Future Of Scunthorpe Scorpions

[OILYRAG 86]

 

Correct - it would need a 50% increase, for example:

 

£15 x 400 = £6000

£10 x 600 = £6000

 

I'm sure Rob G tried this and dropped the prices to £10 for a Rye House double-header in 2012... and the crowd didn't increase by 50%.

 

The prices were also dropped to £10 for the televised meeting in 2013.

 

I'm not sure that would be wise at the moment, though, instead of needing another 200 through the gate, we'd need over another 400 through the gate.

 

All the best

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not having a pop Rob and I know you work your nuts off a Scunny but a price drop wouldn't work over night like in your examples , people have found something else to do on a Friday night and they have to be enticed back over a period of time .

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2015 by OILYRAG

[The White Knight 9,039]

what if they said it could be 'Red and White' ???

I'm still laughing at this one RD. :rofl:

 

Nice one.

[ruffdiamond 6,115]

I'm still laughing at this one RD. :rofl:

 

Nice one.

well calm down,,, ya 'ovaltine' will be getting cold

[The White Knight 9,039]

well calm down,,, ya 'ovaltine' will be getting cold

Single Malt my friend. :approve:

[topsoil 2,498]

Best thing speedway can do is distance itself from the arms race riders are dragged into. Too many NL and PL standard riders see what the GP riders have, with their 'teams' of mechanics and stable of bikes and think they need the same. They spend far too much money tuning bikes to get that last drop of energy out and as a result costs are rocketing. I have to admit I have little or no mechanical knowledge, but there has to be some mileage in looking at engine limiters or the like.

If GP riders want to spend a fortune on their bikes for the GPs then let them. But it's up to them to cover their own costs. Hopefully this would go a long way to reducing costs.

[EC Rides Again 143]

Oh dear, this press release has been coming for a few weeks.

 

After the plea at the end of last season from Rob for more fans through the gate I had a bad feeling that 2015 could be the last year for speedway in Scunthorpe. Whenever I've been this season the crowd has looked sparse, and I'm at a loss to offer any hope that numbers will increase. Scunthorpe is not a big population centre and there is no fanbase just waiting to be tempted back.

 

The sport is withering on the vine. Costs for riders are too high and £15 to attend a PL meeting is beyond what most floating punters will spend. This just leaves the hard core fans and bluntly they are a dying breed (literally, as the all-too-frequent announcements of the passing away of loyal fans will testify).

 

The only hope I can see is for the Scorpions to follow Eastbourne's example and go National League and run on Sundays.

 

Needless to say I wish Rob and the gang at Scunthorpe every success.

[Paul Johnson 285]

every time we have double headers, this year and before, 3/4s of the crowd leave after the main event, they have paid £2 to watch another 15 heats of speedway at nl level but wont watch it, 2 bleeding quid and they moan about the standard of racing.."im not paying to watch that rubbish," so i cant see the crowds flocking back in to pay whatever it costs to watch us in the nl, again the die hard core would pay to watch me granny race a monkey if it meant we were watching racing, , i also agree about the polish population, its too dear compared with home and i think they are used to going in "proper stadiums" , a couple came once last year and sat in front of us, we got chatting and they said the facilities are very very basic compared to torun etc.

[Taylorj 1,000]

Oh dear, this press release has been coming for a few weeks.

 

After the plea at the end of last season from Rob for more fans through the gate I had a bad feeling that 2015 could be the last year for speedway in Scunthorpe. Whenever I've been this season the crowd has looked sparse, and I'm at a loss to offer any hope that numbers will increase. Scunthorpe is not a big population centre and there is no fanbase just waiting to be tempted back.

 

The sport is withering on the vine. Costs for riders are too high and £15 to attend a PL meeting is beyond what most floating punters will spend. This just leaves the hard core fans and bluntly they are a dying breed (literally, as the all-too-frequent announcements of the passing away of loyal fans will testify).

 

The only hope I can see is for the Scorpions to follow Eastbourne's example and go National League and run on Sundays.

 

Needless to say I wish Rob and the gang at Scunthorpe every success.

When we came over for the Worky meeting , we could t believe how many people were there , the crowd was really poor . Worrying times , best of luck !!

[Albert 304]

I think Scunthorpe should've rebranded years ago and advertised to a larger audience. Renamed to something like, 'Northern Lincolnshire Lions' or 'The Humber Sea Dogs' followed by a big advertising drive in places like Grimsby, Lincoln, it may have pulled in more punters, giving them a sense of 'it's our local speedway team' not one belonging solely to Scunthorpe.

The product at Scunny is fantastic, it's difficult to put a finger on why it's not better supported. I think stadia has a lot to do with it thesedays, speedway is pretty much stuck in the 70s in that regard.

From what I've seen of the stock cars, their crowds aren't that good either, poor in my opinion. But, unlike speedway, the stocks carry less expenditure, I believe drivers pay to race unlike speedway where riders are paid to race....big difference.

If Scunny speedway can't make it viable then there's not much hope for others up and down the country. Look at the wider picture, Scunny is perhaps the most used track in the world let alone this country...The amateur scene alone must bring in £000's...always well attended providing a good income stream... Practice sessions likewise... Not to mention the training schools/track. Add in things like rent, Scunnys stadium isn't owned by a greyhound stadium or similar, Rob doesn't have the expense of rent like a lot of tracks. Similarly, bar and cafe takings are all Robs, they aren't franchised. So if Scunny can't make it, little chance others will either.

It would be a major blow to British Speedway, particularly in regards to rider development... think most teams out there must have a rider or two that's benefitted from the Scunthorpe factor... a facility like we have here would be sorely missed.

 

I wish Rob well and hope he continues, it's far too good a product to lose.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Albert

[ch958 2,395]

Best thing speedway can do is distance itself from the arms race riders are dragged into. Too many NL and PL standard riders see what the GP riders have, with their 'teams' of mechanics and stable of bikes and think they need the same. They spend far too much money tuning bikes to get that last drop of energy out and as a result costs are rocketing. I have to admit I have little or no mechanical knowledge, but there has to be some mileage in looking at engine limiters or the like.

If GP riders want to spend a fortune on their bikes for the GPs then let them. But it's up to them to cover their own costs. Hopefully this would go a long way to reducing costs.

top post

outside of GP costs need slashing drastically - 90pc of fans dont care about machinery unlike F1 or superbikes or whatever - get the bikes back to basics

sorry but the leagues have to do without world stars - there just isnt the interest to generate crowds any more

and who says its a full time job?

people will say even fewer people will then attend but i'll tell you what - Eastbourne, Cradley and Birmingham aren't threatening to close any more

[topsoil 2,498]

Good point made above about Scunthorpe being vital regarding the amateur scene and practice sessions. It is one of the few facilities in the country to offer this. Another reason why it is vital the track is kept open.

[Paul Johnson 285]

scunny speedway fans are very fickle, half of us like to see racing and watching talent come through, we like to see them come to us and get better each week, birksy, tofty, tj,blackbird, ryan,nike, as rob likes to bring through untried riders, many recommended by other riders because they know rob and the track will benefit their careers. now the other half are not prepared to watch them start off, or even understand what rob is doing, our plight is on facebook in various posts,giving reasons why they arent attending, and rob seems to me he cant win either way, ie."so much for weening the new blood, why bring him into the team when he could use his many riders from the amatuer scene"?. so rob brings im matt williamson last year, josh bates before, ellis perks this year, at the time all good points scorers in the nl, then they say, "well waht do you expect when you have rubbish reseveses going round half a lap behind or fall off all the time or havent won for 50 odd starts" "im not paying to watch them do that"

[Cupidstunt 92]

i really believe Rob Godfery should be applauded for his efforts at Scunthorpe, he tries to brig British youth on and lets any rider go to his track to practice any time they want, speedway will be a far worse off place without Rob and Scunthorpe Speedway.

[Mimmo 1,070]

I've always said, and will always say, that the Scunthorpe circuit produces some of the best, if not the best racing in the country.

In the earlier years, I was a regular visitor to almost every meeting from my Norfolk base, and would love to be in that position to still be able to be so. However, when race-day was switched from Sunday afternoon to Friday evening, due to family health reasons, I had to reluctantly say goodbye to a club that had become a big part of my life.

I still manage to attend the odd Bank Holiday Monday meeting, and all things being equal, will do so on the 31st August.

I obviously don't know the reasons for crowd levels dropping, although some of it is bound to be down to poor results, a reason I can never understand, because that's when your club really needs your loyalty.

As I said, in my families case, it's purely down to the change in race-day and race time, so is that the reason for the now missing fans? Have the promotion asked questions in the local papers as to the reasons for previous customers now stopping away? Those people obviously used to enjoy their visits, otherwise they would have stopped attending much earlier than they now appear to be doing according to Rob. There must be something that they don't like, or things that don't suit their lifestyle, so these questions need to be asked.

I sympathise with Rob and everybody involved on the management team, but if making statements through the speedway media about possible closure if an extra 200 people don't come through the turnstiles, is the only source of plea that is being made, then that is a waste of time, because the chances are that the deserters no longer read the sports press anyway. I'm not aiming any criticism at anybody, but just asking the question whether these statements have been made public knowledge in the local press and possibly radio.

I do wish the club the very best of luck, and hope upon hope, that the missing fans can find a way to return, because speedway needs Scunthorpe as much as Scunthorpe needs speedway.

[eric i 620]

 

I've always said, and will always say, that the Scunthorpe circuit produces some of the best, if not the best racing in the country.

In the earlier years, I was a regular visitor to almost every meeting from my Norfolk base, and would love to be in that position to still be able to be so. However, when race-day was switched from Sunday afternoon to Friday evening, due to family health reasons, I had to reluctantly say goodbye to a club that had become a big part of my life.

I still manage to attend the odd Bank Holiday Monday meeting, and all things being equal, will do so on the 31st August.

I obviously don't know the reasons for crowd levels dropping, although some of it is bound to be down to poor results, a reason I can never understand, because that's when your club really needs your loyalty.

As I said, in my families case, it's purely down to the change in race-day and race time, so is that the reason for the now missing fans? Have the promotion asked questions in the local papers as to the reasons for previous customers now stopping away? Those people obviously used to enjoy their visits, otherwise they would have stopped attending much earlier than they now appear to be doing according to Rob. There must be something that they don't like, or things that don't suit their lifestyle, so these questions need to be asked.

I sympathise with Rob and everybody involved on the management team, but if making statements through the speedway media about possible closure if an extra 200 people don't come through the turnstiles, is the only source of plea that is being made, then that is a waste of time, because the chances are that the deserters no longer read the sports press anyway. I'm not aiming any criticism at anybody, but just asking the question whether these statements have been made public knowledge in the local press and possibly radio.

I do wish the club the very best of luck, and hope upon hope, that the missing fans can find a way to return, because speedway needs Scunthorpe as much as Scunthorpe needs speedway.

 

Rob always says it how it is and keeps the fans informed about what's going on. Would you rather him say nothing and then shut up shop on the 31st of August.