How much to get in?

[Tsunami 10,219]

16 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

Kent; Len Silver never does anything for nowt, ie lining his own pocket proven by the fact Kent remain in the NL, this despite having one of the best Stadia and being well supported.

What. A speedway promoter being a proper business man. Tut Tut, shame on him.

[ouch 1,191]

Indeed, he’s old school, boot full of cash type. Most have gone and left it to rich fan boys to keep our beloved sport going for us. 

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

1 hour ago, Tsunami said:

What. A speedway promoter being a proper business man. Tut Tut, shame on him.

 

Personally, I'd say a proper businessman is someone who cares so much about his paying customers that on a freezing cold night he goes round handing out blankets and hot wheat pack hand warmers, not someone who charges almost double what his competitors do and 25% more than some two leagues higher.  This is especially at a time when speedway desperately needs to show that it represents good value for money and that fans are valued and not simply to be fleeced for as much as possible.

One of the main reasons why speedway is in the desperate situation that it is is that fans have been taken for granted for years and that sort of entry fee for that standard of speedway is a classic example.

The much maligned Buster Chapman deserves a huge amount of credit for the entry charges at King's Lynn, Ipswich & Peterborough and letting under 16's in free. I suspect, however, that he got the idea about free entry for U16's from another club. No prizes for guessing which one, but its the same one that gave out the blankets. 

[ouch 1,191]

Belle Vue Colts though it’s under 18. 

[waytogo28 2,054]

We all know how wealthy the people of London are - as what goes to Kent! And all those wealthy landowners too. Len is just charging what the market can bear. Maybe they are not "proper" old school supporters? They could be flash types to whom 20 or 30 quid at the door is nothing. Don't we need another 250, 000 of them across the country?

[cityrebel 2,960]

19 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

We all know how wealthy the people of London are - as what goes to Kent! And all those wealthy landowners too. Len is just charging what the market can bear. Maybe they are not "proper" old school supporters? They could be flash types to whom 20 or 30 quid at the door is nothing. Don't we need another 250, 000 of them across the country?

Well I'm one of those 'wealthy' Londoners that go to Kent on a regular basis and I'm flabbergasted at what Lennie is charging for NL racing. In my eyes he is taking advantage of an excellent fan base, who will probably continue to line his pockets.

[HGould 2,213]

14 hours ago, greyhoundp said:

Kent; Len Silver never does anything for nowt, ie lining his own pocket proven by the fact Kent remain in the NL, this despite having one of the best Stadia and being well supported.

I went to Kent 3 times in last 2 seasons and normally quite good at guess a crowd, probably 600-700 tops both times, that's decent for NL but by no means a big crowd. I doubt he could on that basis go up to PL (Mondays) or CL (any other night). 

[old bob at herne bay 828]

Mikebv, 

does your list of charges INCLUDE car parking ? I note Belle Vue for example charge £3 for parking. 

 

 

[*JJ 512]

It cost me £22 for ONE person at Somerset the other day: parking plus entry plus programme ... no concessions either!

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

30 minutes ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Mikebv, 

does your list of charges INCLUDE car parking ? I note Belle Vue for example charge £3 for parking. 

 

 

You can easily park on the road side at Belle Vue. Been there dozens of times and not paid to park yet. 

There are some places where you virtually have to use the stadium car park - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Eastbourne, Poole, Peterborough spring to mind - and pay for it. 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Halifaxtiger

[old bob at herne bay 828]

greyhounds,

a couple of facts. Kent applied for planning permission to race on a Saturday ( that would allow them to enter the CL) This was rejected by the local council. 

Kent appealed the planning decision, this was again rejected .

that is the fact of the matter of Kent remaining in the NL.

It angers me that Football clubs  are allowed to build a monstrous football stadia in  London with no parking facilities, a bunch of football hooligans who rampage around the streets every Saturday - and yet Speedway with its modest crowd levels of well behaved supporters and family atmosphere are refused planning at every opportunity by a very small minority of “NIMBY” neighbours.

 

Sadly I witnessed similar Issues at my local track Canterbury, where the local residents seemed happier listening to barking Greyhounds 24/7 in their kennels than the noise of a speedway meeting for 2 hours per week.

 

Strange country we live in nowadays ? 

[cityrebel 2,960]

1 hour ago, Halifaxtiger said:

You can easily park on the road side at Belle Vue. Been there dozens of times and not paid to park yet. 

There are some places where you virtually have to use the stadium car park - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Eastbourne, Poole, Peterborough spring to mind - and pay for it. 

Eastbourne haven't charged to use the car park for a couple of years. 

[mikebv 10,272]

20 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Mikebv, 

does your list of charges INCLUDE car parking ? I note Belle Vue for example charge £3 for parking. 

 

 

No, just entrance fee..

Car Parking and Programmes will bump this figure up to a fair old amount at some places...

But they are, like consuming food and drink at the venue, both 'optional extras'...

I always park out on the side streets at BV and never buy programmes.. 

If I did it would take the cost well over £30 quid for the two of us..

NB in the SS this week it has corrected Leicester's admission to £16. Still very good value....

[ArthurRudge 347]

I think a tenner is ample for a single adult charge and five for kids.

[grovesred 2]

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 10:17 AM, mikebv said:

Some common sense ideas..

So much could be done..

Flood secondary schools with free tickets, do the same with colleges and uni's...

Lads and Lasses doing mechanical courses, give them some hands on experience at the track..

Dont bother with 'free when accompanied by an adult' rubbish, teenage kids hang out in packs, let them all in for nothing..

They are not there now in any amount of numbers, so absolutely nothing at all to lose, even if ultimately no gain..

And you may sell some more teenage/18+ fodder, burgers, pop, booze etc. So those who own their food and drink outlets would benefit from the extra footfall if nothing else..

Nail hit squarely on the head.

I particularly agree with the statement about "accompanied by an adult" - once kids are into their teens, they don't generally want to go everywhere and do everything with their parents in tow; they're finding their feet as independent human beings, so encouraging them to start (or continue) coming to speedway with their mates instead of mum and dad seems a sensible thing to do.

I stopped attending speedway very soon after I flew the nest and stayed away for nearly thirty years, but football, which I have always attended with friends rather than family has kept me hooked since the age of eleven.

Everyone has their own unique experience, but promoters need to start looking beyond the "speedway is a family sport" mantra and realise that there is more to modern society than a series of nuclear families consisting of a mum, a dad, and two kids who remain eight or nine years of age for ever.

There is no "one size fits all" solution; each track needs to assess the demographics of its own locality, see who's missing (young, old, black, white, gay, straight, men, women, whatever) and start to construct a marketing strategy accordingly.