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Panther1997

Panthers up for sale.

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3 minutes ago, Lukas said:

Crowd sizes have been healthy all season so this is not the issue. I suspect Ged will end up at Redcar and I can understand that but if this is the case then transparency would make for a refreshing change. I am pretty confident someone will come in and hopefully take us back to where we belong instead of being Kings Lynns feeder club.

The last 4 attendances were clearly an issue for Ged.

Yes they may have been ok most of the season but definite room for improvement & a need for better promotion of meetings

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We can't keep doing this year in, year out.  How doee anyone expect to grow crowds with this uncertainty every winter 

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1 hour ago, Noodles said:

Absolutely nothing at all.  It was always a risk running against the same team for three weeks on the trot and so it proved. Should have considered a scheme where if you produced your admission ticket from the first match at the second you got a discount/benefit, produce your admission tickets from the first & second meeting for further discounts/benefits at the third.   Doesn't have to be money off at the turnstiles - centre green visits, raffles to present rider of the night, ride with the team on parade vehicle, watch a race from the refs box - things that don't cost the club anything.

We were part of the MCN festival for two years running with hundreds of non speedway fans attending each time. Absolutely nothing was done that I'm aware of to interact with these people or to encourage them back. Should have been handing out discount vouchers with fixture lists, organised photograph/autograph sessions, hand out stickers/posters for the kids etc. (Something they could have done in partnership with BSPA as not all people would have been from the Peterborough area).

Surprisingly there appears to be a fairly strong fan base at Peterborough and I believe attendances can improve with some effort & promotion of the meetings themselves.

Our social media is virtually non existent. Other clubs promote matches by asking for retweets in return for prizes - again the prizes don't need to cost anything, they can be experiences you wouldn't normally get as a fan.

 

Wow! What a lot of sense you talk, just the type of person that should be involved in the promotion of the sport

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1 hour ago, Noodles said:

Absolutely nothing at all.  It was always a risk running against the same team for three weeks on the trot and so it proved. Should have considered a scheme where if you produced your admission ticket from the first match at the second you got a discount/benefit, produce your admission tickets from the first & second meeting for further discounts/benefits at the third.   Doesn't have to be money off at the turnstiles - centre green visits, raffles to present rider of the night, ride with the team on parade vehicle, watch a race from the refs box - things that don't cost the club anything.

We were part of the MCN festival for two years running with hundreds of non speedway fans attending each time. Absolutely nothing was done that I'm aware of to interact with these people or to encourage them back. Should have been handing out discount vouchers with fixture lists, organised photograph/autograph sessions, hand out stickers/posters for the kids etc. (Something they could have done in partnership with BSPA as not all people would have been from the Peterborough area).

Surprisingly there appears to be a fairly strong fan base at Peterborough and I believe attendances can improve with some effort & promotion of the meetings themselves.

Our social media is virtually non existent. Other clubs promote matches by asking for retweets in return for prizes - again the prizes don't need to cost anything, they can be experiences you wouldn't normally get as a fan.

 

Don't want to put a downer on things as we're looking for a new owner/sugar daddy but Bratley's final Panthers blog in 2010 listed what he'd done to attract new fans to little effect so I'd say it needs a much better Showground experience on a consistent basis rather than short term incentives (not to say that there aren't some good ideas there). It certainly hasn't been a good (IMO only I hasten to add) for 5 years. Partly promotionally but probably more due to the landlords. The fanbase took a serious knock in 2013 and I'm not sure about a strong fanbase. I think inflated Sunday attendances by visitors and occasional locals paints a rosier picture than actual strength. I just see lots of spaces where regulars once sat and those spaces not being filled by what's on offer. Social media around the club never really recovered from Frost/Oakes who lost the forum and went via FB & Twitter, probably to avoid the public slanging matches on the forum that had been a problem for many years.

Edited by Crump99

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10 minutes ago, Flappy said:

We can't keep doing this year in, year out.  How doee anyone expect to grow crowds with this uncertainty every winter 

That's life at the EoES now though. It tends to break promoters after a few years due to lack of control and the drain on the finances. Due to the latter I said that it was a disaster for the club when Frost left and the chickens are coming home to roost. Rathbone doesn't cite either as a reason for selling up but I'd say that it was a significant factor.

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1 hour ago, wealdstone said:

The management did not even have the courtesy to forewarn season ticket holders that their tickets were no longer valid.

It’s not that the season tickets were ‘no longer valid’ - they were priced and sold as being valid for the regular season only, which has now ended, with special concessionary pricing for additional meetings. 

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3 hours ago, Noodles said:

We were part of the MCN festival for two years running with hundreds of non speedway fans attending each time. Absolutely nothing was done that I'm aware of to interact with these people or to encourage them back. Should have been handing out discount vouchers with fixture lists, organised photograph/autograph sessions, hand out stickers/posters for the kids etc. (Something they could have done in partnership with BSPA as not all people would have been from the Peterborough area).

 

 

Still think the problem with general motorcycle (sport) fans and speedway is the down to the fact that everyday manufacturers are not involved. Honda, Yamaha etc are everyday day names people relate too but I've never seen a GM powered bike on the road or race circuits and I can't remember the last time I saw a Jawa apart from a vintage moto-x (or should that be scrambles?) meeting. As argued often before, and by much more informed folk than myself, surely the cost involved with speedway machinery would fall if other manufacturers were involved and their engines fueled by unleaded rather than methanol introduced?

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29 minutes ago, cinderfella said:

Still think the problem with general motorcycle (sport) fans and speedway is the down to the fact that everyday manufacturers are not involved. Honda, Yamaha etc are everyday day names people relate too but I've never seen a GM powered bike on the road or race circuits and I can't remember the last time I saw a Jawa apart from a vintage moto-x (or should that be scrambles?) meeting. As argued often before, and by much more informed folk than myself, surely the cost involved with speedway machinery would fall if other manufacturers were involved and their engines fueled by unleaded rather than methanol introduced?

F2 but they won't give it a serious try. You can fit a 450cc motocross engine (made by all the leading manufacturers) into existing frames and some of them will accept heavier flywheels if necessary. You would have better reliability, longer service intervals and hydraulic clutches that rarely need adjusting or new plates. This country needs to go it alone and forget pandering to the poles etc.

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2 minutes ago, foamfence said:

F2 but they won't give it a serious try. You can fit a 450cc motocross engine (made by all the leading manufacturers) into existing frames and some of them will accept heavier flywheels if necessary. You would have better reliability, longer service intervals and hydraulic clutches that rarely need adjusting or new plates. This country needs to go it alone and forget pandering to the poles etc.

Totally agree.

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If no new buyer comes forward then Ged could be left with a massive decision to make if he wants to sell the club it needs to be a going concern, if he doesn't run the speedway dies for good at the Showground the residents will see to that and hes got no money to invest in Redcar if thats his plan, he cant recoup his investment on a dead club,he maybe forced to run or take a bit hit financially.  

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46 minutes ago, singy13 said:

What assets are included in the sale please?

The temporary lighting?

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There are enough Lemmings that keep clubs afloat that little or no promotional ideas are needed to attract new fans. It's once these Lemmings decide enough is enough and fall by the wayside that the "promoters" start to worry and want out. This is not just a Peterborough issue but nationwide. 

Most "promoters" won't agree to deals as they look at the money they will lose from the Lemmings rather than the bigger picture. 

A Lemming would easily pay the £16 per meeting for 2 meetings in a week so the club would be £6 worse off if they offered the second meeting for £10.  However how many newbies would attend for £10... the same price as a night at the cinema? 

This happened at Ipswich when they rode Glasgow on the Thursday and then Berwick on the Saturday. The Saturday was one of the lowest attendances in recent years. 

 

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With all the Panthers assets, he would have a very good side at Redcar. Add all the equipment for the track, & the airfence, & he is ready to go without any outlay. 

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47 minutes ago, singy13 said:

What assets are included in the sale please?

very good question,with poole being for sale many people have asked the same,so far the list of assets is 1xclapped out tractor,2xwheelbarrows and 5 rakes! rider assets? thats a big gamble,a buyer can only base an offer on the profits shown on the accounts,then has to factor in risks such as will attendance remain the same,what happens if first 3 meetings are rained off? and dont forget bspa bond! i think any prospective buyer has to be a massive fan,slightly mad a real gambler and very wealthy,sorry

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