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StevePark

Newcastle Diamonds 2021

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1 hour ago, montie said:

agreed but that was then and this is now,i was more interested to the difference between the two clubs and the reason of one seemingly running well and one not so well

I repeat……

 

   2 hours ago,  singy13 said: 

It doesn't seem that long that Brian Havelock was pressing some alarm bells at that place though......

Because of how he ran it and the budget team he put out, look how it’s been turned around , the lesson was learned on that occasion.

 

 

 

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Sad day yesterday with news that Rob Grant will not be at the helm and could be the demise of the club. 

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5 hours ago, montie said:

agreed but that was then and this is now,i was more interested to the difference between the two clubs and the reason of one seemingly running well and one not so well

I don’t believe that there is a singular factor to why one club is thriving at this time and one is struggling but as has been said it’s not that long ago that Redcar were struggling themselves for crowd numbers.

One of the main differences between the clubs is access to revenue streams, with Redcar being in a fortunate position to have access to the STMP to run other events outside of a match day and also gain other match day revenue through the selling of food and drink. Newcastle are at an disadvantage straight away with no chance of using the stadium outside of the usual few hours allocated for a match day and the substantial outlay needed to pay for the stadium rental. Also, some other match day sales also go into the pocket of the stadium owners rather than the club.
 

Speedway in a majority of cities can no longer survive on gate receipts alone and in Newcastle’s case they don’t have sufficient access to other revenue streams to build up the business. That coupled with the reduction in sponsorship available due to the effect of Covid on businesses, means Newcastle budget was severely reduced.


This means that Redcar have the comfort of being able to control their future financial model and have managed to build an attractive side as a result. Newcastle on the other hand have had to cut there cloth accordingly and as a result do not have a team that is as competitive. This has to my mind stopped some of the more casual supporters coming along to watch at Brough Park as they see it as a watered down product.

The other element for me is that Redcar finally have the management structure that is built for success. Speedway is more than a full time job for those that run it and Redcar now have a trio running the show that knows the sport, knows the club and knows it’s supporters. Ben, Jamie and Jade have done a fantastic job and the split of the roles between the three ensure they are able to actively grow the club and focus on every aspect needed to do this successfully, from social media presence to rider development. In Newcastle case, Rob has taken on a huge challenge and, as one man with only one or two helpers then I believe certain elements have lapsed, match night production and digital communication being a couple. This again means that some supporters have drifted away either through lack of insight into the club or through the fact of the product on offer. 
 

This is no way meant as a complaint against Rob as I do believe that had Newcastle came to the tapes in 2022 under Robs ownership that we would have seen a different approach from the lessons he has learnt through a very tough first season.

Edited by Viper
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Let’s pick some of the bones out of your argument.

Redcar struggled for a decent crowd because of Havelock, his demeanour towards the fans and his budget for the team reducing the product to a bottom of the league regulars. A new promoter came in, used the same budget but with a complete different mindset in producing excitement around the place and doubled the crowd and more. The new management trio have continued on with that trend and made it even more successful.

Do you not think Redcar pay rent to the council for the STMP? 
Everything inside the stadium belongs to the club , it was just a rubbish tip when the track was constructed and, unlike Brough Park, not a structure was standing so Redcar have built from scratch.

Access to revenue streams….yes they have, through their own efforts. They only took over complete catering in 2020 .

Sponsors….all clubs are responsible for generating their own so that’s down to the club to source.

Watered down product …promoters choice, just like the clubs management structure, Redcar have a team that works, how many staff did Grant get rid off/ bring in to help ? His choice.

Redcar were in the doldrums, but turned it around with positive, enthusiastic management from 2017 onwards using exactly the same budget that Havelock had. They have shown it can be done.

Newcastle , take away the non disclosed debts they inherited, which should have been identified, have no different challenges to any other club this COVID affected year but I do understand Grant walking away from the stress of running a speedway club as even the Redcar management , who are all volunteers, are finding it very stressful in these challenging times.

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7 hours ago, singy13 said:

They were both sponsored by 'Happy Faces'...............they both ended up - 'all shook up'.......they both ended up in - 'Heartbreak Hotel'...they both were let down by George Best........

oh I give up geoff....?

Barrow opened at park rd the night elvis died august 16 1977:t: went on the bus from workington remember it was on radio luxemberg all the way home .

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How did Rob go from being able to afford to build a whole new stadium (multi million pound investment) to not being able to continue... Has he really lost that much money over the year? Genuine question, not trying to be awkward

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29 minutes ago, Diamonds85 said:

How did Rob go from being able to afford to build a whole new stadium (multi million pound investment) to not being able to continue... Has he really lost that much money over the year? Genuine question, not trying to be awkward

He discovered it really is easy to lose a fortune in speedway and have Zilch to show for it.Easier to make a fortune selling butcher meat without the stress.

Edited by Fromafar

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It wasn’t going to be a multi-million pound stadium. Did you ever visit Berrington Lough?

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3 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

It wasn’t going to be a multi-million pound stadium. Did you ever visit Berrington Lough?

Every week.

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5 minutes ago, screm said:

Every week.

Cracking little setup

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13 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

It wasn’t going to be a multi-million pound stadium. Did you ever visit Berrington Lough?

It's no good having a big shop, if there ain't many customers. 

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1 hour ago, Diamondboy said:

The books were obviously 20% more attractive when first looked at.........

Did they actually look at the booksB)

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3 hours ago, Diamonds85 said:

How did Rob go from being able to afford to build a whole new stadium (multi million pound investment) to not being able to continue... Has he really lost that much money over the year? Genuine question, not trying to be awkward

Multi Million Pound investment? 

Council set up the infrastructure level the land and stick a fence round it... Diamonds lay a track, hire or buy a second hand genny;  hire or buy a second hand stand (similar to what the Falcon's started with at Kingston Park)  set up a scaffold type stand (aka Redcar) stick an air fence round it build some pits and a changing room (similar to Scunny) and off you go generating funds daily and not just on a Sunday... training sessions to hire out amateur meetings to run... stock cars and a BMX track out back to encourage the kids... outlay for that around 150k...

No different to Scunny who have a good set up and Rob Godfrey started off with a basic site and built on it over the years... that site didn't just land overnight with one massive outlay of Dosh its taken time to build.... and that's certainly not the Olympic Stadium is it... but it's fit for purpose and does the job...

Regards 

THJ

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Just now, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Multi Million Pound investment? 

Council set up the infrastructure level the land and stick a fence round it... Diamonds lay a track, hire or buy a second hand genny;  hire or buy a second hand stand (similar to what the Falcon's started with at Kingston Park)  set up a scaffold type stand (aka Redcar) stick an air fence round it build some pits and a changing room (similar to Scunny) and off you go generating funds daily and not just on a Sunday... training sessions to hire out amateur meetings to run... stock cars and a BMX track out back to encourage the kids... outlay for that around 150k...

No different to Scunny who have a good set up and Rob Godfrey started off with a basic site and built on it over the years... that site didn't just land overnight with one massive outlay of Dosh its taken time to build.... and that's certainly not the Olympic Stadium is it... but it's fit for purpose and does the job...

Regards 

THJ

I asked earlier,but I assume nothing come of it.

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