springdale 45 Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) Speedway meetings need to be run quicker too much hanging about on cold evenings for many people, on the other hand if you have the meeting over quickly no one is going to want to pay £15 or so for 1 hour ish of entertainment. Reduce the price, run the meetings quicker and finally some rider interaction with the fans so many tracks do not seem to bother anymore. Edited May 5, 2014 by springdale 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulco 7,116 Posted May 5, 2014 Speedway is just fighting a losing battle against changing times . In the sixties and seventies , there wasnt nearly as much competition for our time and money . Shops didnt open till dark o clock , there wasn't endless football matches and other sporting attractions available to watch on TV . A wet Sunday afternoon in Glasgow , are you going to chance the speedway is on or are you going to sit at home with the feet up and enjoy a beer watching Arsenal v West Brom and Chelsea v Norwich . The die hards will always choose the speedway , but the die hards is an increasingly dwindling number 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColinMills 1,728 Posted May 5, 2014 Speedway meetings need to be run quicker too much hanging about on cold evenings for many people, on the other hand if you have the meeting over quickly no one is going to want to pay £15 or so for 1 hour ish of entertainment. Reduce the price, run the meetings quicker and finally some rider interaction with the fans so many tracks do not seem to bother anymore. spot on.4hts at foxhall taken 1 hour.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted May 5, 2014 Speedway is just fighting a losing battle against changing times . In the sixties and seventies , there wasnt nearly as much competition for our time and money . Shops didnt open till dark o clock , there wasn't endless football matches and other sporting attractions available to watch on TV . A wet Sunday afternoon in Glasgow , are you going to chance the speedway is on or are you going to sit at home with the feet up and enjoy a beer watching Arsenal v West Brom and Chelsea v Norwich . The die hards will always choose the speedway , but the die hards is an increasingly dwindling number Yes - and they are usually the 'Oldies'. :sad: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leicester Hunter 381 Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) run the meetings quicker ...And give youngsters some track time. They are, after all, the future of the sport. Edited May 5, 2014 by Leicester Hunter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted May 5, 2014 ...And give youngsters some track time. They are, after all, the future of the sport. Ergo - let's have Second Halves back. :approve: They won't though. :sad: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cowboy cookie returns? 751 Posted May 5, 2014 Interesting topic! Having been to Foxhall today I have to say I am concerned for the future. A 'bumper' crowd with large gaps on the home straight & first second bends these would have been packed 3 or 4 years ago for a bank holiday meeting in fact I think it would have been a average Thursday night gate a few seasons ago so concerned point one crowd level. Second point from today the 'blue grove' on the inside line. Now speedway is supposed to be a dirt track sport & the dirt provides the grip well today the bikes were spinning up on the inside so very little grip I suspect! Speedway as a whole needs to look at the bike & track set up & get back to tracks that provide grip & allows the riders to race but I guess you need bikes that can run on deep grippy tracks todays bikes I don't think can. British Speedway needs a complete make over new governing body new rule book & riders riding in one league for one team. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shale Searcher 1,264 Posted May 5, 2014 Slow down the bikes, add more dirt, ban all exotic materials, dump the joker, but most of all, the Elite League and Premier League need to work together!!! As it stands they never agree on anything.. until that happens nowt will or will be allowed to change.. At the moment, it's like Rugby League and Union, or WBF and WBC, constantly agreeing to disagree... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted May 5, 2014 I agree speedway needs an overhaul. But it also needs to get real. I saw the European GP and was shocked at the lack of fans in the stadium, especially as we have been led to believe speedway is a 'hot bed' in Poland. If speedway is to survive, it needs to downsize, which means costs for riders, promoters and fans. At the end of the day and as has been mentioned, this thread is an 'old chestnut' subject, but nothing changes. Let's hope it doesn't end up being, 'Will the last speedway club to close, please turn off the lights'. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bailays Hat 37 Posted May 5, 2014 Hard to judge crowds at foxhall now from the past as the grandstands take people off the terraces. The number of cars would suggest it was a big crowd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cowboy cookie returns? 751 Posted May 6, 2014 Having watched the Swedish league match on Euro sport tonight did kind of show where speedway in this country should go. No daft joker rules Kenneth Bjerre missing though injury and no Guest so just 2 full teams of the clubs own riders using sensible rules to score 2 points for a match win 1 for a draw & a bonus point for scoring the most over 2 matches. Simple! As for the top flight over here then maybe the time has come to run 1 night a week.......... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColinMills 1,728 Posted May 6, 2014 couldnt agree more, all of above sensible, straight forward..dare i say obvious! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted May 6, 2014 I just don't think british speedway is sustainable in it's present form. It's far too expensive for the product that's on offer and the public are voting with their feet. Run down stadiums and poorly prepared tracks don' t help in the fight to keep the few die hards that still attend. A reduction in admission prices is the only way to save speedway in this country, and if that means kicking out the high earners, then so be it. Looking at the attendances at the televised meetings abroad, it seems that the decline in speedway popularity is worldwide. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hulvik 73 Posted May 6, 2014 It's a great Idea having all the EL meetings one one night the problem is with this are the local councils most tracks only have planning permission to run on certain nights with many having a curfew. You only have to look at the situation with Mildenhall to see that some councils given the chance would do away with speedway altogether if they could Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted May 6, 2014 It's a great Idea having all the EL meetings one one night the problem is with this are the local councils most tracks only have planning permission to run on certain nights with many having a curfew. You only have to look at the situation with Mildenhall to see that some councils given the chance would do away with speedway altogether if they could Very true - but - given the way British Speedway is dying on it's feet perhaps radical change is the only thing that will save it. If an odd Track gets blocked by the Council Planning people then that is a risk we might just have to take. :sad: 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
