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Pieman72

Extortionate Admission Prices

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I said similar to my wife after going to Kings Lynn on Thursday. It cost us £50 to get in (£20 per adult and £5 per child (mine are 7 and 10 years old)), £8 for 4 seats in the grandstand and £3 for a programme. Add £20 for 2 pints,  a wine and couple of soft drinks and that totals £81 for the evening.
 

Ok so that was a one off for us as happened to be in the area, but there’s no way we could spend that out on a weekly basis to attend. 

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14 minutes ago, TRM said:

I said similar to my wife after going to Kings Lynn on Thursday. It cost us £50 to get in (£20 per adult and £5 per child (mine are 7 and 10 years old)), £8 for 4 seats in the grandstand and £3 for a programme. Add £20 for 2 pints,  a wine and couple of soft drinks and that totals £81 for the evening.
 

Ok so that was a one off for us as happened to be in the area, but there’s no way we could spend that out on a weekly basis to attend. 

You didn’t have too sit in the grandstand, you didn’t have to buy beer and wine. 

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2 minutes ago, mrss said:

You didn’t have too sit in the grandstand, you didn’t have to buy beer and wine. 

You didn't have to watch Kings Lynn either!!!:rofl:

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15 hours ago, iainb said:

I disagree... there's quite a good mix here at Leicester. What I would say is that £20 is quite a lot to pay out if you were taking a punt as a newcomer. I'm not sure I would. 

Leicester and Poole are among the cheaper Championship prices at £17 Adult and £14 concessions so the larger proportion of attendees is only paying £14 rather than £20 or even £25 if you want to sit at certain other clubs..

Edited by Skidder1

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1 hour ago, Skidder1 said:

Leicester and Poole are among the cheaper Championship prices at £17 Adult and £14 concessions so the larger proportion of attendees is only paying £14 rather than £20 or even £25 if you want to sit at certain other clubs..

Out of interest, how does this compare pro rata to admission prices from the 70's heydays?

My Dad wasn't in a highly paid job but he took me and my sister to Poole every week and to Weymouth on Tuesday nights in the summer holidays. We didn't buy drinks or food unless it was out of our pocket money but we always had a programme each.

Can anyone remember what the admission prices were then? I can't!

 

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1 hour ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

Out of interest, how does this compare pro rata to admission prices from the 70's heydays?

My Dad wasn't in a highly paid job but he took me and my sister to Poole every week and to Weymouth on Tuesday nights in the summer holidays. We didn't buy drinks or food unless it was out of our pocket money but we always had a programme each.

Can anyone remember what the admission prices were then? I can't!

 

There was a thread on this a few years ago, and yes it was a lot cheaper then ( even allowing for inflation). Also in those days, with second halves, you could see more races. 

Edited by RS50

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1 minute ago, RS50 said:

There was a thread on this a few years ago, and yes it was a lot cheaper then ( even allowing for inflation). Also I'm those days, with second halves, you could see more races. 

I just found an old programme from 1975.

The programme was 10p. On the back were details of the next week's Blue Riband individual meeting. 

Admission for this was 75p for the grandstand, 60p for West stand & terraces and children 50p & 42p.

Prize money for the event was, winner £50 and a portable TV (value £85!! :o) 2nd £30 and 3rd £20.

An inflation checker calculates this at about £14  admission for an adult and 2 kids with programs!

 

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Not just speedway. Went to Sheffield Eagles first rugby league match in 1984. 2.00 to get in, today's equivalent 6.57, but it's 20 quid now, or 22.00 if you don't pay online and in advance. 

Worked in a pub in 1979, and charged 30 pence for a pint of beer. Today's equivalent 1.56. Few pubs now where you can get a beer for less than 3 quid.

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41 minutes ago, RS50 said:

Not just speedway. Went to Sheffield Eagles first rugby league match in 1984. 2.00 to get in, today's equivalent 6.57, but it's 20 quid now, or 22.00 if you don't pay online and in advance. 

Worked in a pub in 1979, and charged 30 pence for a pint of beer. Today's equivalent 1.56. Few pubs now where you can get a beer for less than 3 quid.

That's true, and looking at historic football prices it tells a similar story.

1975 admission prices seem to have been between 50p for a 1st/ 2nd Division game and £1 for the league cup final.

It's also true though to say that since then, top flight football and probably Rugby too, has been rebranded and and is no longer just the domain of working class people.

Many working class people have been priced out of top flight football but the old terraces once their domain have been replaced by magnificent stadiums where the plebs have been replaced by the prawn sandwich brigade, new breed of happy clappers and football tourists who can afford the eye watering prices.

Speedway as a product and the Stadiums it's held in unfortunately haven't moved on enough to attract people in numbers who can afford to pay the extra money now involved.

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Gigs are the same I think I worked it out for a top band it should be about £15 now but you can easily pay close on 3 figures for some of them. The world's gone barmy

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Speedway tracks are like buses expensive empty dinosaurs stuck in the past. 

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48 minutes ago, bruno said:

Gigs are the same I think I worked it out for a top band it should be about £15 now but you can easily pay close on 3 figures for some of them. The world's gone barmy

They justify this by saying that the gigs are their main source of income now because they don't make so much from recorded music these days with most people streaming from the internet or illegally downloading.

At one time bands toured to promote the albums.

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22 hours ago, Pieman72 said:

The generalising speedway is unaffordable for most working people. Most people who follow speedway just don't have £20 to watch 15 races apart from pensioners.

King's Lynn has a good mix of fans .Not a bunch of oldies by a long stretch:t:

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1 hour ago, Bald Bloke said:

King's Lynn has a good mix of fans .Not a bunch of oldies by a long stretch:t:

Carry on then there's not a problem Gramps.

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On 7/24/2021 at 4:16 PM, Pieman72 said:

Why are Speedway admission prices extortionate? For a night out at Belle View for my wife and I would cost the best part of £50 really....I don't think so. No wonder the terraces are empty re: Quest speedway coverage. As is the case in society the only ones who can afford these prices are pensioners. Speedway turnstiles will be looking like Waitrose on a Thursday morning.

And the "best part of £50" is needed by promoters for you to pay it three or four times a month..

Paying out £150 to £200 to watch no more than an hours Speedway in total simply isn't going to happen is it? 

The missed opportunity is that if they charged say £20 for a pair of adults they would much more likely get regular continuous visits, hence four matches equalling £80...

Meaning more fans, resulting in more atmosphere, more money, and a far better overall impression of the sports popularity given the crowd numbers....

A virtuous circle that would help the sports future...

When you pay out circa £50 for one visit then that will more than likely be your one visit per month or maybe even your one visit per season, given spending £50 you will have high expectations of what you should see for your money. And if it doesn't match it then you could be loath to pay it again..

Which means less fans so less atmosphere, less money, and an almost brand damaging impression of the sports popularity given the crowd numbers..

A vicious circle that can never hope to help the sports future. .

Edited by mikebv

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