Speedway Star Toothless Pussycat

[BWitcher 12,453]

And cut through your waffle and the point was that if Cardiff had been available for a a World Final then attendances may have been considerably more than for Bradford.

 

Bradford was capacity limited and not a particularly attractive venue for the casual fan.

 

Bradford was nowhere near a sell-out so capacity has nothing to do with it. As has been pointed out, the attendance was less than 20,000.

 

Nor was the attendance at Bradford in 1990 anywhere close to the attendance in 1985 at Bradford also. I was at both.

 

Try and twist it as much as you like, the original point was a claim was made that the old World Finals achieved bigger crowds than Cardiff does. It's been pointed out that you have to go back quite a way to find one that did achieve a bigger crowd and there is only you who is trying to argue the point..... and failing to do so. We're not dealing with ifs, buts and maybes, we're dealing with reality. The best estimate given is 1982 for the last World Final to surpass a Cardiff crowd.

Edited February 4, 2014 by BWitcher

[oldace 1,678]

 

Bradford was nowhere near a sell-out so capacity has nothing to do with it. As has been pointed out, the attendance was less than 20,000.

 

Nor was the attendance at Bradford in 1990 anywhere close to the attendance in 1985 at Bradford also. I was at both.

 

Try and twist it as much as you like, the original point was a claim was made that the old World Finals achieved bigger crowds than Cardiff does. It's been pointed out that you have to go back quite a way to find one that did achieve a bigger crowd and there is only you who is trying to argue the point..... and failing to do so. We're not dealing with ifs, buts and maybes, we're dealing with reality. The best estimate given is 1982 for the last World Final to surpass a Cardiff crowd.

 

 

Wouldn't swear to it but i am pretty sure LA didn't get much over 35,000 and a lot of them were just freebies given away at the last minute so as not to make the venue seem deserted. At a guess I would say 1986 in Katowice was 60,000 plus (It is just a guess though) so probably that would be the last time a one off was anywhere near Cardiff

Edited February 4, 2014 by Oldace

[Humphrey Appleby 14,027]

Try and twist it as much as you like, the original point was a claim was made that the old World Finals achieved bigger crowds than Cardiff does. It's been pointed out that you have to go back quite a way to find one that did achieve a bigger crowd and there is only you who is trying to argue the point..... and failing to do so. We're not dealing with ifs, buts and maybes, we're dealing with reality. The best estimate given is 1982 for the last World Final to surpass a Cardiff crowd.

Not really. The Munich World Final the year before Bradford would have had a higher attendance than Cardiff. Demonstrating that if held a World Final in an attractive place rather than a field, then people would come.

[cityrebel 2,960]

Munich must go down as one of the worst tracks of all time. It looked even narrower than somerton park, although it was a great stadium with excellent views of the 'racing'!

[BWitcher 12,453]

Not really. The Munich World Final the year before Bradford would have had a higher attendance than Cardiff. Demonstrating that if held a World Final in an attractive place rather than a field, then people would come.

 

So you've found one World Final, reported crowd of 41,000 which is there or thereabouts with what Cardiff gets. Of course that figure may well be exaggerated, as most of the Wembley attendances were.

 

As has been stated, there were a lot more speedway fans attending the sport in 1989 than there are today, so in comparison, not a great turnout.

Munich must go down as one of the worst tracks of all time. It looked even narrower than somerton park, although it was a great stadium with excellent views of the 'racing'!

 

Not a great lineup either..

[foamfence 2,917]

Bradford was nowhere near a sell-out so capacity has nothing to do with it. As has been pointed out, the attendance was less than 20,000.

 

Nor was the attendance at Bradford in 1990 anywhere close to the attendance in 1985 at Bradford also. I was at both.

 

Try and twist it as much as you like, the original point was a claim was made that the old World Finals achieved bigger crowds than Cardiff does. It's been pointed out that you have to go back quite a way to find one that did achieve a bigger crowd and there is only you who is trying to argue the point..... and failing to do so. We're not dealing with ifs, buts and maybes, we're dealing with reality. The best estimate given is 1982 for the last World Final to surpass a Cardiff crowd.

The official attendance figures might not be too accurate. I saw people paying by cash at certain gates, they were given tickets that weren't the same as the pre-ordered tickets. So official attendance figures and receipts might not tell the true picture.

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

Not really. The Munich World Final the year before Bradford would have had a higher attendance than Cardiff. Demonstrating that if held a World Final in an attractive place rather than a field, then people would come.

YOU obviously weren't there!

 

The official attendance figures might not be too accurate. I saw people paying by cash at certain gates, they were given tickets that weren't the same as the pre-ordered tickets. So official attendance figures and receipts might not tell the true picture.

WHERE are you talking about?

[lucifer sam 3,960]

Munich must go down as one of the worst tracks of all time. It looked even narrower than somerton park, although it was a great stadium with excellent views of the 'racing'!

 

Heat 20 with Roman Matousek was epic.

 

Otherwise I'm glad Hans had his gating head on that night.

 

And our somewhat cocky but correct "All the rest will be feeling blue, when Hans and Wiggy finish one and two" banner got a mention in the Speedway Star the following week

 

All the best

Rob

Edited February 4, 2014 by lucifer sam

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

FROM memory the official attendance at the LA Colisuem was around 39,000 but there were some hand-outs. Even so, it was a terrific effort given that it finally took place at the same time as the Raiders (NFL) moved into the Coliseum and all the coverage on the sports pages in LA was about them.

 

The promoters (Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Jack Milne and Harro Oxley) staged a spectacular media bash there after practice ... the fully Hollywood monty! Beautifully laid out tables, waiters, the lot. The amount of coverage provided the following day ... almost zilch.

 

Even with Bruce Penhall in attendance and Hollywood bound it was tough to get the media outside Orange County (Costa Mesa) interested. I was in Las Vegas a few days later and read a preview of the World Final which had already taken place. As the person given the task of handling the media coverage it was very frustrating.

[Leicester Lion 274]

Heat 20 with Roman Matousek was epic.

 

Otherwise I'm glad Hans had his gating head on that night.

 

And our somewhat cocky but correct "All the rest will be feeling blue, when Hans and Wiggy finish one and two" banner got a mention in the Speedway Star the following week

 

All the best

Rob

Matousek realised he could get much more speed by hooking his front wheel over the inside line. None of his opponents sussed it. Had he found it from the start of the meeting, Matousek might have caused an upset.

[Grand Central 2,655]

AND, as it happens, the last attendance at Odsal for a World Final was in fact less than 20,000.

 

Now then, Now then.

 

The official figure released by the BSPA at the time was 26,418.

 

Is there a suggestion that a BSPA Press Release may have been inaccurate?

That would be a sensation.

 

.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Grand Central

[Humphrey Appleby 14,027]

YOU obviously weren't there!

I was in Munich and the stadium was fairly full. I think its capacity at the time was around 50K, so it's not unreasonable to assume it compared to if not exceeded Cardiff.

 

As to how many actually paid is another issue, but then you could say the same about Cardiff.

 

Yes, the track was rubbish but since when has a good track been a pre-requisite for GP either?

[foamfence 2,917]

YOU obviously weren't there!

 

WHERE are you talking about?

Odsal.

[Conkers in Gravy 120]

World Finals in Britain would probably have attracted bigger crowds if they had been held at Cardiff (putting aside the fact the Millennium Stadium wasn't opened until 1999), but it took BSI and the grand prix series to take the world championship up a level in terms of professionalism and presentation. It was BSI who had the imagination to take the GP series to Cardiff and as a result British speedway enjoys a big day out with 40,000ish fans ,every year - not once every five or six years.

 

It would be nice if BSI were to invest in British speedway, but I don't see how that could happen. Would they invest in Poland, Sweden and Denmark too? If they did, then £3m (if that is the figure) doesn't go very far.

 

For my money, BSI have done a good job in raising standards in the world championship. I loved the old world finals, but by the end they were pretty poor (Pocking in 93 was a shambles). BSI have provided speedway with a quality flagship which ought to raise interest in the sport. It's British speedway's problem if it can't keep up.

[Humphrey Appleby 14,027]

So you've found one World Final, reported crowd of 41,000 which is there or thereabouts with what Cardiff gets. Of course that figure may well be exaggerated, as most of the Wembley attendances were.

I think Munich was reported as 50K which was probably exaggerated, but the stadium was fairly full (unlike Cardiff).

 

You're also assuming the Cardiff (and other GP) figures aren't exaggerated as well, which many believe are. And others on here have also reported tickets being given away on the day for low prices.