Speedway Gp In Tatters !

[BigFatDave 258]

You mention the 1974 Final held in the pouring rain at Gothenburg of all places.

Yes it wasn't good but for goodness sake NONE of the GPs held at that place have been any good either have they?

2004 was full of interest and excitement, but I suppose you had to be there, and I take it you weren't.

 

I must admit I enjoy the GPs almost as much for the party atmosphere and bonhomie amongst Fans, friends old and new meeting up in foreign lands etc, as the racing, but then my glass is invariably half-full.

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

That is good for the GP, no doubt.

 

It is just difficult to appreciate that the people of these cities actually approve of this way of spending public money ... it would be a very difficult sell for a directly elected UK City Mayor, wouldn't it?

It is only unelected QANGOS in the UK that can get away with doing this sort of thing isn't it?

 

YOU simply cannot compare speedway's status in the UK to that in Poland. Places like Leszno, Torun, Gorzow, Bydgoszcz and Zielona Gora are fanatical speedway cities. Their speedway clubs are much more akin to soccer clubs in places like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.

 

Mayors in Poland know the political capital to be gained by supporting speedway, whether it be with the construction of new stadiums or hosting a SGP round.

[The Know 221]

YOU simply cannot compare speedway's status in the UK to that in Poland. Places like Leszno, Torun, Gorzow, Bydgoszcz and Zielona Gora are fanatical speedway cities. Their speedway clubs are much more akin to soccer clubs in places like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.

 

Mayors in Poland know the political capital to be gained by supporting speedway, whether it be with the construction of new stadiums or hosting a SGP round.

 

from a sponsors point of veiw i would say 2011 has been the worst year. i have always been on the sgp side but after sweden i have my doudts. very poor.

[Trees 2,814]

from a sponsors point of veiw i would say 2011 has been the worst year. i have always been on the sgp side but after sweden i have my doudts. very poor.

That's pretty damning, how can you put a positive side to that one Mr Rising?

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

That's pretty damning, how can you put a positive side to that one Mr Rising?

 

IF memory serves me correct Meridian Lifts were the sponsors of the rain-affected meeting in Gothenburg and obviously, judging by Andy's comments, he wasn't satisfied but I doubt whether he can speak for all the other sponsors throughout the year. I do know companies like Nice and Doodson were very pleased with their involvement and in these tough economic times I would image BSI/IMG were satisfied overall.

[Deano 1,318]

That is good for the GP, no doubt.

 

It is just difficult to appreciate that the people of these cities actually approve of this way of spending public money ...

 

Speculate to accumulate, the private sector do it why shouldn't the public sector. Perhaps the BSPA should look at the workings of the Polish model and look at the reasons why they have managed to keep speedway up in the top three sports. Instead the BSPA would rather concentrate on their own little world/club and continue to in-fight damaging the sport for years to come.

 

The BSPA/British speedway fans should look closer to home as to the reasons for the state of UK speedway rather than blaming the GP series and a forward thinking international promoting company for it's failings.

[Grand Central 2,654]

YOU simply cannot compare speedway's status in the UK to that in Poland. Places like Leszno, Torun, Gorzow, Bydgoszcz and Zielona Gora are fanatical speedway cities. Their speedway clubs are much more akin to soccer clubs in places like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.

 

Mayors in Poland know the political capital to be gained by supporting speedway, whether it be with the construction of new stadiums or hosting a SGP round.

 

Yes, that's why I specifically said such action/reaction was difficult to appreciate from a UK perspective.

 

Mind you, I'm still not convinced a UK City Mayor for any of the cities listed who would get any electoral advantage from running on a platform of spending public money on professional Football either. Despite what your analogy suggests. The Polish voters really are different.

Edited October 30, 2011 by Grand Central

[Trees 2,814]

IF memory serves me correct Meridian Lifts were the sponsors of the rain-affected meeting in Gothenburg and obviously, judging by Andy's comments, he wasn't satisfied but I doubt whether he can speak for all the other sponsors throughout the year

I'm really surprised that he has felt the need to come on here and say how unhappy he is though, I'd have thought an international promoting company like IMG would have allayed his disappointment in some way by now?

The BSPA/British speedway fans should look closer to home as to the reasons for the state of UK speedway rather than blaming the GP series and a forward thinking international promoting company for it's failings.

This GP series has brought more negatives than positives though! I don't think it has brought any positives in fact!

[Deano 1,318]

 

This GP series has brought more negatives than positives though! I don't think it has brought any positives in fact!

 

I agree it hasn't helped at all. IMG/BSI looking after their own interests... perhaps they went to the BSPA school of speedway to learn the craft.

 

The rider shortage it generates over here can only be blamed on the BSPA, they should have hatched a plan to fast track youngsters rather than rely on cheap imports that don't give a flying fig about UK speedway. With Wizzer now in place hopefully things are looking up, but it will take time and patience.. 20 years perhaps before we will see any real benefits. Will the BSPA stick to it though?

[Humphrey Appleby 13,960]

Perhaps the BSPA should look at the workings of the Polish model and look at the reasons why they have managed to keep speedway up in the top three sports.

The BSPA/British speedway fans should look closer to home as to the reasons for the state of UK speedway rather than blaming the GP series and a forward thinking international promoting company for it's failings.

 

Polish speedway doesn't enjoy as high a profile in Poland as popularly believed. Football and even basketball are probably higher, although it's fair to say that speedway is still more successful in comparison to Britain.

 

It's also true that British speedway has been poorly run for a long time, and has really no-one to blame but itself for the predicament it finds itself in. However, you simply can't replicate what the Poles or Swedes do because their external factors are so different. For example, Sweden is a lightly populated country and local authorities are happy to lease land for tracks at little cost. Poland also has more public support in terms of provision of stadiums and in some case team funding, plus of course Poland has nothing like the same competition in terms of other sports within the country.

 

By contrast, British speedway is largely held in venues that are commercially run, which receive no public subsidy, and are themselves competing with other land uses. The sport itself also has to compete with football, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, quite aside from all the other sports shown on television.

 

The other point is that running a league is completely different to running a Grand Prix series. Running 11-12 meetings a season is a completely different to running several hundred, especially when you have everything in your favour such as choice of dates and riders. British speedway does not have that benefit and never will because it's an entirely different thing.

 

Perhaps you don't care if the SGP is your thing, but in truth the SGP and league racing is complementary. For all the hype, you certainly couldn't have the SGP without the leagues, not least because riders wouldn't be able to afford to do the SGP. Equally it could be argued that SGP is showcase for the leagues, although in my view the benefits have yet to be realised in this direction.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,960]

Mind you, I'm still not convinced a UK City Mayor for any of the cities listed who would get any electoral advantage from running on a platform of spending public money on professional Football either.

 

I suspect contrary to the suggestion, the reasons for the ousting of Polish mayors are much more complex than simply losing a GP. However, it really depends on how Polish councils are funded. If they're directly taxpayer funded, then effectively spending someone elses' money is undoubtedly very popular. In the UK though, a significant percentage of council money is raised from local ratepayers, many of whom might be less keen on spending their own money.

 

In general though, the UK media/public is much more paranoid about 'waste' than in some countries, to the extent that it's very hard to persuade the public of the need to speculate to accumulate sometimes. In general though, I don't believe tax/rate-payers should be spending significant money on speedway GPs because they're simply too insignificant to generate a lot of spin-off for their local economies.

[Deano 1,318]

Polish speedway doesn't enjoy as high a profile in Poland as popularly believed. Football and even basketball are probably higher, although it's fair to say that speedway is still more successful in comparison to Britain.

 

 

You only have to look at the speedway venues over there though to see the level of investment that goes into Polish Speedway. According to people who have been, a polish league meeting is something to behold and is akin to going to a rugby or football match in the UK.

 

The Poles have created a model that pulls in the riders, riders want to be part of it. The GP's have created a model that pulls in the riders, not so much now, as Poland seems to be the greater draw. UK speedway is just a hindrance to the big riders and a training ground for foreign nationals, most seem to come through loyalty rather than a need. This level is just about affordable for promotions in the UK. Perhaps the new Belle Vue stadium will give the BSPA the confidence and knowledge it needs to start doing more stadia on similar lines in other cities across the country. Better facilities will pull in a higher profile clientèle.

Edited October 30, 2011 by Deano

[george.m 3,063]

One off final or GP series? Let's not forget the riders POV, after all they are what the whole thing is about.

I'd suggest they'd vote for the series.

 

Also since the series started, I've not heard too many complaints about the overall winner each season. Go back to one off and run the risk of the consistently best rider in the season not being world champion.

[stratton 1,491]

One off final or GP series? Let's not forget the riders POV, after all they are what the whole thing is about.

I'd suggest they'd vote for the series.

 

Also since the series started, I've not heard too many complaints about the overall winner each season. Go back to one off and run the risk of the consistently best rider in the season not being world champion.

Can have both couldnt we wont happen now but could do in the future.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,960]

According to people who have been, a polish league meeting is something to behold and is akin to going to a rugby or football match in the UK.

 

Speedway, whilst drawing decent crowds, is quite a regional thing in Poland. It's probably more akin to rugby league - important to people in the north of England, but of little consequence to anyone else.

 

Polish speedway has the biggest average crowds of any sport in Poland, but its aggregate crowds are much lower than for football. By comparison, the Rugby Six Nations now has the highest average crowds of any sport in the world, but it would be ridiculous to claim it's the most popular sport in the world or even the UK on the basis of 15 matches.

 

Even in terms of media coverage, I'd say basketball gets much more than speedway in Poland.

Edited October 30, 2011 by Humphrey Appleby