screm 7,987 Posted July 19, 2020 17 minutes ago, Fromafar said: I think the problem could be if League Speedway did get the go ahead and a number of Teams committed to it, if the crowd levels were poor at certain venues would they be allowed to withdraw without Penalty.(clubs have been fined in the past) It’s a risk given the current situation.Its not as though most Clubs Could run if only 50% normal crowd turned up without losing money(we all know there is plenty room for normal crowds).Maybe they would be some sort of subsidy from BSPA to help.! I doubt very much the BSPA would have the kind of money needed to subsidise any club who are running at a loss. Should racing be given the go ahead you can bet there will be clubs up and down the Country doing there sums, some may give it a go, some others will go down the Glasgow route and with draw their season to a close deciding to start afresh for next year. There are clubs, Peterborough, Belle Vue, Berwick etc who can cope with several hundred in their stadium and still practice social distancing but there are others Edinburgh, Wolves, Newcastle etc who may not. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
George Dodds 310 Posted July 19, 2020 20 minutes ago, Fromafar said: I think the problem could be if League Speedway did get the go ahead and a number of Teams committed to it, if the crowd levels were poor at certain venues would they be allowed to withdraw without Penalty.(clubs have been fined in the past) It’s a risk given the current situation.Its not as though most Clubs Could run if only 50% normal crowd turned up without losing money(we all know there is plenty room for normal crowds).Maybe they would be some sort of subsidy from BSPA to help.! It's a huge leap I accept. The one thing I would say is that people said "who'll go to pub/a cafe/McDonald's takeaway/Starbucks/hairdressers/barbers etc and once they re-opened enough people managed to overcome their fears. To be honest anyone who was too afraid to commit to a 10/12 meeting season probably should just put it on ice until 2021. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TotallyHonestJohn 3,078 Posted July 19, 2020 25 minutes ago, Fromafar said: I think the problem could be if League Speedway did get the go ahead and a number of Teams committed to it, if the crowd levels were poor at certain venues would they be allowed to withdraw without Penalty.(clubs have been fined in the past) It’s a risk given the current situation.Its not as though most Clubs Could run if only 50% normal crowd turned up without losing money(we all know there is plenty room for normal crowds).Maybe they would be some sort of subsidy from BSPA to help.! Honestly I very much doubt you will see league speedway this season... reciprocal challenge matches; possibly 4's and individuals but I think any type of league format will be very difficult... You are correct when you state there could be fines for not completing fixtures; so another reason not to run in a league in the very short time left to complete a structured season... On BSPA subsidy support there will be no chance as they don't have the funds to subsidise themselves let alone clubs... Regards THJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,224 Posted July 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: Honestly I very much doubt you will see league speedway this season... reciprocal challenge matches; possibly 4's and individuals but I think any type of league format will be very difficult... You are correct when you state there could be fines for not completing fixtures; so another reason not to run in a league in the very short time left to complete a structured season... On BSPA subsidy support there will be no chance as they don't have the funds to subsidise themselves let alone clubs... Regards THJ I personally think it would have to be meaningful matches(league)to tempt a lot of fans in sufficient numbers. Cant see that happening,(happy if proved wrong) Fans don’t seem to turn up for meaningless meetings in the last couple of decades, better things to do with their money I reckon. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neila 1,085 Posted July 19, 2020 With all the various rules surrounding getting a stadium ready for fans, then will enough fans turn up to make it viable, will teams have a full set of riders willing to race for maybe a couple of months, will any potential sponsors have any money left to spend on helping speedway run ? All these very big questions, and the answer will only come if they decide to run, but if no one turns up and money does not come thro, clubs are running at a far higher loss than normal !!. So imo it would be best to forget about speedway in 2020, and focus on 2021 with the same teams 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,224 Posted July 19, 2020 10 minutes ago, Neila said: With all the various rules surrounding getting a stadium ready for fans, then will enough fans turn up to make it viable, will teams have a full set of riders willing to race for maybe a couple of months, will any potential sponsors have any money left to spend on helping speedway run ? All these very big questions, and the answer will only come if they decide to run, but if no one turns up and money does not come thro, clubs are running at a far higher loss than normal !!. So imo it would be best to forget about speedway in 2020, and focus on 2021 with the same teams That would seem sensible to me given the fragility of the Sport nowadays. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TotallyHonestJohn 3,078 Posted July 19, 2020 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Fromafar said: I personally think it would have to be meaningful matches(league)to tempt a lot of fans in sufficient numbers. Cant see that happening,(happy if proved wrong) Fans don’t seem to turn up for meaningless meetings in the last couple of decades, better things to do with their money I reckon. Dunno about meaningless... seen many an entertaining Tyne/Tweed or Tweed//Tees Trophy season opener and although these can be classed as meaningless pre-season warm up matches the guys still have to race to get paid... Also seen many a good individual meeting at Berwick and the last U21 meeting held there was really entertaining but at the end of the day you pay your money or not on what you wish to spend it on... The last 4's I seen up there was unfortunately in 1979 and had Tom Owen Rod Hunter Graeme Stapleton and Neil Coddinton in for Newcastle with Roger Wright Steve McDermott Graham Jones and Nigel Close representing Berwick... Berwick won the regional 4's that year... The latest government release advised mid October before stadia can open up so even if the season was extended to November what league could you run in 6/7 weeks... if 12 teams run 4 leagues of three a semi final and final... along the lines of the old season opening competition the premier trophy that a great deal of people didn't like.. As Neila states above there is an awful lot of risks to consider however the Berwick promotion must receive some credit for exploring all the options in how viable it would or could prove to be in running meetings in any remaining time available... The other thing is how many fans might be dragged in from other regions if Berwick were say only one of two three or four clubs to get a Covid Cup type challenge match run... there are fans in other areas desperate to see some speedway... My honest opinion is we are flogging a dead horse but it's good to talk... Regards THJ Edited July 19, 2020 by TotallyHonestJohn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,224 Posted July 19, 2020 10 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: Dunno about meaningless... seen many an entertaining Tyne/Tweed or Tweed//Tees Trophy season opener and although these can be classed as meaningless pre-season warm up matches the guys still have to race to get paid... Also seen many a good individual meeting at Berwick and the last U21 meeting held there was really entertaining but at the end of the day you pay your money or not on what you wish to spend it on... The last 4's I seen up there was unfortunately in 1979 and had Tom Owen Rod Hunter Graeme Stapleton and Neil Coddinton in for Newcastle with Roger Wright Steve McDermott Graham Jones and Nigel Close representing Berwick... Berwick won the regional 4's that year... The latest government release advised mid October before stadia can open up so even if the season was extended to November what league could you run in 6/7 weeks... if 12 teams run 4 leagues of three a semi final and final... along the lines of the old season opening competition the premier trophy that a great deal of people didn't like.. As Neila states above there is an awful lot of risks to consider however the Berwick promotion must receive some credit for exploring all the options in how viable it would or could prove to be in running meetings in any remaining time available... The other thing is how many fans might be dragged in from other regions if Berwick were say only one of two three or four clubs to get a Covid Cup type challenge match run... there are fans in other areas desperate to see some speedway... My honest opinion is we are flogging a dead horse but it's good to talk... Regards THJ The other thing that has to be taken into consideration given what you have just said is how many neutral fans are going to travel 60-100 mls to watch a match in Oct-Nov given the weather prospects and dark nights. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TotallyHonestJohn 3,078 Posted July 19, 2020 4 minutes ago, Fromafar said: The other thing that has to be taken into consideration given what you have just said is how many neutral fans are going to travel 60-100 mls to watch a match in Oct-Nov given the weather prospects and dark nights. True and I have no idea... but it might be more than you think... you could be pleasantly surprised... I have a couple of pals in Wolverhampton would crawl all the way up the motorway on their hands and knees just to see some speedway action... Berwick are central to Edinburgh Glasgow and Newcastle and I even trailed across from Cumbria just to watch a practice session... so unless you try you would never know... Regards THJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,224 Posted July 19, 2020 10 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: True and I have no idea... but it might be more than you think... you could be pleasantly surprised... I have a couple of pals in Wolverhampton would crawl all the way up the motorway on their hands and knees just to see some speedway action... Berwick are central to Edinburgh Glasgow and Newcastle and I even trailed across from Cumbria just to watch a practice session... so unless you try you would never know... Regards THJ Tell your pals from Wolverhampton to hire a coach and fill it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TotallyHonestJohn 3,078 Posted July 19, 2020 23 minutes ago, Fromafar said: Tell your pals from Wolverhampton to hire a coach and fill it. As a sad inditcment to Speedway there use to be four of them until the back end of last season now they are three and one of them ain't to good now either... Regards THJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
screm 7,987 Posted July 19, 2020 47 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: True and I have no idea... but it might be more than you think... you could be pleasantly surprised... I have a couple of pals in Wolverhampton would crawl all the way up the motorway on their hands and knees just to see some speedway action... Berwick are central to Edinburgh Glasgow and Newcastle and I even trailed across from Cumbria just to watch a practice session... so unless you try you would never know... Regards THJ As a floating fan you can travel with relative confidence at this time of the year, bit of a different story should the season get into October/November. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSC67 1,452 Posted July 19, 2020 Another big consideration is that there are a lot of people on furlough and who's jobs may be in danger once the scheme starts to wind down . Money will be tight and speedway may not be that important to them , also will fans attending any matches need to supply contact details for track and trace purposes ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TotallyHonestJohn 3,078 Posted July 19, 2020 13 minutes ago, DSC67 said: Another big consideration is that there are a lot of people on furlough and who's jobs may be in danger once the scheme starts to wind down . Money will be tight and speedway may not be that important to them , also will fans attending any matches need to supply contact details for track and trace purposes ? Think that was the reason of the trailing of the new ticketing system... it may be that the only way this can be done effectively is through an online process that has details of the purchaser which to my mind will be another hurdle to jump... Regards THJ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,224 Posted July 19, 2020 7 minutes ago, TotallyHonestJohn said: Think that was the reason of the trailing of the new ticketing system... it may be that the only way this can be done effectively is through an online process that has details of the purchaser which to my mind will be another hurdle to jump... Regards THJ That’s the way a lot of pubs restaurants are getting your details as you have to order and pay through their apt, that way they have got your contact details. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites