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The continuing decline of Speedway

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33 minutes ago, iris123 said:

A franchise will have say 8 teams in an elite league.Say Someone with money from Kent or London thinks that Sittingbourne will be an attractive place to host speedway then he buys the franchise from one of the clubs with an elite franchise,it could be your team

That is how franchises work.It happened to the Munich ice hockey team,it happened to some US team in New York.Just what is the advantage to any speedway team belonging to a franchise?I would think the only person to make money from the idea would be the person or company running the franchise,rather than all the clubs

The system works in other sports because there is enough money,in some sports millions to be made and if the franchise say’s we run on Monday night or Tuesday night the stadiums are still packed.I can’t see that being the case that speedway promoters will pay out money so they will be told when they will run.Just look at all the ballyhoo at the moment.Ice hockey fans turn up on a Tuesday and American football have Monday night games.Speedway fans,we are told are special and will only turn up at the weekend.......ho hum 

I am sure that has happened in speedway, top flight speedway teams selling their licence to a team who want to get into the upper league. Sounds like a franchise system would be just rearranging the deck chairs....again. Speedway needs something very radical. At the end of the day the problem is down to the cost for the promoters.    

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4 minutes ago, Ray Stadia said:

I am sure that has happened in speedway, top flight speedway teams selling their licence to a team who want to get into the upper league. Sounds like a franchise system would be just rearranging the deck chairs....again. Speedway needs something very radical. At the end of the day the problem is down to the cost for the promoters.    

Yes I agree.Firstly with a franchise system you have to find enough people who are willing to pay in,so that someone can tell them what to do and which riders they can have!!!!Is that realistic?

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20 hours ago, steve roberts said:

...that's, of course, if darts can be regarded as a sport?

People can call darts what they want, darts has everything speedway doesn't. A good TV deal, sponsors fighting each other to sponsor their events and with it and plenty of punters willing to pay upwards of 30 quid a time to watch it.  

Edited by New Science
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14 minutes ago, New Science said:

People can call darts what they want, darts has everything speedway doesn't. A good TV deal, sponsors fighting each other to sponsor their events and with it and plenty of punters willing to pay upwards of 30 quid a time to watch it.  

But aren't there so many pubs closing?

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What the sport needs in place for this winter so that it's in place for next season is an independent person or body who sets the rules points limit etc and for the top two leagues to form one big league. The strength of the league is set by the independent body based on averages and economics of the sport as a whole and not what the rich clubs want either ride in the league or don't. 

This will hopefully lead to a better fixture list than this year and finish the doubling up that has become a farce and scrap guests once and for all. 

Once the sport is stabilised over the next couple of years then relaunch the whole thing. The independent body would be able to work on the blue print over the next couple of years. 

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6 hours ago, waytogo28 said:

I thought Oh No! Another poor old disillusioned 65 - 80 years old fan ( just like me ), walking away after 50+ years of watching UK speedway until I read your last sentence. Now I think Oh No! We are in the mire for sure now!

It is in the mire! I'm just hopeful those in power will do something now and address the problems otherwise I really fear for the future! 

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1 hour ago, moxey63 said:

But aren't there so many pubs closing?

Slightly off topic, but Darts was removed from a lot of Pubs and more eating tables put in. 3 Pubs where I used to play did this saying that Darts is on only Friday nights, but people eat 7 days a week.

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4 hours ago, New Science said:

People can call darts what they want, darts has everything speedway doesn't. A good TV deal, sponsors fighting each other to sponsor their events and with it and plenty of punters willing to pay upwards of 30 quid a time to watch it.  

...whatever turns people on. Perhaps there's hope for other pub games such as shove ha'penny or bar billiards or even dominoes? Could attract the public's imagination if marketed correctly. 

Let's face it if Wrestling can be branded as a sport and featured on a Sports Channel then there's an opportunity for all sorts of activities being televised in the name of sport with the right backing and/or marketing and/or incentive.

Edited by steve roberts
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2 hours ago, New Science said:

People can call darts what they want, darts has everything speedway doesn't. A good TV deal, sponsors fighting each other to sponsor their events and with it and plenty of punters willing to pay upwards of 30 quid a time to watch it.  

S'right, I know folk who travel to watch live darts in a packed room where you can't actually see the action but watch on a TV screen.  Like you would at home.  Can't really knock the arrows game as it is very popular though it does absolutely nothing for me...

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1 hour ago, martinmauger said:

S'right, I know folk who travel to watch live darts in a packed room where you can't actually see the action but watch on a TV screen.  Like you would at home.  Can't really knock the arrows game as it is very popular though it does absolutely nothing for me...

...I played darts often in a pub league (together with Aunt Sally...now there's another TV opportunity?) but would I watch a televised tournament full of drunken louts (and that's just the women) I don't think so but as I said each to their own.

Edited by steve roberts

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8 hours ago, Trees said:

Get onto the Aces management and see if you can have some free/cheap tickets to bring all your team along :)  Hoping to do something like this for my colleagues although we are 40 miles away from Lynn, your lot they have no excuse not to go along haha

You may have hit on idea there I could use.....

It is coming up to review time for my teams so maybe as an incentive I will tell them they could be going to watch Speedway...

(If they dont significantly improve!!!)...:D

Edited by mikebv

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2 hours ago, steve roberts said:

...whatever turns people on. Perhaps there's hope for other pub games such as shove ha'penny or bar billiards or even dominoes? Could attract the public's imagination if marketed correctly. 

Let's face it if Wrestling can be branded as a sport and featured on a Sports Channel then there's an opportunity for all sorts of activities being televised in the name of sport with the right backing and/or marketing and/or incentive.

Problem is with speedway is there is not much of a product to market 

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On 7/7/2018 at 2:47 PM, New Science said:

Didn't Hackney have a purpose built stadium in the 90's. That team went belly up, how many do Lakeside get now on a favoured Friday night ?. This idea that there is a huge market of speedway fans in London is a fallacy 

Definitely not purpose built. Outside viewing there was awful. As mentioned above it was the London Lions that were there for a season, in 1996.

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4 minutes ago, BWitcher said:

Definitely not purpose built. Outside viewing there was awful. As mentioned above it was the London Lions that were there for a season, in 1996.

I saw the British Grand Prix there, I think 1995. The old Hackney stadium was basically being rebuilt and that was the rub, they ran the GP while it was still under construction. The great banked Hackney track, as was, had been turned into a billiard table and didn't work. Then eventually, without the works on stadium being completed, the owners of the stadium went bust or scarpered! It was all a very messy affair, which could be speedway's catchphrase!  

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17 minutes ago, Ray Stadia said:

I saw the British Grand Prix there, I think 1995. The old Hackney stadium was basically being rebuilt and that was the rub, they ran the GP while it was still under construction. The great banked Hackney track, as was, had been turned into a billiard table and didn't work. Then eventually, without the works on stadium being completed, the owners of the stadium went bust or scarpered! It was all a very messy affair, which could be speedway's catchphrase!  

Wasn't there a " robbery "  there  when the evenings takings from a meeting where stollen ? 

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