iris123 20,939 Posted June 11, 2021 23 minutes ago, AndyO said: Well with Wolves threatening to close and now Birmingham putting their season on hold with immediate effect due to unsustainable losses due to COVID restrictions it is clear to even the most optimistic that this is a crisis, in fact to quote Blackadder 'This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour portage, and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'.! It was certainly heads in the sand, going ahead with the season so early, with no major hope that restrictions would be dropped. It might just have made sense to allow those that were ok to start home meetings and those that were doubtful just to ride away at first. But it might just have been sensible to wait until all was ok before even starting...... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humphrey Appleby 13,942 Posted June 11, 2021 1 hour ago, lisa-colette said: At the cricket you have to have a PCR test. Speedway has been practicing social distancing for quite some time though... 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,243 Posted June 11, 2021 1 hour ago, AndyO said: Well with Wolves threatening to close and now Birmingham putting their season on hold with immediate effect due to unsustainable losses due to COVID restrictions it is clear to even the most optimistic that this is a crisis, in fact to quote Blackadder 'This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour portage, and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'.! Pity they seem to keep using one of Baldrick's cunning plans... 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humphrey Appleby 13,942 Posted June 11, 2021 53 minutes ago, iris123 said: It was certainly heads in the sand, going ahead with the season so early, with no major hope that restrictions would be dropped. It might just have made sense to allow those that were ok to start home meetings and those that were doubtful just to ride away at first. But it might just have been sensible to wait until all was ok before even starting...... Speedway has such a marginal existence that it would probably have been sensible to simply not run in 2021 either. But as the hospitality industry is now finding out, many workers have moved found other jobs and aren't interested in entertaining the uncertainty any more. Added to that, you can't even find any foreigners to do the job either... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dekker 239 Posted June 11, 2021 On 6/10/2021 at 4:57 PM, iris123 said: You really think a speedway club can put pressure on Boris ? think more the local council.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waytogo28 2,054 Posted June 12, 2021 Speedway - Plans, cunning or otherwise? Baldrick a True Genius compared to ...but ........ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marko 956 Posted June 12, 2021 I recall a time I would go to Hackney one night (now closed) Arena Essex another night (now closed) and sometimes Rye House on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon (closed too) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted June 12, 2021 5 hours ago, marko said: I recall a time I would go to Hackney one night (now closed) Arena Essex another night (now closed) and sometimes Rye House on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon (closed too) ...and Wimbledon on the Thursday! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevehone 3,425 Posted June 12, 2021 5 hours ago, marko said: I recall a time I would go to Hackney one night (now closed) Arena Essex another night (now closed) and sometimes Rye House on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon (closed too) Know how you feel, I’d do Wimbledon, Hackney, Canterbury, Rye House in the same week, all long gone 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 12, 2021 The sad fact is that all the tracks mentioned have closed because not enough people are/have been interested in the sport arguably since the early 1980’s. You must have very deep pockets to consider being a speedway promoter in the UK and that was before the current restrictions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,243 Posted June 12, 2021 7 hours ago, marko said: I recall a time I would go to Hackney one night (now closed) Arena Essex another night (now closed) and sometimes Rye House on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon (closed too) Is your real name Jonah?? No offence mate, but stay away from the NSS will you?... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Flag 454 Posted June 12, 2021 8 hours ago, marko said: I recall a time I would go to Hackney one night (now closed) Arena Essex another night (now closed) and sometimes Rye House on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon (closed too) Didn’t realise that Hackney and Arena ran at the same time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieman72 588 Posted June 13, 2021 I attended Birmingham Speedway 2 years ago and quite honestly I was made to feel like a second class citizen. To be fair the Greyhound Track control the venue but the restrictions on the paying public was disgusting. It was made clear not to drink or consume you own food which we ignored or you could purchase anything as long as it was chips washed down with a £4 + pint of Lager from a hole in the wall. It was a freezing cold night and no admission was allowed in the main building unless you were someone important. Sorry but speedway is 'dead in the water'. Supporters need to be attracted to a venue also on a day or night that is normal i.e. Friday or Saturday oh sorry our wonderful foreign riders have European commitments. In a nutshell what a mess of our own making. Reading the posts on here there is a lot of denial but the truth is unless something very radical is undertaken then there is little chance of speedway surviving in it's present form. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heathen52 383 Posted June 13, 2021 Not being wise after the event, Most Teams agreed to start the season without knowing what attendance limits there local councils would impose on them, the main issue being they have to put out a fixture list, Clubs/Teams found it difficult if not impossible to sell season tickets due to the Covid situation, now we find that the opening up is more than likely going to be put back which will probably put the completion of the season into doubt, or at the very least force some clubs to curtail the season. Some fans are still in denial about Covid but stop and think, the Pandemic has already cost this country billions upon billions of lost revenue, billions of pounds paid out in furlough payments and other schemes, all of which will we will be paying for over many years ahead, yes maybe things could have been done differently but the fact remains Covid is still with us and will be for the forseeable future, until the World gets a grip on this pandemic the uncertainty will remain and the future of our Sport needs strong leadership with difficult decisions needing to be made, but one thing is for sure Clubs/Teams cannot carry on sustaining losses week in week out.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted June 13, 2021 10 hours ago, Red Flag said: Didn’t realise that Hackney and Arena ran at the same time 1984 to 91 and 1996. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
