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KevH

Lakeside Future In Serious Doubt

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Not very quickly you can’t Alan, for me I guess it would be bus, train, tube, train then either taxi or walk and then same in reverse.

A lot of the fan base lives more than five miles away, most are probably around the 10 to 30 mile mark.

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I travel to 90% of matches on two buses. Takes anything between an hour and 90 minutes from Romford. On the odd occasion my son is able to attend he drives us, taking more than half off the total  journey time.

There are a group of 5 or 6 of us that use the buses to every home match.

Ironically if the club were to move to another part of Essex we'd probably be unable to attend. Of course, i'm not silly enough to think that half a dozen fans would be considered when such decisions are made.

Rye House is actually quite handy for non drivers because of the proximity of the train station. Romford into Liverpool St and out again to Rye House usually takes a little over an hour.

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Haven't replied to this up til now, but to say I'm gutted is an understatement.  Lost Canterbury, Hackney, and now Arena Essex. Taking the team to Rye? Not sure how I feel about that. Whilst I'm glad the team will still survive in some format, if the Rockets couldn't make it viable at Hoddesdon, how are Lakeside expected to? And how many more teams are on the brink of closure?

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Like most on here, I too am gutted. I only discovered speedway 12 years ago and then totally by accident. I became hooked after watching my first meeting at Arena even though Hammers were on the run of about 20 straight defeats. Arena has been described by many as a 5hithole, and it is difficult to argue. However, as some of those with whom I stand have said, ‘It is our 5hithole and we love it’. 

Arena has provided my son (First meeting at age of 6) and I with some great nights, great racing, (Yes, really) and through standing in the same spot for the majority of those years, I have made some great friends. Sadly, many of them are from the other side of the river and a trip to Rye House is unlikely, which is a real shame. 

I am only 45 minutes from Rye but am undecided as to whether I will go once The Hammers are there. The reason being is that in those 13 years I have seen the sport disintegrate to what it is now. In 2007, my first full season, there was no doubling up. There were the worlds top riders coming to town, Crump, Adams, Pederson (The world Champion) et all. They were great days, in front of good crowds. Since then, the powers of be have slowly dismantled what was a great product as they have failed to view the picture in a bigger way than suits their own needs. A 25 minute trip to my local track is enough to keep me going, but to go further afield leaves me wondering if I will bother. I think it is unlikely other than for the odd meeting when I have nothing else planned. 

Sorry to waffle, but Arena has given me great entertainment and great friendships over the years and it saddens me. To Andrew, Shaun, Paul, Andy and Aaron, and the bloke with the huge road bike who always chats but I have never asked his name, thanks for the great evenings, and thanks to all The Hammers and opposition riders for doing what you guys do. 

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9 hours ago, marko said:

Not very quickly you can’t Alan, for me I guess it would be bus, train, tube, train then either taxi or walk and then same in reverse.

A lot of the fan base lives more than five miles away, most are probably around the 10 to 30 mile mark.

I live in Surrey, but work in London. I always go by train to Arena straight from work. It's no hardship, much better than tackling the tunnel and the M25. Although it wasn't very pleasant walking back to the station after the Newcastle rain off. Having just one meeting to say goodbye is my biggest gripe. We should be seeing the season out at our home track, not squatting somewhere else. More effort should have been made to rearrange meetings earlier in the season. The whole episode has left a lot of us Arena regulars felling very bitter about the way it's ending.

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9 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

I live in Surrey, but work in London. I always go by train to Arena straight from work. It's no hardship, much better than tackling the tunnel and the M25. Although it wasn't very pleasant walking back to the station after the Newcastle rain off. Having just one meeting to say goodbye is my biggest gripe. We should be seeing the season out at our home track, not squatting somewhere else. More effort should have been made to rearrange meetings earlier in the season. The whole episode has left a lot of us Arena regulars felling very bitter about the way it's ending.

Such is the state of the sport. Too many early season meetings and it all finishes by mid August. The biggest and most unforgivable problem was Rob Godfrey pulling out fixtures that hag already been agreed, all because he wanted guests for his own club. I can’t conceal my absolute contempt for that man. 

Personally, I have already reached the stage of having no interest in the sport outside the league Lakeside race in,  I will give Rye House a go, but the sheer incompetence of those currently in charge, especially Godfrey and Chapman, coupled with the amount of cheating certain clubs, especially Poole have been allowed to get away with, has just about ruined the sport for me. I enjoy it once I actually get to the track, but motivation gets harder and harder. 

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5 minutes ago, Daytripper said:

Such is the state of the sport. Too many early season meetings and it all finishes by mid August. The biggest and most unforgivable problem was Rob Godfrey pulling out fixtures that hag already been agreed, all because he wanted guests for his own club. I can’t conceal my absolute contempt for that man. 

Personally, I have already reached the stage of having no interest in the sport outside the league Lakeside race in,  I will give Rye House a go, but the sheer incompetence of those currently in charge, especially Godfrey and Chapman, coupled with the amount of cheating certain clubs, especially Poole have been allowed to get away with, has just about ruined the sport for me. I enjoy it once I actually get to the track, but motivation gets harder and harder. 

ALL those words are true .a good post .

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I cannot remember exactly when I last attended a meeting at Rye but will probably give it a go - Saturday fixtures make it easier than would otherwise be the case. For me, it is double the distance from my home and I have the choice of using M25 and M11 or going cross country. One of the advantages of Arena was the huge car park and that element will certainly be missed.

 

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1 hour ago, Daytripper said:

Such is the state of the sport. Too many early season meetings and it all finishes by mid August. The biggest and most unforgivable problem was Rob Godfrey pulling out fixtures that hag already been agreed, all because he wanted guests for his own club. I can’t conceal my absolute contempt for that man. 

Personally, I have already reached the stage of having no interest in the sport outside the league Lakeside race in,  I will give Rye House a go, but the sheer incompetence of those currently in charge, especially Godfrey and Chapman, coupled with the amount of cheating certain clubs, especially Poole have been allowed to get away with, has just about ruined the sport for me. I enjoy it once I actually get to the track, but motivation gets harder and harder. 

Geographicly the vast majority of my meetings now are at NL level. Mainly at Eastbourne, Kent and the IOW. The closure of Rye House and the limited amount of meetings being staged at Arena, has reduced my attendance in the top two leagues. I still make the odd trip here and there, and I will be making the pilgrimage to Rye on Saturday week.

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2 minutes ago, TonyE said:

I cannot remember exactly when I last attended a meeting at Rye but will probably give it a go - Saturday fixtures make it easier than would otherwise be the case. For me, it is double the distance from my home and I have the choice of using M25 and M11 or going cross country. One of the advantages of Arena was the huge car park and that element will certainly be missed.

 

It will be very interesting to see how many fans back this new venture. The crowds were never brilliant at Custom House, when Romford moved in.

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They would be better off coming forward now and making a statement of intent for what they see ahead in 2019, Is the aim to have a Rockets and Hammers side sharing the venue, will it be a consortium of the two promotions?

You will have more fans in general turning up for these final few meetings if they know there will be something to look forward too next season. especially the potential Rye House support.

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9 minutes ago, marko said:

They would be better off coming forward now and making a statement of intent for what they see ahead in 2019, Is the aim to have a Rockets and Hammers side sharing the venue, will it be a consortium of the two promotions?

You will have more fans in general turning up for these final few meetings if they know there will be something to look forward too next season. especially the potential Rye House support.

I suppose until the structure of speedway in 2019 is decided, no one will commiting to anything.

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I know City Rebel that’s why I used the word intent, for example I intend to go to the meeting on the 14th but that doesn’t mean I will be able to, the weather or something else might intervene but the intent is there.

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5 hours ago, cityrebel said:

It will be very interesting to see how many fans back this new venture. The crowds were never brilliant at Custom House, when Romford moved in.

To be fair the crowds in the last few seasons of the Hammers were pretty poor. As for Romford, they promoted the team as West Ham Bombers which put a lot of people off. Also we knew that we were never going to last the season there, so a lot of the supporters stopped going. 

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Can't really believe that 2019 will see 2 different teams.

With both team struggling with attendance figures, putting the 2 teams together at the same venue is not going to magic up new supporters enough to support both.

Unless,of course it can be arranged that they take alternate weeks and then the supporters might actually get a 30 week season. That would be exciting, but beyond expectations surely?

The opportunities for sponsorship, season tickets, special offers really could make it work.

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