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The continuing decline of Speedway

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25 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

...This is an area that the late John Berry used to raise. Whereas once upon a time the one-off World Final when staged in this country would provide a divided income for British tracks (as well as other FIM and shared BSPA events) when the GPs came along the whole scenario changed and with little interference from the BSPA who allowed the circus to dictate it's own terms.

It's also been discussed at length on here. To a certain extent, I think it's fair to say that the SGP generated revenue that didn't exist (or no longer existed ) in the sport, and there is some argument that it provided the sport with some wider exposure on which other revenues (television and sponsorship) might be attracted elsewhere in the sport. 

However, the SGP (and now the SEC to a lesser extent) lives off the back off the professional leagues as the participating riders can in no way make a living from those competitions alone, and has the choice of the most attractive dates whilst the leagues who do provide riders with their main source of earnings have had to just give way. This did badly affect the British Elite League, even though other factors were certainly involved, and probably substantially contributed to the demise of formerly 'big' tracks like Coventry, although even Poland has been occasionally affected as well.

Of course, this also happens in English cricket where the top players now rarely play in domestic competitions, but the difference is that most of the revenues from international cricket accrue to the ECB who use them to support domestic teams. There's a lot more money in international cricket, but the ECB (through the ICC) kept control of the licensing of the top level competitions to ensure that domestic and even grassroots cricket derives some benefit, which does not happen in speedway. 

The sad reality is that no-one within speedway, especially British speedway, seemingly had the foresight or gumption to do what the likes of BSI did. There was a burgeoning cable and satellite television market at the time, desperate to fill air time with relatively cheap content, and the opportunities were there for a promoters body to go and run this for themselves. At the very least, they should not have allowed the rights to be sold off by the FIM without insisting that some of the revenue came back directly to them (and not just disappear into the FIM coffers), and that just shows a collective lack of vision and cooperation. 

I'm afraid that I don't really buy into this notion that the SGP required substantial investment to start with, and if the major national leagues had been able to cooperate, could have more easily shared any risk between themselves. And whilst I'm realistic enough to realise that the old World Championship would be pretty difficult to market, I do think it was either deliberately or neglectful allowed to be run down because attendances still held up in the decent venues even at the end. 

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7 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

...Personally I've never totally gone along with the music played argument. In all my years going to speedway the music was often of the latest chart selection which is what the younger generation (those very people the sport needs to attract) tend to listen to anyway and, therefore, able to relate to same...which is more than I could half of the time!

I think the issue with speedway is not just the style of music played but the fact that everyone has to stand around listening to it for more time than is necessary.

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16 hours ago, Grachan said:

I don't know if anyone has been watching the Hockey World Cup on BT Sport, but it's interesting to see that the music they play is similar to what they play at speedway. Kashmir by Led Zep, and that one that goes "Right Here, Right Now" blaring out. And when England scored, they played the same tune that they play at Swindon when there is a 5-1.

Also interesting, that someone commented that it was a big difference playing in front of a big crowd as they are used to playing in front of crowds of about 200.

Speedway has its problems, but Hockey is something everyone knows about, yet apparently attracts crowds of about 200 despite GB winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics, and plays the same old music to a crowd consisting mainly of young women.

Even the Olympic competition was played out in front of pretty sparse crowds from memory.

Difference of course with hockey, is that it's really only international players who get paid, and then only a pittance. Speedway's problem is that it's underlying costs are unsustainable compared to what it generates in revenue. 

 

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While I do not dispute the merging of my topic by administration. What I am doing is trying to stimulate idea's as to how speedway will survive in the future and move away from words like decline. I do feel that most individuals in speedway are in a 'bubble' and avoiding the harsh realities of speedway's present predicament which are not good. Losing 2 Elite teams when there is only 9 is rather serious. 

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54 minutes ago, Pieman72 said:

While I do not dispute the merging of my topic by administration. What I am doing is trying to stimulate idea's as to how speedway will survive in the future and move away from words like decline. I do feel that most individuals in speedway are in a 'bubble' and avoiding the harsh realities of speedway's present predicament which are not good. Losing 2 Elite teams when there is only 9 is rather serious. 

Perhaps a better heading might have been "The Future of UK Speedway". I think the 14 team semi-pro league likely to be mooted soon might be worth a punt but I cannot see it attracting the new fans necessary for it to thrive. Without some kind of massive marketing. The same old 20,000 fans in the UK might support it.

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What is frustrating, is the slowing down of the turnstile clicks hasn't happened overnight. And yet every winter BSPA congress promises radical action to halt the turnstiles from seizing altogether. But often things become even more frustrating because of their tinkering around the edges - look at fixed racenights. Wow! That's really worked. Are they smoking pot when they have these do's? 

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7 hours ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

How are privately promoted events that take money out of the sport, and in some cases even charging local tracks for the 'privilege' of hosting, going to take the sport forward? One of the reasons that speedway is in the mess that it's in, is because it doesn't benefit from the few semi-lucrative events it actually has. What little money there is needs to be kept within the sport. 

And why do people think Polish and Swedish speedway remains relatively viable year-after-year, whereas the fortunes of other countries fluctuate wildly? Precisely because league speedway provides the fan identification and continuity that individual racing does not. 

I'm also not sure how many times it needs to be pointed out, but when all the top riders used to ride in Britain, the sport still saw diminishing crowds. Trying to put on expensive meetings more than once a twice a year will simply undermine the novelty for existing fans, and the new audiences to whom the sport really needs to be appealing, have essentially never heard of any of top riders anyway. 

So what is the alternative???

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4 hours ago, Big Al said:

So what is the alternative???

If there was an easy answer it would have already been done (although knowing speedway it wouldn't :rolleyes:), but I certainly don't think the answer is hosting expensive travelling circuses that have little long-term stake in the sport and take revenue aware from local tracks. I also still think you need to keep the team element, because it's difficult to establish continuity around individual riders who come-and-go. People are also not going to turn-up regularly to watch meetings that don't count towards something. 

Unfortunately, and as some have already said on here, the sport has become so badly run down and under-capitalised, that I think you have to rebuild the sport around a lower semi-pro level. I think you need to establish a central pool of established riders in order to control costs and ensure broad competitiveness amongst as many teams as possible, but encourage teams to develop riders who'd be protected (i.e. allowed to stay at the same team) for 3-5 seasons. I'd not advocate wholesale rider changes every season, but the sport needs to control its costs and ensure there's no incentive for cheque book speedway. 

I'd also think about having a central pool of engines, all maintained to as similar standards as possible, which would be randomly allocated before each meeting. 

There's no point discussing anything else until you work out what the sport can afford and bring its costs under control. But I do think you'd probably want to merge the current three leagues into two, with the second being NL level, to provide more variety than now. 

I'd think how you can run a 20-heat programme swiftly, whether that's as one match or a shorter match and support event. I also think there needs to be some sort of gimmicky event at each meeting, like an 8-rider (two grids) race that counts towards something, and possibly some after-match individual event that contributes towards some sort of national season-long competition.

Some of this isn't going to be palatable to traditionalists, but the sport is now on its knees and there soon won't be any traditionalists left unless it can appeal to new audiences. 

Edited by Humphrey Appleby
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2 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

that I think you have to rebuild the sport around a more low-level semi-pro level.

An Absolute essential. The only possibly viable direction left.

3 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

I'd also think about having a central pool of engines, all maintained to as similar standards as possible, which would be randomly allocated before each meeting. 

This too needs to be put into place. The cream will still rise to the top but racing would be fairer than it is now. Still prefer 250cc or 350 singles but realise the cost of replacing engines. Introduce this slowly.

3 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

I'd think how you can run a 20-heat programme swiftly, whether that's as one match or a shorter match and support event. I also think there needs to be some sort of gimmicky event at each meeting, like an 8-rider (two grids) race that counts towards something, and possibly some after-match individual event that contributes towards some sort of national season-long competition.

 

It does need to be as different as possible with something gimmicky ( as traditionalists will call it ) because we already know that the racing that is on offer now has been rejected. Closer, fairer less predictable than current TTF 75% of heats. Even bump starts rather than tapes. Female rider races ( until some get good enough to beat the men ). It has to be some of "circus night out" around the watch YOUR team concept. It is something like this or nowt.

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1 hour ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

If there was an easy answer it would have already been done (although knowing speedway it wouldn't :rolleyes:), but I certainly don't think the answer is hosting expensive travelling circuses that have little long-term stake in the sport and take revenue aware from local tracks. I also still think you need to keep the team element, because it's difficult to establish continuity around individual riders who come-and-go. People are also not going to turn-up regularly to watch meetings that don't count towards something. 

Unfortunately, and as some have already said on here, the sport has become so badly run down and under-capitalised, that I think you have to rebuild the sport around a lower semi-pro level. I think you need to establish a central pool of established riders in order to control costs and ensure broad competitiveness amongst as many teams as possible, but encourage teams to develop riders who'd be protected (i.e. allowed to stay at the same team) for 3-5 seasons. I'd not advocate wholesale rider changes every season, but the sport needs to control its costs and ensure there's no incentive for cheque book speedway. 

I'd also think about having a central pool of engines, all maintained to as similar standards as possible, which would be randomly allocated before each meeting. 

There's no point discussing anything else until you work out what the sport can afford and bring its costs under control. But I do think you'd probably want to merge the current three leagues into two, with the second being NL level, to provide more variety than now. 

I'd think how you can run a 20-heat programme swiftly, whether that's as one match or a shorter match and support event. I also think there needs to be some sort of gimmicky event at each meeting, like an 8-rider (two grids) race that counts towards something, and possibly some after-match individual event that contributes towards some sort of national season-long competition.

Some of this isn't going to be palatable to traditionalists, but the sport is now on its knees and there soon won't be any traditionalists left unless it can appeal to new audiences. 

I'd agree with all you say regarding the domestic league.

But would still argue that some of what you call "travelling circus" events can add to the promotion of the sport at a general level, and would not have a negative effect on income for league clubs if dealt with in the right way. More like the opposite I think, they are two different albeit overlapping markets.

Yes, it is a great pity that companies like BSI saw opportunities and took them, and the BSPA didn't, but the ship left port long ago and whilst the FIM regards these organisations favourably, it would unfortunately be detrimental to the UK for their events to be blocked out and to become more isolated. They could be the only way for UK fans to see Lambert, Bewley, Woffinden in action apart from the regular FIM events which only happen in the UK occasionally.

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58 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

It does need to be as different as possible with something gimmicky ( as traditionalists will call it ) because we already know that the racing that is on offer now has been rejected. Closer, fairer less predictable than current TTF 75% of heats. Even bump starts rather than tapes. Female rider races ( until some get good enough to beat the men ). It has to be some of "circus night out" around the watch YOUR team concept. It is something like this or nowt.

1

We all have various ideas, and it's hard for promoters to get it right, but I wouldn't go for any of the above. Speedway has been trying to lose the "circus" tag for decades.  

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16 minutes ago, Big Al said:

Yes, it is a great pity that companies like BSI saw opportunities and took them, and the BSPA didn't, but the ship left port long ago and whilst the FIM regards these organisations favourably, it would unfortunately be detrimental to the UK for their events to be blocked out and to become more isolated.

Nothing to do with blocking out BSI or whoever. If those sort of promoters want to stage events on their own volition in Britain then good luck to them, apart from the issues that the wider sport might want to consider. 

But British speedway certainly shouldn't be spending money chasing these sorts of events unless they get some sort of no risk return from them. Most members of the public would sadly have no clue who Lambert, Bewley and even Woffinden are. 

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The last thing we want in speed way is to use the word "circus", that gives the impression that the sport cannot be taken seriously. Why not return to the successful 1970's  with 13 heat TEAM match followed by a couple reserve races for the up and coming and the individual Rider of the Night races for all and sundry perhaps counting towards an end of season grand final. Bring back the SIlver Sash match races as well. How is that for a variety?

What we have to appreciate that when a business loses its customers they are very difficult to bring back. Forget the old fans  they will return in time, I did after 14 years, concentrate on attracting new fans.

In the mean time sort out the guest rider problem, look at refining the r/r system  with no. 8  riders, encouraging local New riders  ,organise an attractive league, the use of tac subs  etc. and start next year anew.

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13 minutes ago, Thornaby48 said:

The last thing we want in speed way is to use the word "circus", that gives the impression that the sport cannot be taken seriously. Why not return to the successful 1970's  with 13 heat TEAM match followed by a couple reserve races for the up and coming and the individual Rider of the Night races for all and sundry perhaps counting towards an end of season grand final. Bring back the SIlver Sash match races as well. How is that for a variety?

What we have to appreciate that when a business loses its customers they are very difficult to bring back. Forget the old fans  they will return in time, I did after 14 years, concentrate on attracting new fans.

In the mean time sort out the guest rider problem, look at refining the r/r system  with no. 8  riders, encouraging local New riders  ,organise an attractive league, the use of tac subs  etc. and start next year anew.

8

I was just saying the same thing. When something isn't right, then perhaps it's best reverting back to when it was. I know the crowds aren't there, but 13 heats is just enough to watch a meeting. Take the other night, the BT match that dragged on. Anything over 13 races can become a yawn. When they ditched 13 heats at the end of 1987 the tried 15, then 18 in 1993, then 16 in 1994.... 

As for businesses losing the customers over the years. That's quite right. But to find that the new Belle Vue attracted some old faces back, only to frighten them away again by the farcical Golden Double and the Play-Offs in which the Aces lost out to Wolverhampton, who snuck in Tai Woffinden just in time to make a mockery of the sport. 

It needs to be serious.

Tell anybody who doesn't know what speedway is about your riders riding for another team in this country and then racing in foreign leagues during the same week, and they'll look at you silly. That is why speedway finds it hard to be taken seriously.

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On 7/24/2018 at 2:13 PM, Grachan said:

I don't know if anyone has been watching the Hockey World Cup on BT Sport, but it's interesting to see that the music they play is similar to what they play at speedway. Kashmir by Led Zep, and that one that goes "Right Here, Right Now" blaring out. And when England scored, they played the same tune that they play at Swindon when there is a 5-1.

Also interesting, that someone commented that it was a big difference playing in front of a big crowd as they are used to playing in front of crowds of about 200.

Speedway has its problems, but Hockey is something everyone knows about, yet apparently attracts crowds of about 200 despite GB winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics, and plays the same old music to a crowd consisting mainly of young women.

Yes, it doesn't matter what era a song is from, as long as it is appropriate and generates excitement. Great old tunes like Wipeout and Blur's Song 2 are played everywhere.

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