks I have found some of the racing from the late 1970's & early to mid 1980's interesting to watch. One of the big things that struck me was the amount of movement at the starts this I think seems to add something to proceedings. However the question is having just watched the complete 1981 World Final from Wembley how did the sport in the Uk go from 93500 people packed into Wembley to its present state? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted April 7, 2017 For one reason, we had riders like Bruce Penhall. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted April 7, 2017 Difficult to know where to start really! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted April 7, 2017 Tbf we still get close to 40,000 at Cardiff, and that does not reflect back to league racing. So whilst there was 90,000 plus, how many of them went weekly to their local team. I honestly feel if we had a world championship level meeting in one of Londons big stadiums it would be close to a sell out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shrimmy 143 Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) Tbf we still get close to 40,000 at Cardiff, and that does not reflect back to league racing. So whilst there was 90,000 plus, how many of them went weekly to their local team. I honestly feel if we had a world championship level meeting in one of Londons big stadiums it would be close to a sell out. Haha...really Edited April 7, 2017 by Shrimmy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucifer sam 3,953 Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) Hi First off sorry I'm sure this has been asked & covered many times however I will ask the question. My first season of watching speedway was 1989 so I missed the golden years of the early 1980's. However being off work for a few weeks I have found some of the racing from the late 1970's & early to mid 1980's interesting to watch. One of the big things that struck me was the amount of movement at the starts this I think seems to add something to proceedings. However the question is having just watched the complete 1981 World Final from Wembley how did the sport in the Uk go from 93500 people packed into Wembley to its present state? There were actually around 70,000 of us at Wembley in 1981 - it wasn't a sell-out. Certainly not 93,500 - that was above the capacity of the stadium at the time No final after 1952 was a complete sell-out. But yes, the sport has shifted back a couple of gears since 1981. All the best Rob Edited April 7, 2017 by lucifer sam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waytogo28 2,054 Posted April 7, 2017 What went wrong is that over the last twenty years or so the majority of promoters have adopted a head in the sand attitude and never ever thought about developing the sport in the way that fans wanted to see it being run. I heard in the past that a number of promoters said " we have always done it like that and that's OK". Clearly it is not if nearly all tracks are slipping towards average crowds in three figures and not four! What is on sale regularly now is 5 mins of thrilling passing ( if you are lucky i.e. five heats ) 10 mins of processional heats - all taking two to three hours to happen. No mystery about why few new fans are attracted and retained. Modern bikes make the first away, wins an even more of a certainty. If the BSPA want the sport to survive in some professional form they need to listen to and respond to fan's feedback. I can hear Roy Orbison singing THAT song - " It's Over". 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted April 7, 2017 There were actually around 70,000 of us at Wembley in 1981 - it wasn't a sell-out. Certainly not 93,500 - that was above the capacity of the stadium at the time No final after 1952 was a complete sell-out. But yes, the sport has shifted back a couple of gears since 1981. All the best Rob Does anyone know the actual Gate at the 1972 World Final please. Just out of intertest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucifer sam 3,953 Posted April 7, 2017 Does anyone know the actual Gate at the 1972 World Final please. Just out of intertest. It's around the 70,000 mark for the majority of the latter finals. I think 1978 was the largest - that was not far from capacity. I'm trying to recall where the article about it was... It was quite interesting that only four post-war finals (1949-1952) were complete sell-outs. All the best Rob 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted April 7, 2017 It's around the 70,000 mark for the majority of the latter finals. I think 1978 was the largest - that was not far from capacity. I'm trying to recall where the article about it was... It was quite interesting that only four post-war finals (1949-1952) were complete sell-outs. All the best Rob Cheers Rob. :approve: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCB 0 Posted April 7, 2017 The sport refused to evolve and when it did the old folk cried, "but its always been done like that, we don't like change" so they reverted back to the old way. Then they wondered why the sport had started dying whne it had done nothing in terms of presentation to drag it along to modern times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruffdiamond 6,115 Posted April 7, 2017 For one reason, we had riders like Bruce Penhall. have to agree, he definitely put me off speedway a bit 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martinmauger 584 Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) Nutshell: each time speedway shoots itself in the foot it loses people, often never to return; newbies and eventually the die-hards. One example (name delated) a club opened to a crowd of near 9,000 but various fall- outs, late meeting call offs, electrical failures, meets cancelled late, 'rain offs' on sunny days, people admitted on wet nites then "sorry folk, but the weather has beaten us" - newbies don't get the 'readmission after 9 heats or whatever' rule, etc, etc. Well eventually the club ends up performing before 600 people. OK, the afore-mentioned situations can occur any time but in real terms the club in question (name still deleted) 'lost' over 8,000 in 20 years or so. The answer: I'd be rich beyond my wildest dreams if I knew it. Just my 2p worth.... Edited April 7, 2017 by Martin Mauger 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Starman2006 2,354 Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) There were actually around 70,000 of us at Wembley in 1981 - it wasn't a sell-out. Certainly not 93,500 - that was above the capacity of the stadium at the time No final after 1952 was a complete sell-out. But yes, the sport has shifted back a couple of gears since 1981. All the best Rob A couple of gears, its almost in reverse.. Edited April 7, 2017 by Starman2006 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted April 7, 2017 The sport refused to evolve and when it did the old folk cried, "but its always been done like that, we don't like change" so they reverted back to the old way. Then they wondered why the sport had started dying whne it had done nothing in terms of presentation to drag it along to modern times. To be fair, 'old folk' (like me) were not keen on dirt deflectors, laid down engines, the GP world championship system, but they happened and still speedway struggles. What changes has speedway tried to implement, but reverted back to the 'old ways'? (Scratching my head!) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
