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1 hour ago, Halifaxtiger said:

 Buxton, too, couldn't make weekends pay, so its not necessarily a cure.

With Buxton not having track lighting I think weekends were the only option. With Sheffield being so near and switching to Sunday I assume they thought running against them would prove difficult. Possibly Saturday could be a future option for Buxton?

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On 4/7/2019 at 7:44 PM, mikebv said:

Lets be honest, hardly any riders now riding in Britain put 'bums on seats' so you might as well run at weekends to see if non superstars can generate big enough crowds.

Currently 'Superstars' don't bring the crowds in on a Monday, Wednesdays and Thursday's so got to be worth a try..

 

That's not true though, is it? Look at the attendances at Premiership clubs who have bigger name riders, compared to Championship clubs who do no. I would say to a team that Premiership have larger crowds, therefore the "star" riders who choose to ride in Britain absolutely do put bums on seats.

The question is whether these top riders provide value for money. Did attendances at Swindon drop by less than they saved on signing Nick Morris as #1 instead of World Champion Jason Doyle? Given the crowds at Swindon last season and the fact they chose to sign Doyle for 2019, it would suggest that the star riders are worth the outlay.

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19 minutes ago, MattK said:

That's not true though, is it? Look at the attendances at Premiership clubs who have bigger name riders, compared to Championship clubs who do no. I would say to a team that Premiership have larger crowds, therefore the "star" riders who choose to ride in Britain absolutely do put bums on seats.

The question is whether these top riders provide value for money. Did attendances at Swindon drop by less than they saved on signing Nick Morris as #1 instead of World Champion Jason Doyle? Given the crowds at Swindon last season and the fact they chose to sign Doyle for 2019, it would suggest that the star riders are worth the outlay.

I'd say it's exactly the same reason why King's Lynn are desperate to hang on to Robert Lambert. Quality rider and a local. Without him, no doubt would hit the attendances pretty hard.

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3 hours ago, MattK said:

That's not true though, is it? Look at the attendances at Premiership clubs who have bigger name riders, compared to Championship clubs who do no. I would say to a team that Premiership have larger crowds, therefore the "star" riders who choose to ride in Britain absolutely do put bums on seats.

The question is whether these top riders provide value for money. Did attendances at Swindon drop by less than they saved on signing Nick Morris as #1 instead of World Champion Jason Doyle? Given the crowds at Swindon last season and the fact they chose to sign Doyle for 2019, it would suggest that the star riders are worth the outlay.

I would suggest the 'natural level' of the attendances you can get determines what league you race in rather than the standard of riders in view...

Somerset and Leicester for example, are for me traditional 2nd tier teams...

Both have recently had a dalliance with the top league and decided that they couldn't justify paying out for a higher level of rider as their crowds didnt increase sufficiently (or maybe even at all), to cover their costs..

Every team has its 'natural level' and it is quite pertinent that teams always need their 'arms twisting' to come up, such is the risk their crowds won't increase, and their lack of belief and confidence that increased crowds will happen...

I actually think the Aces for example would still get 1300 - 1600 or so on a Satuday night charging circa £15,  riding at a '2nd tier' level as that is their 'natural crowd' level..

Clubs such as Poole, KL, Swindon, and Wolverhampton are all for me similar to the Aces in that they will get 'the best crowds in Britain' regardless of whether 'World Class' talent is on show or not, (as long as they are allowed to ride on any night that is best for them)...  

Hence the top tier is the 'natural position' of these teams...

Most teams who average 800 - 1000 are therefore naturally 2nd tier, and regardless of who gets brought in, their crowds will pretty much stay that way I reckon..

 

Edited by mikebv
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17 hours ago, mikebv said:

I actually think the Aces for example would still get 1300 - 1600 or so on a Satuday night charging circa £15,  riding at a '2nd tier' level as that is their 'natural crowd' level..

Clubs such as Poole, KL, Swindon, and Wolverhampton are all for me similar to the Aces in that they will get 'the best crowds in Britain' regardless of whether 'World Class' talent is on show or not, (as long as they are allowed to ride on any night that is best for them)...  

Hence the top tier is the 'natural position' of these teams...

Most teams who average 800 - 1000 are therefore naturally 2nd tier, and regardless of who gets brought in, their crowds will pretty much stay that way I reckon..

 

Pretty much spot on.

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The one thing that no one mentioned is the culture in which speedway flourished. Motorbikes were very much part of our culture in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and bikes hurtling around at 70mph without brakes was seen as daring and risky but while it still spectacular the culture is not there to support it. Unfortunately Speedway is now very much a minority sport enjoyed by just a few die hards. It will survive but probably not in it's present state.

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