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PHILIPRISING

THINGS DON'T CHANGE

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2 hours ago, mikebv said:

I remember watching an old Speedway video from around the early 80's (1982?),  cant remember which track but they showed the turnstiles with people queuing up and Adult entrance was £3.00...

If it was 1982, that £3.00 entrance fee is now worth £7.40, (not Eighteen quid)....

Not an exact comparison and only one ticket for around the year in question, which was an FA Cup Semi Final ticket for Villa Park in 1984, @ £4.00. So as you can see, especially when you look at the cost of football today, the cost of sporting entertainment, isn't bound by the Retail Prices Index.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/gallery/2015/feb/17/football-ticket-prices-old-ticket-stubs

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12 hours ago, uk_martin said:

Not an exact comparison and only one ticket for around the year in question, which was an FA Cup Semi Final ticket for Villa Park in 1984, @ £4.00. So as you can see, especially when you look at the cost of football today, the cost of sporting entertainment, isn't bound by the Retail Prices Index.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/gallery/2015/feb/17/football-ticket-prices-old-ticket-stubs

Certain Sporting entertainment....

Like everything else you can purchase, 'supply and demand' will play a huge part on the development of a 'price point'...

Football (at Premier League level) appears to be 'bomb proof' due to all the TV money and coverage creating huge public interest.  Which in turn garners enormous Sponsorship from global brands..  

Domestic Rugby Union has dragged itself from being on TV on a Sunday with an hours highlights, (sometimes playing on pitches with one stand and a rope running around the other three sides for the supporters to stand behind) in the Seventies and early Eighties, to become the second highest attended Sport in the Country, played out in modern fit for purpose stadia. Again now attracting global brand Sponsorship..

Both Sports can now charge inflation busting admission fees because...

Well, simply..

They can!!...

Speedway sadly cannot as quite clearly and evidently, the demand blatantly isn't there..

If it cannot cut its costs to be able to significantly cut its current 'price point' then it has major, major problems going forward, as an ever dwindling fan base means even higher admission costs for those who still attend, all to just (at best) 'stand still'....

And for the past 30 odd years we have seen how successful that policy has turned out, hence we are pretty much now on the 'Speedway tipping point'...

Edited by mikebv

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If it was cheaper..do you think more people would go???? I'm not sure they would...not in enough numbers to counter act the price drop...those that rent stadiums won't see their rent go down to compensate lower admission prices...and would lower admission prices make the sport any more appealing and cooler????  again..I don't really think so. The whole thing needs completely re branding to create a new and different audience to the one it attracts now.....and even that may not be enough...but maybe just maybe it might.

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On 03/01/2018 at 10:30 AM, PHILIPRISING said:

WROTE the following in an edition of Speedway Star in June 1981. Could have repeated it every year since including the present one.

SPEEDWAY in this country is facing a crisis which threatens the foundations on which the sport is built. Unless something is done to stop the squabbling, the wastage of money, bending of the rules and, in some cases, blatant breaking of regulations, speedway will lose even the support of the hard core of fans.

Vast numbers of followers are becoming disenchanted either with the way speedway is run or by the attitude of riders who seem prepared to bite the hand that feeds them.

Any rider who doesn't fulfil his commitments is cheating the public. It is as simple as that. Speedway has got itself into such a mess with foreign riders that there is no easy way out. But a remedy must be found.

First, however, the promoters who run league speedway in this country must put their own house in order. Speedway desperately needs a clearly defined set of regulations which are strictly adhered to without exception. The rulebook as it is at present is bent, manipulated, rewritten, ignored or changed at will. That cannot continue.

Sadly, it seems it has.

 

 

 

How have attendances varied since then? Things definitely do change. Thing's have got consistently worse for years.

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1 hour ago, mikebv said:

Certain Sporting entertainment....

Like everything else you can purchase, 'supply and demand' will play a huge part on the development of a 'price point'...

Football (at Premier League level) appears to be 'bomb proof' due to all the TV money and coverage creating huge public interest.  Which in turn garners enormous Sponsorship from global brands..  

Domestic Rugby Union has dragged itself from being on TV on a Sunday with an hours highlights, (sometimes playing on pitches with one stand and a rope running around the other three sides for the supporters to stand behind) in the Seventies and early Eighties, to become the second highest attended Sport in the Country, played out in modern fit for purpose stadia. Again now attracting global brand Sponsorship..

Both Sports can now charge inflation busting admission fees because...

Well, simply..

They can!!...

Speedway sadly cannot as quite clearly and evidently, the demand blatantly isn't there..

If it cannot cut its costs to be able to significantly cut its current 'price point' then it has major, major problems going forward, as an ever dwindling fan base means even higher admission costs for those who still attend, all to just (at best) 'stand still'....

And for the past 30 odd years we have seen how successful that policy has turned out, hence we are pretty much now on the 'Speedway tipping point'...

I tried to argue a while back that the price point was around 10/12 pds, similar to non league football below national league level 

similar cowd levels but they dont fly footballers all over Europe

The price point is more or less fixed by what the market will pay, its costs that you have more control over.

I suggest we start there. In fact there's nwhere else to start

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1 hour ago, Baldyman said:

If it was cheaper..do you think more people would go???? I'm not sure they would...not in enough numbers to counter act the price drop...those that rent stadiums won't see their rent go down to compensate lower admission prices...and would lower admission prices make the sport any more appealing and cooler????  again..I don't really think so. The whole thing needs completely re branding to create a new and different audience to the one it attracts now.....and even that may not be enough...but maybe just maybe it might.

Certainly is a misconception thinking that half the price, means twice the attendance and that's only to stand still income wise. It 'would' give a better atmosphere and 'may; lead to even greater numbers, but would and may doesn't make it work.

It has been tried many times before and failed. I remember years ago, a bus company I think in either Nottingham or Leicester halved the fares, and saw no rise in numbers using the buses, and quickly reverted back to the original fare before they hit financial ruin.

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I think it was mikebv that posted... one promoter telling him that SKY money helped pay for his number one rider. And these people are still in charge of running the sport.

What should be a £10 night out has tried to price itself alongside football, even the programme charges. Alongside admission costs, proggies added on top could be stopping once-regular fans from attending. Crowds dwindle, admission costs rise, just to pay for that rider that the SKY money used to supplement.

Would much of that number one rider's costs go out on engine tuners? If so... more money going out of the sport. It isn't formula one.     

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2 hours ago, Baldyman said:

If it was cheaper..do you think more people would go???? 

We will find out at Birmingham this year.

They have re-introduced concessionary admission for the over 60's. As this will account for about 90% of the fan base, that will be as near to a universal price cut as you will get...so hold your breaths, and wait and see. If all goes well, there'll be loads more pensioners on the terraces, and the influx in numbers will justify an elevation of the Brummies to the Championship next year...perhaps?

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More pensioners.....just what the sport is crying out for.   Maybe they can get Tena and some funeral services to become sponsors

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5 hours ago, Baldyman said:

More pensioners.....just what the sport is crying out for.   Maybe they can get Tena and some funeral services to become sponsors

One of the most pathetic comments I have seen on here and thats saying something. Seems to me the older generation have stuck by the sport through thick and thin and have been responsible for introducing newbies (Grandchildren) along the way. 

As for the last part of the comment re Funeral services...is that funny? 

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The whole post was meant to be tongue in cheek....Obviously lost in translation...

I'm obviously younger than you and have a different sense of humour.

My apologies to anyone old or anyone else that may have found it not to their sense of humour.

Edited by Baldyman
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11 hours ago, Baldyman said:

If it was cheaper..do you think more people would go???? I'm not sure they would...not in enough numbers to counter act the price drop...those that rent stadiums won't see their rent go down to compensate lower admission prices...and would lower admission prices make the sport any more appealing and cooler????  again..I don't really think so. The whole thing needs completely re branding to create a new and different audience to the one it attracts now.....and even that may not be enough...but maybe just maybe it might.

As we know through it happening several times before at a good few tracks, dropping the price significantly will deliver a crowd usually in high double digit percentage growth from the norm, (sometimes much more than that when done for free!)...

The issue lies in getting them to come back and pay full price...

It shows the demand can still be there though for Speedway to attract a decent crowd, just not at full price...

I always am amazed that when tracks do a "special" it almost seems to be considered guaranteed that everyone in attendance will naturally come back the week after as nothing ever appears to be done 'extra' to attract them back..

You would think some kind of further discount tickets for say the next six meetings would be sold to try and at least get people who may used to go, back into the habit of attending Speedway and for complete newbies give them time to get to understand the Sport and build recognition and to become fans of certain riders...

As has been mentioned many times, when you do a 'Special' get emails, get mobile numbers, names and addresses etc etc to target them to return....

It almost seems a complete waste of time and effort reducing the price at most tracks,  as it often appears that this one idea to reduce the price of admission is 100% of the marketing plan rather than being just the first initial part of a much more in depth and thought out strategy to grow the fanbase...

 

 

Edited by mikebv
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Three pounds admission was Wembley '81, standing on the bend, league speedway cost less than a pound at the time, I seem to remember. As for Bruce, his riding was sensational that night, possibly one reason for so many riders calling it the best meeting they had seen.

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On ‎08‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 10:02 AM, Baldyman said:

If it was cheaper..do you think more people would go???? I'm not sure they would...not in enough numbers to counter act the price drop...those that rent stadiums won't see their rent go down to compensate lower admission prices...and would lower admission prices make the sport any more appealing and cooler????  again..I don't really think so. The whole thing needs completely re branding to create a new and different audience to the one it attracts now.....and even that may not be enough...but maybe just maybe it might.

When Belle Vue dropped the piece to £10 for the TV match against Wolverhampton last year they got one of their biggest attendance of the season - the grandstand was packed.

However, that doesn't mean it would happen every week and experience suggests that you are absolutely right - the price drop isn't compensated for by the increase in attendances.

 

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