Will British Speedway Survive ?

[MattK 3,447]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

It does if you get the kids hooked on it..

McDonalds do a 'reasonable job' of targeting kids so I presume it works!! 

The issue UK Speedway has is that kids up to say 11 will  go along maybe under suffererence, or maybe they do like it so put some pressure on parents to take them..

However post 11, and on into the teens, why would you want to go somewhere your Dad and Granddad goes for a night out?

Dominoes and Crib in the interval maybe? 

Since I would say 2000, there are now more people living who 'used to go to Speedway' than currently do attend..

Therefore targeting their return has to be easier than getting someone who hasn't a clue about the sport surely?

 

That's because McDonald's gear their products towards appeal to children. Bright colours, tie-ins with kids films and TV, toys in the Happy Meals. As I said, speedway could do this but it would require a complete revamp of how the sport is presented today.

[Speedtiger 327]

39 minutes ago, falcace said:

I think by general consensus Belle Vue Speedway currently has the strongest offering of all the venues in the UK at the moment. Good facilities, great track with excellent racing, city location in the top league. Yet, as I understand it, they are operating under break even levels using the outdated midweek speedway model. If Belle Vue can't cut it, what chance have other tracks got of a long-term future?

Agree with you I’m a regular attender at BV and the track racing etc are the best in U.K. by a mile But think you are wrong about ‘break even’ as I were told by an insider that they have lost 100’s of thousands pounds. And that was before this virus crisis. How clubs can survive this disaster is looking increasingly difficult. 

[HGould 2,213]

14 minutes ago, Speedtiger said:

Agree with you I’m a regular attender at BV and the track racing etc are the best in U.K. by a mile But think you are wrong about ‘break even’ as I were told by an insider that they have lost 100’s of thousands pounds. And that was before this virus crisis. How clubs can survive this disaster is looking increasingly difficult. 

Heard that too although I think much of it may be linked to what City Council claimed is owed by Dave Gorton (is it Gorton or Gordon - sorry) and Chris Morton. Good race track yet reputed to be losing money each season.

Look at Glasgow, another good race track, probably the best in terms of professionalism in the UK and they admit they lose tens of thousands a season.

Which Clubs (if any) do make any money based purely on Speedway?

Scunthorpe (mainly you'd guess from track rental)

Ipswich (big crowds and great Sponsors) 

Swindon - possibly

Kent - Len claims he's never had a season where he has lost money.

Almost every other one I can think of has at some point admitted either hanging on or losing hand over fist.

Very worrying times.

 

[Crabba59 156]

Think you will find bell vue are losing money more to do with what they have to pay out rent, security guards ect. That's why ther are trying to buy it lock stock and barrel of the council.  If they could don't think the loss would be any where nearly like there are now if at all. 

[Ben91 1,743]

3 hours ago, MattK said:

Again, proof that speedway doesn't understand its target market. Why promote speedway to kids? It makes no sense.

Sport is for everyone. Speedway is a sport and can be for everyone. When I go to football the crowd is predominantly male, yes, but the age range of fans goes from toddlers right up to the elderly and there are an increasing number of female fans also. 

Appealing to the younger generation is logical. They are the fans of the future. The product now may find most of its audience in the over 50-60 demographic but that isn’t the smartest demographic to target to bring in new fans. 

Speedway is a strange entity. I am not a huge motorsport fan but I used to love my Speedway. If the sport here was governed and promoted properly I may well love it again sometime. The sport’s uniqueness is its selling point. It is loud and dirty, people like that. It is dangerous, people like that. You can see the whole race wherever you are in the stadium and it only takes one minute. That is a huge selling point for those who get bored easily with other motorsports because they can only see one part of the circuit or because the races drag on for too long. What holds back that part of proceedings in Speedway is unnecessary delays. Track grading and watering, riders having back to back rides etc. These are issues that could be fixed although that is a completely different subject. 

[brianbuck 928]

I think the "losses" at Belle Vue are due to costs linked with the construction of the new stadium more than operating costs. It is a bit obscure whether these "losses" are on the part of the promotion or Manchester City Council. I can't claim inside knowledge of any of this - it's just my thinking.

One thing I do dislike is the constant sneering aimed at the "old" people who are supposedly the backbone of speedway's present day support. I started watching Birmingham in 1953 when I was 13 and 67 years later my enthusiasm for the sport is as great as ever, so why do people seem to want to make us feel unwelcome?

[MattK 3,447]

2 hours ago, falcace said:

Correctomundo...and exactly the sort of open-minded approach needed. The product has been utterly geared towards 50+ year olds for yonks and here we are. 

I think by general consensus Belle Vue Speedway currently has the strongest offering of all the venues in the UK at the moment. Good facilities, great track with excellent racing, city location in the top league. Yet, as I understand it, they are operating under break even levels using the outdated midweek speedway model. If Belle Vue can't cut it, what chance have other tracks got of a long-term future?

That sounds like the dictionary definition of "build it and they will come" - which we all know is both a misquote and from a fictional movie. What is Belle Vue doing to promote speedway? Ironically, I do a bit of work in Manchester from time to time and have never once seen any kind of advert for the speedway since I started going up there last summer.

[cityrebel 2,960]

28 minutes ago, brianbuck said:

I think the "losses" at Belle Vue are due to costs linked with the construction of the new stadium more than operating costs. It is a bit obscure whether these "losses" are on the part of the promotion or Manchester City Council. I can't claim inside knowledge of any of this - it's just my thinking.

One thing I do dislike is the constant sneering aimed at the "old" people who are supposedly the backbone of speedway's present day support. I started watching Birmingham in 1953 when I was 13 and 67 years later my enthusiasm for the sport is as great as ever, so why do people seem to want to make us feel unwelcome?

Well said Brian. Some people think the older fans are holding the sport back. I think the blame lies squarely with the promoters. They feathered their own nests when times were good, with no thought for the future. Visionary promoters like John Berry were allowed to leave the sport, and a lot of good ideas went with him.

[MattK 3,447]

38 minutes ago, Ben91 said:

Appealing to the younger generation is logical. They are the fans of the future. The product now may find most of its audience in the over 50-60 demographic but that isn’t the smartest demographic to target to bring in new fans. 

Why not? 50-60 year olds are a perfectly valid target market. They have good levels of disposable income and many have lots of time on their hands and therefore are looking for something to do. The other benefit is that there aren't a great deal of past times marketing themselves towards that group, whereas there are numerous leisure activities aimed at families, which speedway would have to compete with.

The other benefit of course is that the current presentation of speedway is perfectly suited to that age group.

 

[fatface 2,550]

1 hour ago, brianbuck said:

One thing I do dislike is the constant sneering aimed at the "old" people who are supposedly the backbone of speedway's present day support. I started watching Birmingham in 1953 when I was 13 and 67 years later my enthusiasm for the sport is as great as ever, so why do people seem to want to make us feel unwelcome?

Who's sneering? Who's making you unwelcome? The point is Brian is that if the sport panders entirely to its 50+ year olds core market, it has a very limited future. Valid points are being made to draw in as wide a demographic as possible. Surely after 67 years you can see the sport badly needs to be fresh and relevant to young people as it was to you in the 50s?

The point is made elsewhere over Macdonald's being geared towards kids. Partly true. A range of its products are geared towards kids. But there's something there for everyone in the average British family. Good coffee, burgers, healthy meal options, iPads, newspapers and the place is constantly being cleaned. Speedway needs to widen its vision to the entire landscape and provide a product that can appeal to a wider number of potential customers.

"Doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity" said Einstein. You don't have to take my word for it, take Einstein's.

Edited April 1, 2020 by falcace

[fatface 2,550]

1 hour ago, Speedtiger said:

Agree with you I’m a regular attender at BV and the track racing etc are the best in U.K. by a mile But think you are wrong about ‘break even’ as I were told by an insider that they have lost 100’s of thousands pounds. And that was before this virus crisis. How clubs can survive this disaster is looking increasingly difficult. 

Sorry I should have been clearer. I too have heard the same. Rather than "under break even", I meant "less than break even".

[Wolfie456 499]

3 hours ago, mikebv said:

There may be lots of spaces in teams in the Premier and Championship if everyone doesnt come back from overseas, or prioritises Poland and Sweden, upon the return of the Sport, which might negate the need for two teams at those clubs who plan to run them...

With Wimbledon being latest event cancelled pretty sure we wont be seeing any speedway now for 12 months.

[DSC67 1,465]

22 minutes ago, Wolfie456 said:

With Wimbledon being latest event cancelled pretty sure we wont be seeing any speedway now for 12 months.

I can't see there being any league matches ,  but there may be a few one off meetings  with invitational teams in August / September 

[waytogo28 2,054]

2 hours ago, brianbuck said:

I think the "losses" at Belle Vue are due to costs linked with the construction of the new stadium more than operating costs. It is a bit obscure whether these "losses" are on the part of the promotion or Manchester City Council. I can't claim inside knowledge of any of this - it's just my thinking.

One thing I do dislike is the constant sneering aimed at the "old" people who are supposedly the backbone of speedway's present day support. I started watching Birmingham in 1953 when I was 13 and 67 years later my enthusiasm for the sport is as great as ever, so why do people seem to want to make us feel unwelcome?

Dinosaurs - that perennial favourite of children and families have fallen out of favour Brian, with The Powers That Be within UK speedway and there is little enthusiasm ( it appears ) to see elderly, grey haired old un's staggering to their place on the terraces and needing to use the loo more often. It doesn't also seem to matter that we have been handing over our cash for 50 years plus. The speedway sporting hierarchy appears to have written them off. But, I am happy to see the old un's put to one side ( to some extent ) if it means the healthy survival of the sport in the UK. But there should always be a concession for the elderly who contributed to the days when promoters took shed loads of money home with them.

[Ben91 1,743]

2 hours ago, MattK said:

Why not? 50-60 year olds are a perfectly valid target market. They have good levels of disposable income and many have lots of time on their hands and therefore are looking for something to do. The other benefit is that there aren't a great deal of past times marketing themselves towards that group, whereas there are numerous leisure activities aimed at families, which speedway would have to compete with.

The other benefit of course is that the current presentation of speedway is perfectly suited to that age group.

 

Of course these are valid points but it is symptomatic of standard short term thinking in the Speedway world. My parents are in that age group, they find speedway less interesting than watching paint dry so I don’t think the presentation is necessarily suited to that age group. Just that a lot of the die hard fans of the sport fall in to that age group and don’t care what dross they get served up because they’ll go every week anyway. 

If you have a business and have the choice of targeting one group - families in their 30s or individuals/couples in their 50s/60s, the logical move is to target the families. They are potentially longer term customers with children who could grow up to be fully paying customers as well. 

Of course, Speedway isn’t limited to targeting only one group. There’s no reason why the product cannot be promoted and appeal to multiple age groups and situations.