The continuing decline of Speedway

[orion 7,610]

30 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

What have they done in the last 20 years to cut costs? And these any of these cost-cutting measures actually cut costs at the gate to stop the rot of fans who felt speedway wasn't value-for-money anymore? Cutting costs but putting up admission is a wrong blend. 

?? surely you noticed that the cost cutting has been making the teams a lower standard ..I though everyone knew that ..your plan is do the same again by making the league weaken again ..Yet again unless  you been in a cave it's don't work 

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv 10,695]

1 hour ago, orion said:

?? surely you noticed that the cost cutting has been making the teams a lower standard ..I though everyone knew that ..your plan is do the same again by making the league weaken again ..Yet again unless  you been in a cave it's don't work 

Any meat eater would likely prefer the finest fillet steak but if its £50 and you only have a fiver then you have to choose a burger or give up beef

For a while some vouchers (sky money) or friendly charities (wealthy sponsors/owners) may allow the steak to be ordered

Some would then choose option 1 and some will choose option 2 but either way if theres only £5 available eventually the steak cant be on the menu

[cityrebel 2,960]

As a neutral fan that goes on average twice a week, I can afford the steak, but can't justify paying it. If you only attend your own clubs home fixtures fortnightly, the steak could become more affordable.

[Fromafar 10,333]

7 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

As a neutral fan that goes on average twice a week, I can afford the steak, but can't justify paying it. If you only attend your own clubs home fixtures fortnightly, the steak could become more affordable.

Then  again how good is the quality of the steak they are serving at your club.

[orion 7,610]

59 minutes ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

Any meat eater would likely prefer the finest fillet steak but if its £50 and you only have a fiver then you have to choose a burger or give up beef

For a while some vouchers (sky money) or friendly charities (wealthy sponsors/owners) may allow the steak to be ordered

Some would then choose option 1 and some will choose option 2 but either way if theres only £5 available eventually the steak cant be on the menu

Would they ? I eat meat and  I don't like fillet steak .I also loads of people enjoy would enjoy  burgers ever thou they are cheaper ..so what you say is not really true .

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv 10,695]

7 hours ago, orion said:

Would they ? I eat meat and  I don't like fillet steak .I also loads of people enjoy would enjoy  burgers ever thou they are cheaper ..so what you say is not really true .

I think you are deliberately ignoring the underlying point in my analogy.....

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv 10,695]

8 hours ago, cityrebel said:

As a neutral fan that goes on average twice a week, I can afford the steak, but can't justify paying it. If you only attend your own clubs home fixtures fortnightly, the steak could become more affordable.

The customer buying the steak (top riders) in my example is the restuarant (club)

There isnt the money for it to be on the menu regardless as diner demand is too low

Even if you lose those that will only eat steak the restaurant can no longer provide it

[moxey63 1,785]

3 hours ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

The customer buying the steak (top riders) in my example is the restuarant (club)

There isnt the money for it to be on the menu regardless as diner demand is too low

Even if you lose those that will only eat steak the restaurant can no longer provide it

I know where you're coming from.

But, personally, I'd have egg and chips every day... so long as the place was run properly and open when it said on the door and didn't keep you waiting hours before the dish was finally served.

Edited July 30, 2018 by moxey63

[Thornaby48 48]

Could one reason new young fans are not coming through is the time meeting finish?  They usually start at 7-30 and finish between 9-30 and 10 and then they have to  get home ,it could ,perhaps  be too late for many when they have school or college the next day or they want to get back to their computers. The most popular sports such as football and rugby are 9 times out of 10 played on a weekend afternoon so there isn't a problem, we never hear them comment about lack of support. So if this could be a factor lets try to finish the main match in good time. Why do we need an interval after heat 10 ? All we are doing is standing around for 15  minutes twiddling our thumbs waiting for  the last 5 heats get under way. Redcar do provide entertainment of a sort with a competition, interviews with any former riders who are there and the excellent Smoggie the Bear entertaining the kids but I would rather be watching the racing.Whilst the Redcar  stadium is very pleasant with a friendly atmosphere it is basic in places, no cover from the weather on the standing terraces for instance , and it can get chilly up here late on.

Last Thursday I attended  Redcar  v  Ipswich (a very good meeting) which was threatened by rain so the promotion got a move on and 15 heats, a couple of delays as the track was graded ,no interval until after heat 15 and the main match was over by 9pm, which if you had kids gets them home in reasonable time.

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

It would be interesting to know if a Saturday track ,like Berwick  starting at 7pm, pulls in more youngsters than a mid week track.

[Spl77 337]

3 hours ago, moxey63 said:

I know where you're coming from.

But, personally, I'd have egg and chips every day... so long as the place was run properly and open when it said on the door and didn't keep you waiting hours before the dish was finally served.

Imagine if the eggs were not available because they were doubling up in the cafe over the road so beans were brought in as a guest meanwhile chips were forced to appear at mcdonalds to be rearranged as French fries so chip replacement was used..... You'd end up with a plate of beans instead of egg and chips. Surely this is British speedway all over? 

[Aces51 2,778]

Even though most meetings finish before 9.15 there were certainly more youngsters at the NSS last year on a Friday night than this year on a Monday and more were there for the meeting last Wednesday at the start of the school holidays. 

These days most parents are not prepared to risk a late night for children when there is school the next day.

[Fromafar 10,333]

40 minutes ago, Thornaby48 said:

Could one reason new young fans are not coming through is the time meeting finish?  They usually start at 7-30 and finish between 9-30 and 10 and then they have to  get home ,it could ,perhaps  be too late for many when they have school or college the next day or they want to get back to their computers. The most popular sports such as football and rugby are 9 times out of 10 played on a weekend afternoon so there isn't a problem, we never hear them comment about lack of support. So if this could be a factor lets try to finish the main match in good time. Why do we need an interval after heat 10 ? All we are doing is standing around for 15  minutes twiddling our thumbs waiting for  the last 5 heats get under way. Redcar do provide entertainment of a sort with a competition, interviews with any former riders who are there and the excellent Smoggie the Bear entertaining the kids but I would rather be watching the racing.Whilst the Redcar  stadium is very pleasant with a friendly atmosphere it is basic in places, no cover from the weather on the standing terraces for instance , and it can get chilly up here late on.

Last Thursday I attended  Redcar  v  Ipswich (a very good meeting) which was threatened by rain so the promotion got a move on and 15 heats, a couple of delays as the track was graded ,no interval until after heat 15 and the main match was over by 9pm, which if you had kids gets them home in reasonable time.

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

It would be interesting to know if a Saturday track ,like Berwick  starting at 7pm, pulls in more youngsters than a mid week track.

Berwick do pull in a lot of youngsters,here's hoping they become long term fans though.Being a Sat track is a big help in that respect IMO 

[Pieman72 588]

Speedway and Pubs have a lot of similarities being expensive unprofitable and unfortunatley very lucrative for developers. It will become similar to our town/city centres, canals and railways that were lost in 1960's under so called re-devlopment. Our planners got it wrong the and have done so now. Oh well open a can and watch sky sports with an app !!

 

[TonyGlos 4]

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 11:42 AM, foamfence said:

I would prefer the old 13 heat format with two nominated riders heats to finish.

Take a  look at the Polish Race format. A little tweaked from the UK but better IMHO

The only thing that is obvious is that the more the sport has downgraded itself with rider quality the more the attendances fall. A vicious circle

Many here seem to say lets have a national league excluding the very top riders. Regular racing, promotion, relegation and some resemblance of a serious sport

I still maintain there is a market for the top level of team racing as in Poland and Sweden. In reality, a few meetings a year. Look at this separately.

 

 

 

 

[waytogo28 2,054]

58 minutes ago, Thornaby48 said:

Let's return to the old "40-38"(13 heats) days with the interval after the main match and before the Rider of the Night second half then people can decide whether to go or stay

 

Only interested in 13 heat matches if the cost is £9.99 ( or less ) and matches, without on-track problems, are finished in 75 mins ( as they should be ) so that those not interested in meaningless 2nd halves can get away if they so choose, as you suggest. Never much was unless the Next Great Thing was riding. Crisply run meetings seem to be high on the agenda of many fans ( definitely myself ). Not my first choice for speedway's next change of direction. which should be one upper league of 14 tracks running over 15 heats ( as now ) . Crisply run of course with no need for a 10 minute plus wait for heat 15.