iainb 5,011 Posted July 28, 2021 (edited) 16 minutes ago, mikebv said: I think the term 'promoter' doesn't always help them... They are in most cases just an owner of a speedway licence to run the sport.... Calling them 'promoters' bring connotations of someone actually going out and actively selling a product within the entertainment industry, or promoting sports built on hype like boxing.... So many of these owners simply have zero skill set in doing something similar. .. Maybe they should just drop the name.. No other sports teams have "promoters", instead have "owners", "chairpersons" and "CEO's".... To be fair they do call themselves promoters lol Boxing still have promoters and what a murky world that is! But to your general point, I've been having a "discussion" on the Leicester thread about "promotion" and somebody pointed out to me that the Bates family are successful business people that run a number of successful businesses and are basically just Speedway fans. They run Sheffield and Leicester as fans and put management teams in place to run the club. Don't get me wrong I'm glad they are running Speedway but it doesn't seem to be the way to be getting Speedway out of the fine mess that it's gotten itself into. Edited July 28, 2021 by iainb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted July 28, 2021 10 hours ago, topsoil said: Excellent idea, if you can get somebody to look after the social media side of things. Anything which gives clubs more exposure I'm all for. Maybe I'm different from a lot of supporters, but the tractor racing doesn't bother me, mainly because I'm too busy talking to friends between races. I never really seem to notice it. Agree entirely! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,273 Posted July 28, 2021 2 minutes ago, iainb said: To be fair they do call themselves promoters lol Boxing still have promoters But to your general point, I've been having a "discussion" on the Leicester thread about "promotion" and somebody pointed out to me that the Bates family are successful business people that run a number of successful businesses and are basically just Speedway fans. They run Sheffield and Leicester as fans and put management teams in place to run the club. Don't get me wrong I'm glad they are running Speedway but it doesn't seem to be the way to be getting Speedway out of the fine mess that it's gotten itself into. Exactly Ian... Hype can go a long way in getting an audience, even when it's 'economical with the truth'... I have always thought that each meeting should be regarded as "stand alone" and sold separately using various "high impact" promotional tools... Twenty or so meetings a year, using twenty or so definitive "pushes"... Let's be honest just an extra 500 at most tracks would be "game changing" and it doesn't need the same 500 each week, it could be 500 completely different people (although hopefully you would want to get some regulars)... Eg 2.5 million people live within the Gtr Manchester conurbation, all within 45 mins of a superbly appointed (and shaped) city centre track and modern stadium, with excellent motorway linkage.. Surely a high impact promotional strategy should get 500 a week extra to attend, even if just through curiosity based on the promotional activity? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieman72 588 Posted July 28, 2021 The best analogy is our supermarkets. For years we experienced 'price wars' when they were running cartels and costing less when in fact they increased prices and reduced the range in tired buildings. Along came Aldi, Lidl and Netto. Netto went into a failed enterprise with Sainsbury's but as for the Teutonic predators they have taken over and the rest is history. I think the promoters are worried this may happen in speedway why have such draconian penalties for potential new alternative tracks. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,011 Posted July 28, 2021 20 minutes ago, Pieman72 said: The best analogy is our supermarkets. For years we experienced 'price wars' when they were running cartels and costing less when in fact they increased prices and reduced the range in tired buildings. Along came Aldi, Lidl and Netto. Netto went into a failed enterprise with Sainsbury's but as for the Teutonic predators they have taken over and the rest is history. I think the promoters are worried this may happen in speedway why have such draconian penalties for potential new alternative tracks. Going off topic for a while... A cartel still operates with the traditional big 4 supermarkets you can see this when they "take turns" offering the same products at "discounted" prices. It's a real bug bear of mine. 1 supermarket will for example sell a bottle of Jack Daniels for £16 for a week or 2 while the others price it at £25, then after a couple of weeks the next one will sell it for £16 and that original supermarket will hike its price to £25. This happens with many product lines, it means you either pay it, travel to 4 different supermarkets to do your shop, or what I do is just bulk buy when the product is "on offer" (the price it should be being sold at). Rant over! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieman72 588 Posted July 28, 2021 Going 'off piste' there is one answer avoid. Branded items generally are overpriced and taste the same apart from washing powder lol. I do find the discounters have limited lines of produce but Aldi seems to be aware of this and is extending it's range. There's a Russian discounter Mere on the horizon !! Back to speedway to be fair the VSPA are operating a cartel and like the big 4 are expensive and have a 'take it or leave it' attitude.....that's fine I'll not bother thanks. Like a Mackie D once you've took away the packaging your paying an awful lot for very little and walk out still hungry. We need to support our younger riders who've invested £1000's in equipment only for promoters to default to a foreign 'prima donna' at great expense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cowboy cookie returns? 747 Posted July 28, 2021 5 hours ago, iainb said: I don't mind a bit of tractor racing if it's actually doing something like bringing the track back into a raceable condition. I've seen too many tractors doing too many laps just trying to move non-existent dirt back onto the racing line and the watering of a track in parts where the riders never ride. Didn't the BSPL put the TV contract out to tender and there were multiple offers and they decided to opt for Eurosport to attract sponsors to free to air TV. How's that one worked out? Has that brought a League sponsor? Has it brought in any European sponsorship? Has it brought in any sponsorship? In fact here we are in the height of summer where Sky Sports are having orgasms about "The 100" and our "Broadcast Partner" are showing repeats of Olympic action and there's no Speedway until the 16th of August! I think Eurosport were the only ones willing to even give a token amount for the rights. Let's not forget that the BSPA had a very lucrative TV deal with Sky for many years and did absolutely nothing with it. The result sky terminated the last deal a year early. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,011 Posted July 28, 2021 8 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said: I think Eurosport were the only ones willing to even give a token amount for the rights. Let's not forget that the BSPA had a very lucrative TV deal with Sky for many years and did absolutely nothing with it. The result sky terminated the last deal a year early. Yes, I've not forgotten that... but I believe that BT Sport also made a bid for the rights although I'm not sure how much less it was than Eurosport... or even for that matter how much the Eurosport deal was for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieman72 588 Posted July 28, 2021 2 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said: I think Eurosport were the only ones willing to even give a token amount for the rights. Let's not forget that the BSPA had a very lucrative TV deal with Sky for many years and did absolutely nothing with it. The result sky terminated the last deal a year early. The VSPA did a lot sat on their backsides and watch tracks close one after another. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesHarris 390 Posted July 28, 2021 Not read through all of the posts so sorry if I'm a bit late to the party here, but are admission prices extortionate? It's a hard one to answer. It's not as extortionate as say paying to watch Premier League football but it is a very expensive night out. The question you have to ask is are you getting value for your money? Sadly I think the answer to Speedway here is no! Speedway has always played to a selective typical working class audience. The demographics of that audience tend to be older people and die-hard supporters. What promoters risk doing is pricing those die-hard supporters out and then you are in trouble. Promoters have to cover insurance costs, medical cover, stadium rent, staff costs, rider wages etc, etc and also make a bit for themselves (it is a business after all). It's a very fine line but you do have to ensure that you are giving the punter a good night out for their hard earned cash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uk_martin 1,606 Posted July 28, 2021 11 hours ago, iainb said: Didn't the BSPL put the TV contract out to tender and there were multiple offers and they decided to opt for Eurosport... "Multiple offers? Wow! Between who? If the competition was between Eurosport and Premier Sports, they chose the lesser of the evils. Not exactly the same as competition between BBC ITV C4 & Sky Sports, is it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 5,011 Posted July 28, 2021 42 minutes ago, uk_martin said: "Multiple offers? Wow! Between who? If the competition was between Eurosport and Premier Sports, they chose the lesser of the evils. Not exactly the same as competition between BBC ITV C4 & Sky Sports, is it? BT Sport was rumoured to be the other Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uk_martin 1,606 Posted July 28, 2021 (edited) On 7/26/2021 at 4:08 PM, topsoil said: ...Speedway could attract a similar audience by just offering cheap alcohol. Where the free admission is scoring, as far as I can see, is adults are coming along with children, knowing that it won't cost them too much. So I wouldn't call it a "failure". On 7/26/2021 at 2:33 PM, old bob at herne bay said: ..As an example T20 cricket down here in Kent - all the remaining matches have sold out ....... its £25 a ticket and £7 for 5-15 year olds. a) what's wrong with offering cheap alcohol? Pubs have been promoting student nights on just that basis for years. Ibiza holidays are promoted on the back of cheap alcohol too. Damn, that word "promoting" again. So alien to the "sport" of speedway b) £17ish for an adult at speedway and free for kids, and Birmingham are threatening closure because not enough are coming through the door at those prices. Cricket charges £25 for adults and £7 for kids and is regularly sold out, If that's not a failure for speedway, then what is? On 7/26/2021 at 12:15 PM, cityrebel said: I've always felt the admission prices are one of speedway's biggest obstacles in attracting new fans. If the product was at a similar level to Poland, it could be justified. 14 hours ago, mikebv said: Pro rata to earnings not a million miles away from the UK, so it isnt "cheap", which is what is sometimes perceived over here.. However you do obviously get the worlds best for that pro rata amount rather than what we get over here.. That fasle myth that mikebv blows out of the water so well, that Polish speedway is cheap for the fans. It may look like it to us but it isn't to the Poles. Wherever you go, entrance to speedway is about the same as 4 or 5 pints of beer down the pub, whether that's in Poland or in the UK. You get better value and more bangs for your buck in Poland though. I've seen parades of classic cars, demonstrations of other sports, parachutists, aerobatics displays overhead, and all sorts in the mini-break after heat 10, It's a simple thing. Polish speedway is not cheap, but you get great value on track with the best riders for your money and you get value added additions added to the mix to send you home happy and wanting to come back for more. And it works. Edited July 28, 2021 by uk_martin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uk_martin 1,606 Posted July 28, 2021 1 hour ago, iainb said: BT Sport was rumoured to be the other Rumours eh? It was BT's to lose, and they sure made sure they lost it. As did Sky before them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monarchs2468 79 Posted July 28, 2021 Speedway does not have extortionate prices and it never has. In terms of your own lifestyle, earnings or priorities then YES Speedway does have extortionate prices and is bottom of the feeding barrel. It's a dying sport and it'll be gone very soon in GB unless there is a massive shift in peoples thoughts. All I read is moaning about the cost being too high, not value for money, 15 minutes of racing shouldn't cost blah blah, not enough passing, riders doubling up, guests, rider replacement, rain offs, poor track conditions, poor stadium conditions and the list is endless. Well guess what, Speedway is almost finished in the UK so enjoy it whilst you can. Everyone go as much as possible for the next few weeks as it won't be there next season.p 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
