fullbore 129 Posted July 5, 2011 Add to that pretty much nearly all transport funnels into the capital. How far from Wembley are the main line stations? Victoria Coach Station? Pavement bars and cafés? Niamh 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Know 221 Posted July 5, 2011 YOU obviously don't go to London much ... which is much more expensive then Cardiff. And, of course, Wembley isn't in London for starters. Nigel Pearson is no more likely to get Talksport interested just because an event is at Wembley rather than the Millennium. In what way is Wembley FAR superior? British national newspapers have absolutely no interest in speedway for many reasons, including a general dislike of motorbikes, and until such time as there is a British 'Tomasz Gollob" will remain apathetic and even that might not be enough. cardiff is better beacause of the roof, how close the shops and hotels are. very easy get about and no rain off. however i think wembley is nicer as its new and more modern and better laid out. cardiff sound system is rubbish now and things like the boxes need doing up as bit worn. in general place wants a bit of a tart up. still best place for gp though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatface 2,571 Posted July 5, 2011 well that is your perogative, personally, I think a June Cardiff GP and a second GP at the end of September in Manchester would see 45,000 in Cardiff and 17,000 in Manchester, no bother. Agreed Jimmy Jimmy. I'll go to Cardiff every year no matter what. I also like to visit one Overseas GP a year. If there was a Manchester one, then I think I'd definitely go to the first Manchester GP. Thereafter, maybe every now and then. But I definitely reckon there's 17,000 European speedway fans who would fill Manchester annually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Know 221 Posted July 5, 2011 Agreed Jimmy Jimmy. I'll go to Cardiff every year no matter what. I also like to visit one Overseas GP a year. If there was a Manchester one, then I think I'd definitely go to the first Manchester GP. Thereafter, maybe every now and then. But I definitely reckon there's 17,000 European speedway fans who would fill Manchester annually. no roof and always rains in manchester so better book plenty of days in the hotel for the rain off i for one wouldnt go there even if it didnt rain. dont like the place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chesilmaster 2 Posted July 5, 2011 It would be interesting if the European GP came to Wembley for next year. But I personally think the British GP should stay at Cardiff. No possibility of a rain off!! I would do both GP's next year if they were both in the UK. I agree with the statements about the weather in Manchester. It rains almost daily there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Know 221 Posted July 5, 2011 It would be interesting if the European GP came to Wembley for next year. But I personally think the British GP should stay at Cardiff. No possibility of a rain off!! I would do both GP's next year if they were both in the UK. I agree with the statements about the weather in Manchester. It rains almost daily there. yep a great place to have a national speedway stadium with no roof Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted July 5, 2011 yep a great place to have a national speedway stadium with no roof Sorry guys, but what is the fixation with 'the roof'. To my knowledge, no other GP has a retractable roof, apart from Cardiff and Cardiff is just one round! I think the roof is almost irrelevant. I think an idea for the GB GP would be to alternate the stadium, otherwise things get stale. Say Cardiff, followed by Wembley, followed by ??? Bradford maybe, Hampden maybe. Surely it would be good to have different venues to keep things interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obrien48 27 Posted July 5, 2011 Sorry guys, but what is the fixation with 'the roof'. To my knowledge, no other GP has a retractable roof, apart from Cardiff and Cardiff is just one round! I think the roof is almost irrelevant. I think an idea for the GB GP would be to alternate the stadium, otherwise things get stale. Say Cardiff, followed by Wembley, followed by ??? Bradford maybe, Hampden maybe. Surely it would be good to have different venues to keep things interesting. Hmmm... what would be good would be to have each venue put forward their 'bid' or reasons for holding the event, noone should be gifted the GP just because it's been here or there for X amount of years. For me though Cardiff is a special occasion - I'd hate for it to disappear, the city is great, everything is in walking distance and the roof is a lucky bonus as we know we'll definitely have a GP to watch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paddi 19 Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) Sorry guys, but what is the fixation with 'the roof'. To my knowledge, no other GP has a retractable roof, apart from Cardiff and Cardiff is just one round! I think the roof is almost irrelevant. I dont! I travel 250 miles from Hull and I want to see a meeting. The British weather is notriously fickle and without the roof we may have had at least 2 Cardiff rain offs from my experience of the events. If we have a good stadium with a roof, then we should use it. Edited July 5, 2011 by Paddi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paddi 19 Posted July 5, 2011 For me though Cardiff is a special occasion - I'd hate for it to disappear, the city is great, everything is in walking distance and the roof is a lucky bonus as we know we'll definitely have a GP to watch! I agree! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racers and royals 8,752 Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Sorry guys, but what is the fixation with 'the roof'. To my knowledge, no other GP has a retractable roof, apart from Cardiff and Cardiff is just one round! I think the roof is almost irrelevant. I think an idea for the GB GP would be to alternate the stadium, otherwise things get stale. Say Cardiff, followed by Wembley, followed by ??? Bradford maybe, Hampden maybe. Surely it would be good to have different venues to keep things interesting. 2 other GP stadiums have roofs-Copenhagen`s Parken stadium is very similar to Cardiff,and Torun have a new roof covering the track. Edited July 6, 2011 by racers and royals Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted July 6, 2011 2 other GP stadiums have roofs-Copenhagen`s Parken stadium is very similar to Cardiff,and Torun have a new roof covering the track. Fair play. Denmark can be wet, so that is a god send. And I suppose Poland can be too. Rather than where the British GP should be held, the biggest priority for Team GB is to have riders competing and coming through the ranks to win the GPs. But that is another story, I know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hazzman 72 Posted July 6, 2011 How far from Wembley are the main line stations? Victoria Coach Station? Pavement bars and cafés? Niamh That's the penalty for holding it one of the World's biggest cities. You want to add glamour and make it a real showpiece, a host like London is a necessarity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted July 6, 2011 That's the penalty for holding it one of the World's biggest cities. You want to add glamour and make it a real showpiece, a host like London is a necessarity. From what Mr Rising was saying, the real show piece has gone, now we don't have a one off final. Now it is just 'another GP round', so unless we have a strong GB rider or riders, riding, the big ocassion has been watered down. My understanding during the Wembley days was there was strong international support, due partly I suppose to the one off final, but the international fans would use the weekend to visit London and the various sights. If what I am saying is true, Speedway is definitely missing a trick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatface 2,571 Posted July 6, 2011 YOU obviously don't go to London much ... which is much more expensive then Cardiff. And, of course, Wembley isn't in London for starters. Nigel Pearson is no more likely to get Talksport interested just because an event is at Wembley rather than the Millennium. In what way is Wembley FAR superior? British national newspapers have absolutely no interest in speedway for many reasons, including a general dislike of motorbikes, and until such time as there is a British 'Tomasz Gollob" will remain apathetic and even that might not be enough. I live in London and personally would much rather the GP stays in Cardiff. I enjoy the annual pilgrimage to Wales and love the way the stadium is the focal point of the city and how the whole place becomes taken over by speedway fans. That wouldn't happen in London. The area of Wembley really is the ar*e-end of the city and not a place I would ever wish to go for a pre-event pint or three. It truly is grotty round there. As for the stadium, it's nice but a very sanitised experience too, with it's glass-frontage, sushi bars and escalators. It's all a bit soul-less. Parts of it are more like an airport than a sports stadium. Where I disagree with Philip is on media coverage. I can easily see speedway getting more media coverage where it to return to Wembley. Stories about "World Championship speedway returning to it's spiritual home" and "speedway returning to the capital for the first time in ???? years" is something that I think would have a very good chance of getting coverage from LBC, Evening Standard, Metro, TalkSport, London Tonight and BBC London. Which could even rouse those thousands of former speedway fans who live in London (there's none of those people in Cardiff) to pay a Wembley GP a visit. My position is that I'd much prefer the GP in Cardiff, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if Wembley took its place one day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
