Jump to content
British Speedway Forum
Hackett

Eastbourne 2020

Recommended Posts

People to quick to blame speedway in general but the bottom line this was just a poorly  ran business, speedway club or no speedway club 

Edited by orion
  • Like 9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Gutted for the supporters of Eastbourne speedway who have lost their speedway through no fault of their own. The riders will find other teams, some already have. Very poor management from the Eastbourne promotion to allow things to get to this stage, surely they could've done something before now. 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, orion said:

People to quick to blame speedway in general but the bottom line this was just poorly ran business speedway club or no speedway club 

Agreed.  How many people were taking a salary out of the speedway income?  This must be why their costs were so high they needed 1000 people to break even - I can't imagine it was rent for the stadium and if they did pay over the odds for riders' wages then it's clearly poor management.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, shippy22 said:

It does seem strange that a couple of poor crowds has resulted in such a financial mess.  Eastbourne had 7 English riders, several of them were local, so the travel expenses must have been around the lowest in the league.  The stadium is owned by a family with a lot of speedway history, so would not imagine that the rent would be more than other tracks.  Were the promoters being too optimistic budgeting for a crowd of at least 1000?.    

 

They must have been well behind even before the covid.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Agreed.  How many people were taking a salary out of the speedway income?  This must be why their costs were so high they needed 1000 people to break even - I can't imagine it was rent for the stadium and if they did pay over the odds for riders' wages then it's clearly poor management.

The accounts for 2019 show that they paid out £235,725 in "staff costs" that year on a turnover of £237,721.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
53 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

What went wrong?

People didn't go in sufficient numbers. 

The audience for speedway on a regular basis in East Sussex has withered away to a few hundred.

Jordon and Fineing Over dreamt the dream. Surely you have woken up now @Richard Weston or still tired from your trips to Abbots wood :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, old bob at herne bay said:

Very sad for the Eastbourne fans. 

The more I read the more baffled I am about this sorry mess. Tom Brennan quoted in Star today saying riders owed money for SEVERAL  meetings. 

Alleged rent arrears to stadium owners. 

Then EB statement promising everyone refunds on tickets , merchandise for future events, donation to air fence fund etc etc So they must have some money in the bank ??

So with a ludicrous 1000 breakeven crowd target one wonders whether they ever got 1000 and every meeting in 2021 ran at a loss? 

Desperately sad that the late Charlie Dugard’s Speedway site didn’t quite make its 90th Anniversary

It will be a brave man/woman to take on EB speedway again, stocks to continue this season then I wonder about  the planning status of the Arlington site ?

Like Rye House Swindon Coventry Oxford does anyone seriously  really believe these tracks will ever be revived ??

Charlie Dugard closed Eastbourne down in the mid 1960s so any anniversary is only related to when the sport started, rather than continuous operation. The 90th milestone will be reached, even if there is no racing. 
More than ten years ago, the late Bob Dugard said the Eagles were losing £50,000 a year and things have got worse since then. 
The Eagles worked as an NDL team so should have stayed in that league. Who knows why they went to the Championship but if they needed 1000 a meeting to break even, bearing in mind there are some teams in that league that don’t tempt the occasional supporter out for the night, then they were doomed from the start, regardless of covid restrictions. 
It’s really sad to see a club close but hopefully a new management with a realistic business plan can come in next year. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Marshall07 said:

To replace multiple riders you must come back under the 38 point limit I believe

Pretty sure you are correct, if one rider to be replaced you can replace him on a lesser average but more than one requires a reset back to the original start of season figure.. 

Not too sure if you have changed RS level riders eg from a 3* to a 2* if you can then use that extra point to reset the team..

And you never know quite know what will be "in the interest of Speedway" do you? :rolleyes:

A more ironic phrase than any I possibly have ever heard, as when it is used, the decision invariably is anything but in the interest of Speedway from a credibility stand point.. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Awful news. Keep the faith,  while a track is still there anything is possible. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 minutes ago, Wee Eck said:


The Eagles worked as an NDL team so should have stayed in that league. 

Although of course BSPL has changed the NDL model dramatically by imposing a new operating model this year  - so really not sustainable for a stand alone team 

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sad as it speedway will keep on losing teams unless they start promoting the sport , too many people thought due to the pandemic and nearly 18 months without speedway the fans would come flooding  , How wrong they were 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
29 minutes ago, Jimsboy said:

Jordon and Fineing Over dreamt the dream. Surely you have woken up now @Richard Weston or still tired from your trips to Abbots wood :D

More time to walk in Abbots Wood and the reservoir

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
25 minutes ago, Sir Sidney said:

Although of course BSPL has changed the NDL model dramatically by imposing a new operating model this year  - so really not sustainable for a stand alone team 

Did you see the attendances in the last season of NDL?

Edited by Richard Weston

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

Did you see the attendances in the last season of NDL?

Does that matter if its proportionate? If rent and all other running costs are fixed and just wages are variable then they can be adjusted and team built accordingly. I reckon a break even point for NDL could be around 400 through the gate, if that isn't achievable then the sport in the area isn't sustainable at any level.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

Did you see the attendances in the last season of NDL?

I came to quite a few of the meetings so yes. I think the NDL at that point was a great product.

I think this year, with the imposed new model, there are simply insufficient numbers of teams to create enough meetings for a stand alone team. That is why I think it is unsustainable, rather than the quality of the racing and the number of supporters who would attend. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now

×

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy