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If they are all in it together, and as is obviously proven keeping the 2 tier structure benefits all, then any financial compensation should surely be split across ALL clubs Not necessarily as a straight split but ALL are responsible in some way

With all due respect to Oxford, They aren't Poole.

Totally agree. The thing that strikes me about speedway is the lack of ambition to be successful at the top level . Certain clubs with decent fan bases are happier to pick and choose where and when they want to operate. Dosent matter what the level of opposition is. Then when they achieve success they celebrate it like they’ve won the World Cup. Big deal. They’re hollow victories. Race at the highest level against far better opposition. Track a winning team if at all possible. That will attract more people through the gate as people love to follow winners. Look at Man City for an example. Then victories are meaningful. Ambition? No . Let’s just be a big player in a lesser league. It’s sad how far our sport has plunged with that attitude.

Only went once, my mate got me a freebie... Didn't take to it so never went again... However, the overall presentation was light years ahead of UK Speedway, use of lighting, music, fans interaction etc, and there were a couple of hundred kids in attendance I would think... (Mind you. It was weekend!)..😉 Edit . Yes, they have an advantage of not ever being rained off... But. They also have never paid £3k to £5k for any on their team for one match, never mind two of their team...

Aside from the comparison of indoor vs outdoor sports, is there a huge financial prize for winning the Basketball or Ice Hockey leagues/cups as they also don't generate much publicity nationally? As for getting better crowds than speedway that's as much to do with plusher, comfortable indoor stadia and the reliability of a regular fixture list - unless the ice melts of course!😉

100% When Poole went into Div 2 they were quite open that their fans could still get to watch around 70% of the same riders that they could in Div 1, but they were not paying out the same money.. That only could be done due to these riders still being in Div 1 at the same time.. What we have now is the obvious result of minimal long term planning around rider development, with each year, no one looking further down the line than "getting to October"... With the obvious lack of independent leadership to prevent teams pretty much doing what they wanted, when they wanted, to suit their own agenda and not the overall sports' agenda.... However, given that agenda pretty much didn't exist, you cannot blame them.. Poole, as an example, have certainly shown that Div 2 is profitable, and they even, if memory serves, reduced admission when they went into the 2nd tier.. If it's profitable without riders getting a Div 1 wage is probably the million dollar question, however riders can also get another job (like the majority used to), particularly if they only are riding for one team in the UK, rather than two...

over 35 yrs ago did have a girlfriend who watched Manchester storm, i did go to a match with her, good atmosphere but not for me, so i dumped her 😁

They also have never had "World Stars" so their fans (and maybe more importantly) the owners, don't have any expectations that they need to rub shoulders with the best of the best. My mate plays for the Storm reserves in Manchester and hardly watches NHL but goes everywhere to watch the Storm and can give me chapter and verse on every UK player... He, and all the fanbase,has zero expectation of ever seeing a "World Star" nor have the owners of ever signing one .. I sometimes wonder if it is the fans or the promoters who actually want to have "World Stars" at tracks the most ... Top tier fans, by the lack of big attendances at many tracks when the "World Stars" are there, suggests it isn't them...

Didn't Mr Bates state that the club was in a good stable position for any new owner, and his reason for stepping away was the pressure of other work away from speedway?

6pm friday is the official comms. Where you getting this from?

Workington`s first signing will be announced later today.

.and look what happened to the Spires!!

another big difference with these sports is the public who watch these sports will have played or been involved with the sport, where speedway is the opposite, 90% would never of rode a speedway bike. which is obviously down to the costs involved in having a go. but to be honest i wouldn't , pay to watch basket ball or ice hockey, so we are all different.

When the second division started accepting journeyman foreigners, it was a step back for British speedway as a whole but good for them. Like wise when they moved from double uppers to double downers around 2017/18 it was good for them but bad for British speedway as it led to our rider shortage. Championship fans are constantly referring to the predictable nature of the top league which is laughable given the championship is now the Poole & Glasgow show and has been for years. Add in the supposed variety you get in the Championship compared to the Premiership even though we are only taking two more teams and the fact that two of their teams met each other 10 times also slips the mind. Ten years ago there were 13 teams in the championship but that is down to 9. When it comes to losing teams from then to 2025, it’s 4-1 to the championship. I post this to balance things up and shine a light on the them and us mentality that has blighted our sport for longer than I care to remember. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER and need to leave our competition out on the track and not in the boardroom. It’s a symbiotic relationship where what happens to one massively affects the other.

With only one foot still nailed to the perch now though, so it is "leaning" a bit..

When you look at other "small sports" in the UK, eg Basketball and Ice Hockey, one getting a similar amount of fans for league matches, (Basketball), (although the Basketball play offs did get 15,000 there), and the other (Ice Hockey), a good number more than UK Speedway gets. (Last season UK Ice Hockey averaged over 3600 per game).. Neither though use "World Stars,", as, simply they couldn't afford them.. Therefore they use "decent" players from overseas and, in the main, UK lads... With both sports knowing that bigger European and Scandinavian teams can offer more money to the best talent as they progress through the UK system, with these lads often moving into Europe and Scandinavia to ultimately try and get an NBA or NHL contract... In short, like BSB do in motorbike racing, they "know their place"... They know they have a product to sell which isn't on the level of other bigger competitions within their own sport, and accept that they pretty much end up as a "feeder system" for these more financially rewarding competitions... So they have plenty of UK lads coming through to replace those who move on to bigger things .. UK Speedway still wants to seemingly use "World Stars", even though their presence has seen a reduction in crowd numbers, and an increase in costs ... And, has spent decades replacing journeymen foreigners with journeymen foreigners... And all done to win something they personally hugely devalue due to a ludicrous set of operating regulations... Meaning any "success" attained resonates amongst very few people, and delivers little in financial rewards... A truly "unique" way of running a business... I presume the AGM has been put back to January so they can have time to unpick all the inherent, obvious flaws in the plan...? And, instead ,put together a plan for the future that is actually fit for purpose..?

For the sake of Sheffield, and keeping them going I think that additional burden shouldn't be imposed on the new owners. If indeed new owners can be found. I can't imagine much, if any of that missing 80k quoted (60k TV % 20k sponsorship) was pure profit. What an absolute mess the Premiership is in

if the actual lights are LED lamps the power consumption will be fairly modest and a generator would run easily

I think the idea that they would run in the PL and also then "divvy up" 20% of the losses of a 6th club is absolute madness. Maybe new owners might see that proposition differently but....

I think that without the TV money and sponsorship now lost I personally don't see Sheffield running next season. And I think if they are gone I think that will be us gone forever.

But does Fords only Weds, and Chris only Prem amount to the same thing, making profit. Like i say ive have a few

Correct call in blocking Sheffield's CHAMP application (If true) Whoever buys Sheffield should have it be known in advance that Sheffield have to run at PREM level (If it remains)

I think all the clubs would have an equal vote, but I don't know how many need to vote for/against it to accept/reject a request. Seems harsh if they are losing their promoter and main sponsor but allowing Sheffield to move to Championship would surely have ended any chance of saving the Premiership.

Why did he have four rides then, another Cami masterclass!

No because I don't agree with the Ford's Wednesday Night excuse when I've seen a Wednesday Night Club in Oxford making every effort to put British Speedway First.