tsc1 31 Posted July 22, 2014 Interesting comments from both sides of the fence with Top Stars getting flak for wanting to earn money for themselves and family if they are married I Think British Speedway should change to one night a week on a two week cycle (1 home 1 away) with maybe a premier lge side or N/l side on the off week . The ultimate non negotiable main point being if Poland/Sunday Sweden/Tuesday Denmark/Friday ( or whenever their racenight is ) have a rain off it is up to them to bite the bullet and accept British Speedway takes priority on our nominated race night ,not as happened with Eastbournes Cameron Woodward and Joonas Kylmokorpi last week .Also if the rider or riders decided to stay abroad with their other employer they would automatically be banned in all other leagues for 28 days for not upholding a binding contract. Gb promoters will only be paying big stars once a fortnight, fans will turn up if they only get a once a fortnight chance to see their favourites, and if (as Coventry/Cradley/Mildenhall etc etc ) promoters field a cheaper team on their second week it will be a success as the fans have voted with their feet /entrance money this season in the N/L where The Storm (coventry) have been riding in front of some very impressive crowds . My last point is Track Curating must be improved and the shale has got to be the best ,which it has not been in the last few years ,this, although it is a major cost, if you only run top flight once a fortnight, you in theory shouldn,t use so much over the course of a season,and Curators must be paid decent money for the job .They (as far as I know ) have to be licenced by the control board and they are subject to at least one visit per year by the C/B inspector and they have their own rules and regs pages in the B.S.P.A. handbook which must be adhered to at all times .If they don,t do the job properly they can be banned . Just a few points/ideas I have been mulling over for a few months be interested to know if you are in agreement or wish to shoot me down . FTM which and what tracks do you think need better track prep? As you say you have got yes of doing the job and shale where would you get it? Wait with interest........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,637 Posted July 22, 2014 I think there needs to be an agreement between Promoters as to what they want league speedway to be? Apart from the basic '4 blokes on 4 bikes for 4 laps', the sport has changed in many ways over the years. Is it An 'Extreme' sport/entertainment, or a 'Family sport/entertainment'? Or maybe something else. Once decided they need to promote the heck out of their preferred choice. If its to be 'extreme' then make it extreme - create villains and heroes; set-up real rivalries; have some handbags and disagreements!! If its to be family oriented - as in the past - then offer families some real incentives to attend; provide regular family entertainment in addition to the 15 heats; run on a family-friendly day; make sure all riders are accessible, before and after meetings etc etc 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macinter 158 Posted July 22, 2014 A single race night is very likely to be a non starter in British speedway. I think we should accept that we cannot afford the top flight riders and get on with promoting speedway at Premier league level throughout the UK. If Sittingbourne and Stoke could be persuaded to race at this level we could possibly have 3 regional leagues with eight teams in each. Play offs, which would incorporate teams which finish top of each region would then be meaningful and, apart from those play offs, clubs wouldn't have to travel the length and breadth of the country. With Peterborough hosting Newcastle in April being far and away the most entertaining speedway meeting on the box this year there is no need for the top riders to make our sport entertaining. Meetings would cost less to stage. Entrance fees could be reduced and we could have speedway on practically any night we wanted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,395 Posted July 22, 2014 A single race night is very likely to be a non starter in British speedway. I think we should accept that we cannot afford the top flight riders and get on with promoting speedway at Premier league level throughout the UK. If Sittingbourne and Stoke could be persuaded to race at this level we could possibly have 3 regional leagues with eight teams in each. Play offs, which would incorporate teams which finish top of each region would then be meaningful and, apart from those play offs, clubs wouldn't have to travel the length and breadth of the country. With Peterborough hosting Newcastle in April being far and away the most entertaining speedway meeting on the box this year there is no need for the top riders to make our sport entertaining. Meetings would cost less to stage. Entrance fees could be reduced and we could have speedway on practically any night we wanted. 8 team divisions would give 7 home league matches? How about 23 home league matches with different teams each week 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,292 Posted July 22, 2014 (edited) Tai said, "he knows for a fact that 20 of the top riders they have had here this year are thinking about stopping because they are just too busy, there are too many meetings here." If that's true then great, let them go and we can have one big, cheaper to run, Premier League. The ten No1's in each of the ten teams roughly between them take £1 million a year out of the sport in this country, with the 'sky money' over the years basically going straight to them.. Combined, do they bring in £1 million a year through the turnstiles?? I would suggest no way near.... Years ago, PC, Mauger, Olsen, Penhall, Carter, Nielsen, Gunderson, Crump etc would definitely put 'extra bums on seats' when they visited your track, this was in the main due to you only having one chance a year to see them unless they rode for your team.. Nowadays on TV you can see all the top riders, via live gb league speedway, live gp's, live euro champs, live swc, live swedish league, bet 365 and loads of streaming channels for danish and polish league racing... On virtually any given day of the week you can now watch the top riders compete where you used to see maybe highlights four times a year on world of sport of the 'worlds best'.... Familiarity has definitely bred contempt to such an extent that surely now it doesnt make any economic sense whatsoever to have such blatantly unsustainable salaries being paid over here and the time has come to part with the gp riders?? And given the fact that often these riders win by the proverbial mile when they gate it could be argued that without them racing may be closer too? I am sure without gp riders then 'inferior riders' will try and raise their salary package as they become No1, however if the promoters have any strength of character they will use this situation to reduce costs in the league by a massive amount... Most fans at the end of the day just want to see four riders in every race of similar ability levels, with all riders belonging to the two teams advertised and the meetings themselves taking place on the same consistent evening every week, maybe losing the gp 'stars' is a price worth paying to deliver this?.. As after all, you will still have them beamed into your front rooms from around the globe a good few nights of the week... Edited July 22, 2014 by mikebv 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macinter 158 Posted July 22, 2014 8 team divisions would give 7 home league matches? How about 23 home league matches with different teams each week OOPS!! I left half my post off and what I should have said was eight teams in three fairly local regions racing against each other twice which gives fourteen regional meetings. The top four in each division would then go on to form a nation wide Elite league of 12 teams and race against each other once. The bottom four would form a Premier League and do likewise. I would expect to attend more away meetings using my suggestion than I would under a national league of 24 teams. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orion 7,615 Posted July 22, 2014 OOPS!! I left half my post off and what I should have said was eight teams in three fairly local regions racing against each other twice which gives fourteen regional meetings. The top four in each division would then go on to form a nation wide Elite league of 12 teams and race against each other once. The bottom four would form a Premier League and do likewise. I would expect to attend more away meetings using my suggestion than I would under a national league of 24 teams. OMG Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,395 Posted July 23, 2014 OOPS!! I left half my post off and what I should have said was eight teams in three fairly local regions racing against each other twice which gives fourteen regional meetings. The top four in each division would then go on to form a nation wide Elite league of 12 teams and race against each other once. The bottom four would form a Premier League and do likewise. I would expect to attend more away meetings using my suggestion than I would under a national league of 24 teams. You might have been better off not mentioning this half of the post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,637 Posted July 23, 2014 The ten No1's in each of the ten teams roughly between them take £1 million a year out of the sport in this country, with the 'sky money' over the years basically going straight to them.. Combined, do they bring in £1 million a year through the turnstiles?? I would suggest no way near.... Years ago, PC, Mauger, Olsen, Penhall, Carter, Nielsen, Gunderson, Crump etc would definitely put 'extra bums on seats' when they visited your track, this was in the main due to you only having one chance a year to see them unless they rode for your team.. Nowadays on TV you can see all the top riders, via live gb league speedway, live gp's, live euro champs, live swc, live swedish league, bet 365 and loads of streaming channels for danish and polish league racing... On virtually any given day of the week you can now watch the top riders compete where you used to see maybe highlights four times a year on world of sport of the 'worlds best'.... Familiarity has definitely bred contempt to such an extent that surely now it doesnt make any economic sense whatsoever to have such blatantly unsustainable salaries being paid over here and the time has come to part with the gp riders?? And given the fact that often these riders win by the proverbial mile when they gate it could be argued that without them racing may be closer too? I am sure without gp riders then 'inferior riders' will try and raise their salary package as they become No1, however if the promoters have any strength of character they will use this situation to reduce costs in the league by a massive amount... Most fans at the end of the day just want to see four riders in every race of similar ability levels, with all riders belonging to the two teams advertised and the meetings themselves taking place on the same consistent evening every week, maybe losing the gp 'stars' is a price worth paying to deliver this?.. As after all, you will still have them beamed into your front rooms from around the globe a good few nights of the week... Don't disagree with any of that, other than to add that their must also be some control of machinery/costs etc so that engine tuners cannot put so much financial pressure on the riders! Then the riders wouldn't need to demand higher (and higher and higher) pay deals. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humphrey Appleby 13,960 Posted July 23, 2014 OOPS!! I left half my post off and what I should have said was eight teams in three fairly local regions racing against each other twice which gives fourteen regional meetings. The top four in each division would then go on to form a nation wide Elite league of 12 teams and race against each other once. The bottom four would form a Premier League and do likewise. I would expect to attend more away meetings using my suggestion than I would under a national league of 24 teams. How would you plan an EL campaign with all the expenditure that goes with it, if you didn't even know whether you'd be riding in the competition until halfway through the season? Moreover, on-track success has very little to do with the economics of running a top-flight team, otherwise numerous PL teams would have moved up. Even the concept of running in a 'super league' and lower level league in parallel is a total non-starter. You're immediately distinguishing one of your products as being lower quality, and you have virtually no chance of building up fan loyalty to a team or its riders if you're putting out different sides all the time. There might be a case for fewer fixtures on less days, but basically each of the British leagues need to decide what economic level they can afford to run, what riders are available who can in principle fulfil all the fixtures, and then build a product around that. They should not be prostituting themselves to a relative handful of riders who want to cherry pick where and when they ride, but who do not justify the money they're paid (in terms of extra revenue they bring in) when they do ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 23, 2014 Change is required from top to bottom. British Speedway needs the double up option and for it to work correctly the Premier League can't race the same night's as the Elite League. That's not arrogance, it's bloody common sense for goodness sake But some PL tracks may have to stick to their present night's. Many are just stadium tenants. For example if Saturday was to be the one night for the PL, can you see Spedeworth International at Ipswich dropping their own promotions to let speedway (their tenants) have that night? There must be other venues where similar happenings would present themselves, possibly because of two or three nights a week for greyhound racing. Loo beyond speedway - it sadly is not a major sport ANYMORE and does not have the strength to dictate its WANTS AND NEEDS to stadium owners/landlords. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted July 23, 2014 How would you plan an EL campaign with all the expenditure that goes with it, if you didn't even know whether you'd be riding in the competition until halfway through the season? Moreover, on-track success has very little to do with the economics of running a top-flight team, otherwise numerous PL teams would have moved up. Even the concept of running in a 'super league' and lower level league in parallel is a total non-starter. You're immediately distinguishing one of your products as being lower quality, and you have virtually no chance of building up fan loyalty to a team or its riders if you're putting out different sides all the time. There might be a case for fewer fixtures on less days, but basically each of the British leagues need to decide what economic level they can afford to run, what riders are available who can in principle fulfil all the fixtures, and then build a product around that. They should not be prostituting themselves to a relative handful of riders who want to cherry pick where and when they ride, but who do not justify the money they're paid (in terms of extra revenue they bring in) when they do ride. YOU make valid points but tracks are putting out different sides all the time now. At least if the fans knew what to expect and paid a lesser admission fee a secondary competition might work. Watching the Swedish league, as I did in the company of my brother-in-law Larry Ross last night, makes you weep. No Woffinden for Vetlanda yet they can still afford to leave out Kolodziej and track a team without guests, etc. And despite racing at home on two consecutive nights the crowd was the envy of any British promoter. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kbt 87 Posted July 23, 2014 It's not only about who owns their own track but what about the restrictions on the tracks by local councils with times etc.It is by no means certain they would allow them to run on the same nights. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadster 221 Posted July 23, 2014 At least if the fans knew what to expect and paid a lesser admission fee a secondary competition might work. No Woffinden for Vetlanda yet they can still afford to leave out Kolodziej and track a team without guests, etc. And despite racing at home on two consecutive nights the crowd was the envy of any British promoter. I went to the two meetings at Wolverhampton this week and thought there were possibly more people at the Cradley meeting than the Wolves so running in two competitions might work, as you say. Certainly the crowd seemed more enthusiastic and more tolerant of the riders' efforts. Out of interest, how much do Swedish clubs have to pay to rent their stadia? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,375 Posted July 23, 2014 YOU make valid points but tracks are putting out different sides all the time now. At least if the fans knew what to expect and paid a lesser admission fee a secondary competition might work. Watching the Swedish league, as I did in the company of my brother-in-law Larry Ross last night, makes you weep. No Woffinden for Vetlanda yet they can still afford to leave out Kolodziej and track a team without guests, etc. And despite racing at home on two consecutive nights the crowd was the envy of any British promoter. Forgetting all about one night speedway,IMO a number of British Tracks just can't cope with the bike technology nowadays,I have yet to see a Foreign that has long straights and tight corners they are all purpose built wide and sweeping corner which produce better racing IMO ,and it no coincidence that Scunthorpe and Somerset produce thrilling racing and were purpose built.Value for money has to be a priority .EL is not value for money IMO . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
