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Racin Jason 72

Kent kings are no more ??

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Still in shock to be honest, the amount of people who are totally devastated and don't really know where to turn is heartbreaking. So many good friends really struggling with this bolt out of the blue.  

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6 hours ago, teaboy279 said:

Still in shock to be honest, the amount of people who are totally devastated and don't really know where to turn is heartbreaking. So many good friends really struggling with this bolt out of the blue.  

It be ok @teaboy279 we are in the same position at Arlington but have a little bit of hope with open Meetings in 2022 by the new committee being formed and looking to return  to league racing in 2023.

Was  a shock to us when our season was pulled in August but not as big a shock realising our Director now wants to be known as Carol and wanted to rob all us fans.

I was looking forward to some Tuesday nights up at Central Park in 2022 and still believe something will still happen there.

I heard from a mate yesterday AGM is now been put back 3 weeks. Maybe thats to allow more time for clubs like Kent to come to tapes in 2022.

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ARC do not seem to mention the ownership of

Kent on the website but do mention Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in terms of dog racing. Do we have another stadium landlord who is anti speedway?

However from an impartial business perspective, it would not take a rocket scientist to work/find out that speedway is on its knees and with  the deteriorating level of support for a dying sport added to which we have seen examples of clubs experiencing financial difficulties mid season, why would any landlord entertain the idea of hiring your stadium with the chances being that you might not get the revenue you want to make it worthwhile as the speedway club folds because financially the owners of club work on wafer thin margins with a business model which is flawed and has so many risks and rarely makes financial sense. The fact is that turnstile money is nowhere near enough to keep a club afloat, hence the club relies on third parties (sponsors etc) whose financial condition the stadium owners would need to assess, be fully understood in order to give them an idea of the financial risks they are taking on with the club. Given the foregoing why let speedway or for that matter any other sport that operates a similar business model, through the door.

Len has not only a knowledgeable and wonderful servant/advocate to speedway, he is an astute businessman and if he has finally walked away, then the writing is well and truly on the wall and those in charge of the sport in this country need to act decisively to protect the remnants.

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2 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

ARC do not seem to mention the ownership of

Kent on the website but do mention Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in terms of dog racing. Do we have another stadium landlord who is anti speedway?

However from an impartial business perspective, it would not take a rocket scientist to work/find out that speedway is on its knees and with  the deteriorating level of support for a dying sport added to which we have seen examples of clubs experiencing financial difficulties mid season, why would any landlord entertain the idea of hiring your stadium with the chances being that you might not get the revenue you want to make it worthwhile as the speedway club folds because financially the owners of club work on wafer thin margins with a business model which is flawed and has so many risks and rarely makes financial sense. The fact is that turnstile money is nowhere near enough to keep a club afloat, hence the club relies on third parties (sponsors etc) whose financial condition the stadium owners would need to assess, be fully understood in order to give them an idea of the financial risks they are taking on with the club. Given the foregoing why let speedway or for that matter any other sport that operates a similar business model, through the door.

Len has not only a knowledgeable and wonderful servant/advocate to speedway, he is an astute businessman and if he has finally walked away, then the writing is well and truly on the wall and those in charge of the sport in this country need to act decisively to protect the remnants.

That's why I'm flabbergasted by the Oxford revival!

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21 minutes ago, cityrebel said:

That's why I'm flabbergasted by the Oxford revival!

Totally agree. The only thought has to be that with Swindon unlikely to return, Somerset gone forever, Reading never to return, Weymouth having no chance of  happening and Poole seemingly living on borrowed time, that just leaves Plymouth as the last outpost down west. With little chance of revivals elsewhere in that part of the country, Oxford does seem to be an overly optimistic opportunity for someone with more money than sense to perhaps try and turn a ten year lease into a profitable business proposition by putting on speedway alongside some other motorsport and perhaps greyhound racing.. Unfortunately I cannot see that enough fans or riders exist to make Speedway pay at another track unless it is at an amateur level and riders  pay to participate. T V money will not filter down assuming that the broadcaster is happy to relay a sport with so few teams in the top tier of what would be a minor league sport/competition.The best Speedway UK can do is reinvent itself and stop pretending that it can compete as a team sport on the world stage. 

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2 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

ARC do not seem to mention the ownership of

Kent on the website but do mention Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in terms of dog racing. Do we have another stadium landlord who is anti speedway?

However from an impartial business perspective, it would not take a rocket scientist to work/find out that speedway is on its knees and with  the deteriorating level of support for a dying sport added to which we have seen examples of clubs experiencing financial difficulties mid season, why would any landlord entertain the idea of hiring your stadium with the chances being that you might not get the revenue you want to make it worthwhile as the speedway club folds because financially the owners of club work on wafer thin margins with a business model which is flawed and has so many risks and rarely makes financial sense. The fact is that turnstile money is nowhere near enough to keep a club afloat, hence the club relies on third parties (sponsors etc) whose financial condition the stadium owners would need to assess, be fully understood in order to give them an idea of the financial risks they are taking on with the club. Given the foregoing why let speedway or for that matter any other sport that operates a similar business model, through the door.

Len has not only a knowledgeable and wonderful servant/advocate to speedway, he is an astute businessman and if he has finally walked away, then the writing is well and truly on the wall and those in charge of the sport in this country need to act decisively to protect the remnants.

Except Kent have had excellent support all season & as mentioned before, yet again posted a profit.

Right up until a few days before Len announced his retirement he was talking about next season & told supporters at the last meeting he would see them next easter. So something happened in those few days. I suspect ARC changed their minds & wanted more rent than previously agreed based on the support Kent were getting & Len walked away. Hopefully after a year with no rent from speedway a new promoter might find ARC more accommodating.   

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On 11/1/2021 at 9:26 PM, old bob at herne bay said:

Not for the first time I have upset “ Rob McCaffery” and his gallant attempts to resurrect Rye House Speedway. 
I doubt anyone except “Rob McCaffery” treats my comments as anything but an opinion of a retired long time speedway supporter. 
Let’s see whether any of these meetings which you report as being positive bear fruit. 

I agree nothing ventured,  nothing gained and wish you success in getting a speedway track reinstated at Hoddesdon. 
 

No need to put my name in quotes. It's real. Unlike you I don't have to hide. 

Now, you haven't upset me. I'm quite amused by fools like you. It also stirs the blood to vent spleen at thoroughly deserving targets. You remind me of those characters who wander through London carrying signs stating "The End Is Nigh".

I have real problems to deal with in helping to keep the Rye House campaign . You don't come anywhere near so don't flatter yourself. That goes   for the other keyboard warriors. All I care about right now is playing my part in defeating those who have been seeking to destroy the Rockets. Self-appointed windbags are pretty irrelevant by comparison.

The real Rob McCaffery.  

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Sadly no speedway venue is safe in British Speedway. Yes very negative of me but that is the truth. I always think the powers that be should do more to secure speedway at venues regardless of who owns the venue. 

It saddened me last night when I was channel hopping and landed on the greyhound channel at the same time as the 718pm race from Central Park. The fence completely gone from the speedway track only leaving a few posts. I'm sure this is the same at the end of every season but given the circumstances it just looked so sad.

I hope someone saves Kent :t:

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On 11/4/2021 at 3:47 PM, gazzac said:

Infact at this point (and hate saying it as saw him progress all those years at Eastbourne) another year at BV and Glasgow would be great for him at this point in his career. As usual points limit will probably dictate more than anything 

With the airfence plus track equipment being given to Iwade by uncle len , could it be Iwade could run NL next year?

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2 hours ago, Trackerman48 said:

With the airfence plus track equipment being given to Iwade by uncle len , could it be Iwade could run NL next year?

Uncle Len has retired, he gave the air fence etc to Iwade purely to help them out & not specifically to run a team from there.  BUT.  If they now have the equipment a NL team is a possibility. :)  

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22 minutes ago, flipper11 said:

Uncle Len has retired, he gave the air fence etc to Iwade purely to help them out & not specifically to run a team from there.  BUT.  If they now have the equipment a NL team is a possibility. :)  

From what I understand there's more to it than that. My information  could be wrong of course. Either way it's important that Kent continues to have a speedway team, one way or another. I think Iwade could operate as an NDL venue, especially if the Kings fans could tolerate the sparser facilities. I found it to be basic but with a heart of gold. At least a speedway team would be welcomed there. 

 

Edited by RobMcCaffery
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8 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

From what I've been told there's more to it than that. It could be wrong of course. Either way it's important that Kent continues to have a speedway team, one way or another. I think Iwade could operate as an NDL venue, especially if the Kings fans could tolerate the sparser facilities. I found it to be basic but with a heart of gold. At least a speedway team would be welcomed there. 

 

Rob to be honest I think Iwade at NDL is the only option,  can't see Kent running would need a new airfence,  fence on the strait ect be too much and with the big rent rise can not as a viable option. 

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On 11/10/2021 at 6:16 PM, Hawk127 said:

ARC do not seem to mention the ownership of

Kent on the website but do mention Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in terms of dog racing. Do we have another stadium landlord who is anti speedway?

However from an impartial business perspective, it would not take a rocket scientist to work/find out that speedway is on its knees and with  the deteriorating level of support for a dying sport added to which we have seen examples of clubs experiencing financial difficulties mid season, why would any landlord entertain the idea of hiring your stadium with the chances being that you might not get the revenue you want to make it worthwhile as the speedway club folds because financially the owners of club work on wafer thin margins with a business model which is flawed and has so many risks and rarely makes financial sense. The fact is that turnstile money is nowhere near enough to keep a club afloat, hence the club relies on third parties (sponsors etc) whose financial condition the stadium owners would need to assess, be fully understood in order to give them an idea of the financial risks they are taking on with the club. Given the foregoing why let speedway or for that matter any other sport that operates a similar business model, through the door.

Len has not only a knowledgeable and wonderful servant/advocate to speedway, he is an astute businessman and if he has finally walked away, then the writing is well and truly on the wall and those in charge of the sport in this country need to act decisively to protect the remnants.

ARC or to be more exact Rachel Corden is no friend of Speedway she is the former  owner of Nottingham Greyhound Stadium until it was sold to ARC where she was then offered and accepted a senior position within ARC management, Her husband Mark Bird is the CEO of the GBGB which is the Greyhound equivelant of the BSPL so what Corden wants she very often gets, Im told that ARC allegedly wont offer any Tenant more than a 1 year lease how true that is i dont know but iv been told that from a very reliable source. Would any of you invest in a Speedway team with no guarantee of having a racetrack after 1 season ?.

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5 hours ago, heathen52 said:

ARC or to be more exact Rachel Corden is no friend of Speedway she is the former  owner of Nottingham Greyhound Stadium until it was sold to ARC where she was then offered and accepted a senior position within ARC management, Her husband Mark Bird is the CEO of the GBGB which is the Greyhound equivelant of the BSPL so what Corden wants she very often gets, Im told that ARC allegedly wont offer any Tenant more than a 1 year lease how true that is i dont know but iv been told that from a very reliable source. Would any of you invest in a Speedway team with no guarantee of having a racetrack after 1 season ?.

To be fair to any of Speedways landlords, when they see the sport lose tracks/tracks change promoters due to losses made, so consistently, you can see why they may put up restrictions on any lease..

If the sport had a following that delivered circa £50k a night through the turnstiles then rent increases wouldn't be an issue, nor would a change of promoter to "save the team" be ever needed.. 

Which I would suggest would provide landlords with more confidence in the tenant...

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Well we can only see if Iwade do lodge an application to join the NDL in 2022. One hopes that the attitude of the BSPL will be supportive to allowing another stand alone club to run in the NDL in 2022. 
 

Good old Rob McCaffery ploughs onward with resurrecting Rye House and  I wished him success with his venture.

Despite his personal abuse, I still wish him well, although this “fool”, “self appointed windbag” and keyboard warrior is mindful that Len Silver severed his interests in Rye some years ago ….. I wonder why? 
 

 

 

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