Eastbourne 2020

[The Dog 413]

Maybe it's Spedeworth that's in trouble... 

[cityrebel 2,960]

35 minutes ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Blimey Cityrebel, what was wrong at Kent last night …. Comfortable home victory according to speedway updates ? and 15 heats before curfew

The track was poor to start with. The riders didn't want to ride. After numerous track inspections we finally got underway at 6.50. It resembled a concrete bowl on the inside and a ploughed field outside. No tractor breaks could remedy the situation, so it was a dust bowl. With such a large crowd present, i was relieved that it wasn't abandoned.

[Jimsboy 58]

6 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Maybe it's Spedeworth that's in trouble... 

 seriously 

 

[Sings4Speedway 3,246]

Can anyone clarify the structure at Eastbourne?

Arlington Owners - Margret & Eric Dugard

Arlington leaseholder - Martin Dugard ?

Speedway Directors - Ian Jordan + Fineing ?

Speedway Promotors - Geer & Kilby ?

So with that in mind regarding 'alleged' outstanding monies....

For the stadium how far up the chain has the money made it or not at all? Do the directors owe Martin D and then in turn he is liable to Eric & Margret?

For the riders is it Geer & Kilby that are liable for the figures owed?

Who gets first financial control of the gate monies? The Directors? 

 

 

[arnieg 3,624]

49 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Can anyone clarify the structure at Eastbourne?

Arlington Owners - Margret & Eric Dugard

Arlington leaseholder - Martin Dugard ?

Speedway Directors - Ian Jordan + Fineing ?

Speedway Promotors - Geer & Kilby ?

So with that in mind regarding 'alleged' outstanding monies....

For the stadium how far up the chain has the money made it or not at all? Do the directors owe Martin D and then in turn he is liable to Eric & Margret?

For the riders is it Geer & Kilby that are liable for the figures owed?

Who gets first financial control of the gate monies? The Directors? 

 

 

Almost all of those will be in corporate wrappers, and liability will be almost entirely down to the extent to which the various company bankers require personal guarantees of the directors/owners.

[M.D 462]

I may be wrong but I thought that Martin didn't have anything to do with the Stadium anymore?

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

9 hours ago, Hackett said:

Praying for the miracle - but reading between the lines and seeing how speedway is organised I see today's non-announcement more about the SCB sorting out the situation with other promoters - lost points effecting the league and riders situations etc - rather than the delay being sorted to allow Eastbourne to find further funding. 

Eastbourne's location doesn't help them but it has been the same for years - All clubs are likely to struggle this season with the Covid restrictions and economic climate.  I remember seeing posters around Brighton in years past but as stated on other threads - the sport and fanbase is dying so the promoters have to look at other ways of targetting a younger demographic and bring in an independent Chairperson to run the sport. Love him or loathe him an Eddie Hearn type to promote the sport.  Social media coverage has improved but that is not difficult - the sport as a short sharp minute of action should be perfect for the younger generations attention span but needs experts in finding ways to tap into the digital age.. You-Tubers - instagram personalities riding on the back of a bike with a rider using go pros then using footage to their subscribers etc 

The greatest fear is that for anybody in London, Surrey + Sussex this is probably the last opportunity to watch the sport regularly live. My kids have been brought up with the sport taken in carrycots and now 11+15 - Kent Kings timings won't work , Poole is too far away ; so that will be it for a local side and  th speedway itch wil have to be scratched with SGP, British Finals and SoN if at Manchester. 

Should they look at cutting costs in the future and Eastbourne return to NL - those days with Martin + Connor Dugard were very good and a successful time for the club but the current level of NL racing is a far poorer offering and definately wouldn't hold the same interest in it's current format as it did previously. 

Fingers crossed but don't hold out much hope,  

 

 

I agree with much of what you have said but you have to question why Eastbourne are on the verge of closure when 70 miles along the south coast it is - by all accounts - boom time at Isle of Wight (I am reliably informed that last nights attendance was the biggest ever under the present promotion).

Smallbrook is no less inaccessible than Arlington, and you need a car to get there  (you can walk but having done so a few times I certainly wouldn't recommend it - with no streetlights and no pavements, its like a rather nasty game of chicken with speeding motorists).

I think the stupid BSPL decision to run before Covid restrictions were removed and before the vaccination programme got into its stride hamstrung Eastbourne (and indeed all the other clubs) That meant reduced capacity (Wolverhampton, for instance, described that as a 'financial disaster') and people - rightly or wrongly - still being nervous about attending spectator events. Isle of Wight, in contrast, waited until all Covid controls were lifted and more had been vaccinated, and therefore suffered no limited attendances nor misgivings about actually being there, nor were they burdened by financial loss in the early part of the season.

Covid has actually worked in Isle of Wight's favour, at least to a point. Its likely that the amount of domestic holidays in 2021 has been greater than at any time since the early 1970's (every day I seem to read about how packed Cornwall is) and the Warriors have really cashed in on it. You have to ask why Eastbourne - which is in no less of a holiday area - have not done the same. Part of the reason might be Isle of Wight's furious attempts to publicise the sport on the Island, recognising that many visitors might be unaware of the speedway's existence. In my many trips to Eastbourne, I don't recall any such attempts at all. 

Then there's the fact that Isle of Wight have substantially diversified their activities on race night. That might not be to everyone's taste (me included) but is anyone going to suggest it doesn't work ?

The main factor, though, I think is financial responsibility and that is taken extremely seriously by the Isle of Wight promotion. Whatever else might have been said about the Warriors, they operate on the basis that income must reasonably cover expenditure. To me, its seems clear that Eastbourne grossly overestimated income and/or grossly underestimated expenditure and that's why one club is in the black (more than that, much more, I suspect) and the other is on the brink of closing down.

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Halifaxtiger

[The Dog 413]

1 hour ago, Jimsboy said:

 seriously 

 

I know I know, was just hoping it wasn't all down to the Speedway side of things... 

[orion 7,612]

21 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

 

I agree with much of what you have said but you have to question why Eastbourne are on the verge of closure when 70 miles along the south coast it is - by all accounts - boom time at Isle of Wight (I am reliably informed that last nights attendance was the biggest ever under the present promotion).

Smallbrook is no less inaccessible than Arlington, and you need a car to get there  (you can walk but having done so a few times I certainly wouldn't recommend it - with no streetlights and no pavements, its like a rather nasty game of chicken with speeding motorists).

I think the stupid BSPL decision to run before Covid restrictions were removed and before the vaccination programme got into its stride hamstrung Eastbourne (and indeed all the other clubs) That meant reduced capacity (Wolverhampton, for instance, described that as a 'financial disaster') and people - rightly or wrongly - still being nervous about attending spectator events. Isle of Wight, in contrast, waited until all Covid controls were lifted and more had been vaccinated, and therefore suffered no limited attendances nor misgivings about actually being there, nor were they burdened by financial loss in the early part of the season.

Covid has actually worked in Isle of Wight's favour, at least to a point. Its likely that the amount of domestic holidays in 2021 has been greater than at any time since the early 1970's (every day I seem to read about how packed Cornwall is) and the Warriors have really cashed in on it. You have to ask why Eastbourne - which is in no less of a holiday area - have not done the same. Part of the reason might be Isle of Wight's furious attempts to publicise the sport on the Island, recognising that many visitors might be unaware of the speedway's existence. In my many trips to Eastbourne, I don't recall any such attempts at all. 

Then there's the fact that Isle of Wight have substantially diversified their activities on race night. That might not be to everyone's taste (me included) but is anyone going to suggest it doesn't work ?

The main factor, though, I think is financial responsibility and that is taken extremely seriously by the Isle of Wight promotion. Whatever else might have been said about the Warriors, they operate on the basis that income must reasonably cover expenditure. To me, its seems clear that Eastbourne grossly overestimated income and/or grossly underestimated expenditure and that's why one club is in the black (more than that, much more, I suspect) and the other is on the brink of closing down.

 

iow is speedway ran   on a holiday island in holiday time  . As for covid Eastbourne crowds were bigger at the start before covid restrictions were lifted .Do you really think that the iow circus act would work elsewhere ? 

[Sings4Speedway 3,246]

1 minute ago, orion said:

iow is speedway ran   on a holiday island in holiday time  . As for covid Eastbourne crowds were bigger at the start before covid restrictions were lifted .Do you really think that the iow circus act would work elsewhere ? 

I don't think that IOW's 'circus' would work everywhere else. What i do think/know is that they know their audience and how best to please them / attract greater numbers. Its obvious that under the BSPL handcuffs that wasn't possible and is proving the same for a number of other clubs. 

I know fans can be fickle, there were calls at several NDL teams to step up to CL level for multiple reasons and yet the step up has brought financial issues to most of these (publicised or otherwise). What has often been needed is a brutal dose of honesty, we would like to move up but we just can't afford it or this is the best team we can build without breaking the club. 

Circus or otherwise IOW have two ringmasters who are calling their own shots, riders prepared to entertain and not be intimidated by the mafia and the only ones left looking like clowns are the BSPL.

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

18 minutes ago, orion said:

iow is speedway ran   on a holiday island in holiday time  . As for covid Eastbourne crowds were bigger at the start before covid restrictions were lifted .Do you really think that the iow circus act would work elsewhere ? 

Wolverhampton promoter Chris Van Straaten said :  “It’s a dire situation for us, we are suffering severe losses every time we stage a home meeting because we simply cannot get any more supporters in due to the restrictions.

Eastbourne is no less speedway in a holiday destination in a holiday time. 

I don't know if it would work elsewhere but I know it definitely works on the Island and what we presently have is, at best, scarcely working anywhere. 

Just because you regard it is a 'circus' and don't like it is absolutely no reason to dismiss it as a way forward for the rest of the sport. The way I see it, the one thing that speedway cannot do is continue as it is. 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Halifaxtiger

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

1 minute ago, Halifaxtiger said:

According to Wolverhampton promoter Chris Van Straaten, running with a Covid reduced capacity lost him thousands and was a 'financial disaster'. 

Eastbourne is no less speedway in a holiday destination in a holiday time. 

I don't know if it would work elsewhere but I know it definitely works on the Island and what we presently have is, at best, scarcely working anywhere. 

Just because you regard it is a 'circus' and don't like it is absolutely no reason to dismiss it as a way forward for the rest of the sport. The way I see it, the one thing that speedway cannot do is continue as it is. 

It certainly is not a circus tiger is it? being prudent listening to what the people want god that is a pretty good model.Speedway here has to change but we have been saying that for 30 years plus nothing happens.Come Nov/Dec the promoters meet tinker around with the rules and that is it that can’t go on for much longer.

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

11 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

It certainly is not a circus tiger is it? being prudent listening to what the people want god that is a pretty good model.Speedway here has to change but we have been saying that for 30 years plus nothing happens.Come Nov/Dec the promoters meet tinker around with the rules and that is it that can’t go on for much longer.

I would not term it as such but I have to admit that speedway for me is 15 heats with 14 blokes, nothing more.

The difference between me and some others, though, is that I will embrace changes of the kind that Isle of Wight have introduced if it is going to benefit the sport and they  won't, despite the fact that they know only too well that the one thing that speedway cannot do is carry on the way it is. You would think that the near closure of Birmingham and Newcastle and Eastbourne now in the balance - I am told they are relying on someone taking over - might have changed a few minds but it seems not. 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Halifaxtiger

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

13 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

I would not term it as such but I have to admit that speedway for me is 15 heats with 14 blokes, nothing more.

The difference between me and some others, though, is that I will embrace changes of the kind that Isle of Wight have introduced if it is going to benefit the sport and they  won't, despite the fact that they know only too well that the one thing that speedway cannot do is continue as it is. 

Totally right for me speedway is just four guys giving there all entertaining us.Like you i like a meeting to start at 7.30 finish say at 9.30 job done come hopefully seeing a few good races.I have grand kids now and if you take them get them to enjoy it the speedway and other activities it has to be good something for everyone.My wife who is not a massive fan would love that model  now at IOW go off and have a nose around at the other activities with money being spent makes sense.Both my boys followed speedway from 1995/ 2008 and are now aged 29 and 27 they don’t go they say it is overpriced and they both  have other things to do now.But both still follow the sport still know what’s going on which is bloody frustrating but as you said things need to change.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Sidney the robin

[orion 7,612]

1 hour ago, Halifaxtiger said:

Wolverhampton promoter Chris Van Straaten said :  “It’s a dire situation for us, we are suffering severe losses every time we stage a home meeting because we simply cannot get any more supporters in due to the restrictions.

Eastbourne is no less speedway in a holiday destination in a holiday time. 

I don't know if it would work elsewhere but I know it definitely works on the Island and what we presently have is, at best, scarcely working anywhere. 

Just because you regard it is a 'circus' and don't like it is absolutely no reason to dismiss it as a way forward for the rest of the sport. The way I see it, the one thing that speedway cannot do is continue as it is. 

The subject is  Eastbourne .. Eastbourne had bigger crowds at a early stage so there plight the subject we are talking about has little to do with covid  just rank bad mangerment .. To much is made of what is going on in the iow .. its a captive audience in Holiday season .Fair play to the people who run it because they have maximize it but the chances of it  working elsewhere are zero 

Edited August 25, 2021 by orion