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HGould

One League - Matt Ford

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Indeed. For whatever reason speedway was not classified as a sport but as an entertainment which had a much higher rate of tax.

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46 minutes ago, chunky said:

Rremember that it was the introduction of the entertainment tax that was at the root of the problem back then, not a lack of support.

Plus, back then, there was no shortage of venues - and many potential venues - available. The Great British NIMBY has ensured that isn't the case now, as well as the demise of greyhound racing.

Steve

Although entertainment tax killed many tracks, attendances were already falling after the post war boom. You are right about the number of venues available at the time, many of which have now been demolished. Looking at pictures of some of these venues, which were right next to houses,  they would never have got planning permission these days.

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It is also no new phenomenon, not wanting stadia near your home. Sure there were complaints way back in the 1930s about speedway racing in or around London. And it wasn't confined to the UK, as the track in Hamburg caused neighbours to complain and try to get it closed for a few years in the early 1930s

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21 hours ago, topsoil said:

Exactly what I can see happening. One league, two or three, the only way I can see to reduce costs is to stop giving in to riders' demands. Riders need to realise that the sport in this country cannot afford full time, all year round professionals.

Many post on here about riders demands but exactly how much are we actually talking about in simple  money terms?  

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5 hours ago, HertsRacer said:

Although entertainment tax killed many tracks, attendances were already falling after the post war boom. You are right about the number of venues available at the time, many of which have now been demolished. Looking at pictures of some of these venues, which were right next to houses,  they would never have got planning permission these days.

Of course, attendances have been falling for years, but not to the embarrassing level they are at now. There are more people in the pits today than on the terraces...

I've said this many times before, but speedway used to be a city-centre sport. I am sure (as iris says) that there were complaints from local residents, but not to the level - or voracity - they are these days. People used to be more tolerant - BSF members please note!!! :drink:

When you think of the tracks that used to be right in the middle of residential area, it's incredible...

Steve

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11 hours ago, Mr Ore said:

Many post on here about riders demands but exactly how much are we actually talking about in simple  money terms?  

Standardised machines and no guarantees of any kind or signing on fees but with hugely increased points money to encourage "hungry " riders to race for each point. 

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5 hours ago, waytogo28 said:

Standardised machines and no guarantees of any kind or signing on fees but with hugely increased points money to encourage "hungry " riders to race for each point. 

Anecdotal and subjective evidence obviously, but...

The racing in Poland (at all three levels not just the top league), does appear to be closer, with much more aggression shown..

I saw many races yesterday, with many not involving the out and out superstars, which had riders 'throwing bikes at each other'...

I can only assume the financial rewards (and the pressure to remain in the team and keep them), must play a huge part in the decision making process of the riders...

Doesn't seem to be anywhere near the same intensity in the UK which probably mirrors the racing...

Maybe more performance pay would encourage more intensity? And maybe even include crowd numbers within that pay structure? ie double the crowd and double your money...

Edited by mikebv

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47 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Maybe more performance pay would encourage more intensity? And maybe even include crowd numbers within that pay structure? ie double the crowd and double your money...

Oh Yes, invariably the best motivation. No guarantees though!

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A bit of analysis shows that currently we have :

7 Premiership clubs and 11 Championship clubs.

If we merge both leagues we need 126 riders (18 clubs x 7).

At the moment the Green sheet averages for both leagues show 99 different riders, there are 27 riders competing in both leagues. That's 55% of the premiership riders also riding in the championship league for any "Premiership elitists". ( 6 out 7 of the Ipswich team and 5 out of 7 Kings Lynn btw).

So it either means 14, 7 man teams (98 riders), 16 6 man teams  (96 riders) or the current 18 clubs with 5 man teams.

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On 6/24/2019 at 1:15 PM, mikebv said:

Anecdotal and subjective evidence obviously, but...

The racing in Poland (at all three levels not just the top league), does appear to be closer, with much more aggression shown..

I saw many races yesterday, with many not involving the out and out superstars, which had riders 'throwing bikes at each other'...

I can only assume the financial rewards (and the pressure to remain in the team and keep them), must play a huge part in the decision making process of the riders...

Doesn't seem to be anywhere near the same intensity in the UK which probably mirrors the racing...

Maybe more performance pay would encourage more intensity? And maybe even include crowd numbers within that pay structure? ie double the crowd and double your money...

When speedway came to King's Lynn and they joined the league in 1966, it was said that Terry Betts had a bonus clause in his contract related to the attendance. True or not, I have no idea. However, Betts was adored by the fans, so was probably worth every penny.

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On 6/23/2019 at 3:54 PM, iris123 said:

It is also no new phenomenon, not wanting stadia near your home. Sure there were complaints way back in the 1930s about speedway racing in or around London. And it wasn't confined to the UK, as the track in Hamburg caused neighbours to complain and try to get it closed for a few years in the early 1930s

Too right, Greenford and Walthamstow were two of the early casualties in the 1930's. Although the latter did return for a short spell post war.

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16 hours ago, Richard Weston said:

When speedway came to King's Lynn and they joined the league in 1966, it was said that Terry Betts had a bonus clause in his contract related to the attendance. True or not, I have no idea. However, Betts was adored by the fans, so was probably worth every penny.

Yes It's a true story.

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41 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Yes It's a true story.

Thank you. Always thought Bettsy was a good businessman as well as a good rider.

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The other weekend in Hull was a 2-day music festival on a local park; first day pop & indie, next was rock and metal (yes!).  The sustained noise over the weekend (11am-10pm) was pretty loud and also included a funfair (12pm-8pm) with its own music + an idiot who clearly loved the sound of their own voice rambling constantly over the PA all day long, the fair had been there for the previous week + 2days of monster trucks.  I was unable to attend but clearly heard the noise from maybe 1/2 mile away - actually has to be said most of the music, and especially the monster trucks, sounded pretty cool.  After prob 10 days of all this activity + a more than generous helping of rain the local park is now a real mess.  My point is that, ok, a lot of people had fun and good luck to them all, residents put up with the music fest, Hull Fest actually, but local authorities / NIMBYs won't permit / allow speedway which consists of just 20 mins of noise in short 1minute bursts....

Edited by martinmauger
grammar
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Aha. There are no true defenders of speedway it is judged through a years back, pre-silencers, view in people' minds ( especially local official's minds ). As for this supposed Cross Party Speedway group of MPs, it is just a lunching jolly for the Blazers.

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