foamfence 2,917 Posted March 2, 2021 10 minutes ago, arnieg said: So did I imagine the existence of a speedway track in Leicester, the UK City with the highest proportion of non white citizens in the country. Crowd full of Asians is it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,241 Posted March 2, 2021 4 minutes ago, Jonny the spud said: So no Asians go to football matches then ? I'd be interested to know what percentage do if a study was to take place? White City struggled for local support in what was predominantly a West Indian neighbourhood in those days. I recall the promoters encouraging a West Indian to take up the sport so as to attract the ethnic population to attend but it came to nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rico 210 Posted March 2, 2021 9 hours ago, Daniel Smith said: People seem scared to say why Bradford wouldn't work as a Speedway venue. I have no idea why, it's not a racist opinion, it's fact. Majority white area's struggle to get 1000 week in week out. Bradford would struggle to get 100 You seem to be suggesting that Bradford isn't a "majority white area". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_Bradford Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,314 Posted March 2, 2021 10 hours ago, Daniel Smith said: People seem scared to say why Bradford wouldn't work as a Speedway venue. I have no idea why, it's not a racist opinion, it's fact. Majority white area's struggle to get 1000 week in week out. Bradford would struggle to get 100 This argument doesn't stand up at all, even if speedway didn't attract non-white people. If Bradford has a population of 530,00 and 67.44% of the population are white, that still leaves around 360,000 white people in Bradford. That's more than the entire populations of Poole and Swindon combined. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foamfence 2,917 Posted March 2, 2021 1 minute ago, Grachan said: This argument doesn't stand up at all, even if speedway didn't attract non-white people. If Bradford has a population of 530,00 and 67.44% of the population are white, that still leaves around 360,000 white people in Bradford. That's more than the entire populations of Poole and Swindon combined. The majority of Odsal support came from outside Bradford, places such as Halifax (a short drive away) and further afield. You also have to consider that the Boomerangs, Tudors, Panthers, Northern, Barons and Dukes were all Bradford clubs and all of them closed down. Having said that, good luck to anyone who tries it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,314 Posted March 2, 2021 3 minutes ago, foamfence said: The majority of Odsal support came from outside Bradford, places such as Halifax (a short drive away) and further afield. You also have to consider that the Boomerangs, Tudors, Panthers, Northern, Barons and Dukes were all Bradford clubs and all of them closed down. Having said that, good luck to anyone who tries it. That may well be the case. All I'm saying is that blaming crowd levels on the percentage of ethnic minorities in the city doesn't make sense. I remember going to a Bradford v Swindon match in what was probably the late 1980s and was pretty much stood alone on the back straight. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tyke 270 Posted March 2, 2021 It doesn't really matter where tracks are placed in the UK, the sport is very much on the decline. You can count on One hand (and maybe lose a digit or two) those that get half sizeable attendances on the whole. The fact that speedway promoters don't even produce attendance figures really is all you need to know. Potentially those that actually make a profit maybe less after losing your digit's. I live in Bradford and I'm sure in the short term it would be attended quiet well, but long term like most tracks it will struggle to survive, because in my opionon the product only service's a small miche market and that market I am afraid is very much twindling . You can go on about 000's of reasons why patrons don't come through the door and pay an entrance fee (See what I did there !) the mere fact is Speedway is very, very much a minority sport in the UK and very losely professional these days. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,062 Posted March 2, 2021 46 minutes ago, tyke said: It doesn't really matter where tracks are placed in the UK, the sport is very much on the decline. You can count on One hand (and maybe lose a digit or two) those that get half sizeable attendances on the whole. The fact that speedway promoters don't even produce attendance figures really is all you need to know. Potentially those that actually make a profit maybe less after losing your digit's. I live in Bradford and I'm sure in the short term it would be attended quiet well, but long term like most tracks it will struggle to survive, because in my opionon the product only service's a small miche market and that market I am afraid is very much twindling . You can go on about 000's of reasons why patrons don't come through the door and pay an entrance fee (See what I did there !) the mere fact is Speedway is very, very much a minority sport in the UK and very losely professional these days. I've said for many years and been criticised on here for my opinion, that the only way, the activity of speedway can survive, is to be virtually amateur only and have tracks which are 'tracks in a field'. Speedway cannot continue pretending it's something it isn't. It needs to go back to it's roots and maybe it can grow from that level. The biggest thing killing speedway, is the cost. Costs for the riders, promoters, fans etc. The tracks would have to run weekends only, so the riders and the club members can earn money elsewhere during the week. There is no point starting each season on a wing and prayer. Losing Rye House, Lakeside, Stoke in recent years, in my opinion, was the final nail in the coffin for speedway. Reduce the costs for everyone, I believe it can survive. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deano 1,318 Posted March 2, 2021 2 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: I've said for many years and been criticised on here for my opinion, that the only way, the activity of speedway can survive, is to be virtually amateur only and have tracks which are 'tracks in a field'. Speedway cannot continue pretending it's something it isn't. It needs to go back to it's roots and maybe it can grow from that level. The biggest thing killing speedway, is the cost. Costs for the riders, promoters, fans etc. The tracks would have to run weekends only, so the riders and the club members can earn money elsewhere during the week. There is no point starting each season on a wing and prayer. Losing Rye House, Lakeside, Stoke in recent years, in my opinion, was the final nail in the coffin for speedway. Reduce the costs for everyone, I believe it can survive. Precisely. If something makes money, it attracts investment. It may not be the whole answer to speedways prayers, but it is a good base to start. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sotonian 603 Posted March 2, 2021 16 hours ago, Daniel Smith said: People seem scared to say why Bradford wouldn't work as a Speedway venue. I have no idea why, it's not a racist opinion, it's fact. Majority white area's struggle to get 1000 week in week out. Bradford would struggle to get 100 It's not just speedway though. How many Asians do you see competing in or watching any branch of motorsport? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted March 2, 2021 6 hours ago, tyke said: It doesn't really matter where tracks are placed in the UK, the sport is very much on the decline. You can count on One hand (and maybe lose a digit or two) those that get half sizeable attendances on the whole. The fact that speedway promoters don't even produce attendance figures really is all you need to know. Potentially those that actually make a profit maybe less after losing your digit's. I live in Bradford and I'm sure in the short term it would be attended quiet well, but long term like most tracks it will struggle to survive, because in my opionon the product only service's a small miche market and that market I am afraid is very much twindling . You can go on about 000's of reasons why patrons don't come through the door and pay an entrance fee (See what I did there !) the mere fact is Speedway is very, very much a minority sport in the UK and very losely professional these days. Why don't speedway clubs publish their attendance figures. Even the lowest non league football clubs reveal their crowd numbers. Speedway never has, even in the good times for the sport. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted March 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Sotonian said: It's not just speedway though. How many Asians do you see competing in or watching any branch of motorsport? Its not just Asians though is it as far as Speedway is concerned, we struggle to get white British/Europeans to watch Speedway never mind any other ethnicity. The product and its costs are all wrong to attract potential new supporters, to many to list here but if the alleged rent of 4k per meeting is true then Speedway is a no goer at Odsal, I think the maximum rent payable to make Speedway viable at Odsal would likely be in the region of 2k per meeting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BangerBoy 47 Posted March 2, 2021 5 minutes ago, cityrebel said: Why don't speedway clubs publish their attendance figures. Even the lowest non league football clubs reveal their crowd numbers. Speedway never has, even in the good times for the sport. Maybe for tax reasons 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuxtonTiger 119 Posted March 2, 2021 31 minutes ago, BangerBoy said: Maybe for tax reasons Tax dodging reasons!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proud panther 1,494 Posted March 2, 2021 1 hour ago, BangerBoy said: Maybe for tax reasons More VAT in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites