mickthemuppet 976 Posted December 13, 2016 As i put on another thread there is now a drone that follows a sportsperson.Whether it would be safe enough to fly over a track and whether it would be safe enough to have 4 individual drones following the 4 riders is another thing though https://www.airdog.com/ Perhaps it would be a good idea of getting rid of the speedway riders and just have drone racing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted December 13, 2016 I'm not convinced it will, sadly imo, I think it will keep deteriorating. More Clubs close, than open. I think crowds will also keep decreasing. Unless you can attract new fans to the sport, then it will eventually die out, as the fans die out and become less. Can eventually see it ending up as an amateur sport a bit like Grasstrack. My opinion is that the best way to rekindle interest in British speedway is to abandon the concept of team racing entirely and adopt the format that is - and has been for many years - successful and popular in the USA. Your opinion Gresham is much akin to how I see the salvation of some form of speedway racing. Possibly with an added attraction - where tracks are suitable - with sidecars as an added attraction. Maybe also GP Midgets on the programme (at least six cars in a race but better eight, competing over eight laps). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,991 Posted December 13, 2016 Perhaps it would be a good idea of getting rid of the speedway riders and just have drone racing Think that sport already exists Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) I'm not convinced it will, sadly imo, I think it will keep deteriorating. More Clubs close, than open. I think crowds will also keep decreasing. We've lost so many big Clubs over the years, and when they close, you have to find another track to get your fix. The distance between Clubs is further and further. Unless you can attract new fans to the sport, then it will eventually die out, as the fans die out and become less. The problems run deep...leasing stadiums is a big problem for a start. Once they lose the lease, it's hard to start again. People also get out of the habit of going and find other things to do instead. Unless it's on your doorstep...people eventually tail off. When Bristol shut, we used to get 8000 regularly. Many travelled to Swindon and then Newport to get their fix...then a few to Somerset. Now it's just a handful sprinkled about. It's happened with other clubs too....so many. Can eventually see it ending up as an amateur sport a bit like Grasstrack. Yes it's well known on here that I stopped attending when I re-located to York from Oxford. When living in Oxford (Littlemore) it was a short walk to the stadium and that was my main incentive in continuing to go as, even then, I could see that the sport was experiencing problems and was on the decline. My nearest tracks where I now live are Sheffield, Redcar and, I guess, Scunthorpe (Manchester is a pig of a place to get to on a regular basis) and it obviously would require me to get into a car and travel upwards of fifty miles one way. That's a massive dis-incentive and one I'm not prepared to do. Edited December 13, 2016 by steve roberts 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humphrey Appleby 13,959 Posted December 13, 2016 We've lost so many big Clubs over the years, and when they close, you have to find another track to get your fix. The distance between Clubs is further and further. When the future of a track like Coventry is coming under question, then I think that says where the sport is at. It might survive in a few outposts where there's not much else around and the costs can be kept low, but unfortunately I'll be surprised if it's still a professional sport in 10 years time. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,369 Posted December 13, 2016 Yes it's well known on here that I stopped attending when I re-located to York from Oxford. When living in Oxford (Littlemore) it was a short walk to the stadium and that was my main incentive in continuing to go as, even then, I could see that the sport was experiencing problems and was on the decline. My nearest tracks where I now live are Sheffield, Redcar and, I guess, Scunthorpe (Manchester is a pig of a place to get to on a regular basis) and it obviously would require me to get into a car and travel upwards of fifty miles one way. That's a massive dis-incentive and one I'm not prepared to do. Scunthorpe is worth a visit if you ever want to see the sport again. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted December 13, 2016 Scunthorpe is worth a visit if you ever want to see the sport again. Yes I was tempted a couple of years ago but I awoke to drizzle and gave it a miss...however who knows! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halifaxtiger 5,318 Posted December 13, 2016 Yes I was tempted a couple of years ago but I awoke to drizzle and gave it a miss...however who knows! Definitely worth a visit. Much of the racing there last season was just brilliant. If someone asked me to name a track to tempt someone to return, it would Scunny. When the future of a track like Coventry is coming under question, then I think that says where the sport is at. It might survive in a few outposts where there's not much else around and the costs can be kept low, but unfortunately I'll be surprised if it's still a professional sport in 10 years time. That's a little different, Humph. If there weren't issues over the ownership and development of the stadium, I doubt if speedway at Coventry would be under threat. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieman72 588 Posted December 13, 2016 Excellent post Gresham a wake up call to all concerned slumbering in their bunker. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazysue 613 Posted December 13, 2016 Unaffordable or uninteresting? What is the adult cost you refer to - £16? Are they spending whatever they used to pay to get in on something else now? Unaffordable. I used to pay £3 prior to them being 16, afterwards it would have been £15 (I think, they are 23 and 20 now!), not something I could afford, nor they bearing in mind they were full time students studying for their GCSEs. And no they don't apart from basic living, both are students at university and with prices for accommodation, transport and course costs, it doesn't actually leave a lot left over for nice things and certainly not a weekly speedway fix....not that there is a track within easy distance for either of them. James managed to come to the track a couple of times this year, one was my treat the other was where he got some money left over from his part time whilst at home during the holidays job. Josh couldn't afford it at all as any money he managed to get, went straight away to paying half rent during the summer for his student house. They don't like other sports, only speedway. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gresham 928 Posted December 14, 2016 Definitely worth a visit. Much of the racing there last season was just brilliant. If someone asked me to name a track to tempt someone to return, it would Scunny. That's a little different, Humph. If there weren't issues over the ownership and development of the stadium, I doubt if speedway at Coventry would be under threat. That's one of the biggest issues in speedway though, and has been for many years...not owning your own Stadium. How many tracks have closed because of issues with the stadium owners or redevelopment, rather than a club losing it's support? This will continue to be an issue with clubs that don't own their own stadiums. trying to get planning again is a nightmare. Just wait until Poole have their problems...people think they'll be ok, but I've got my doubts. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted December 14, 2016 Just a reminder - there is an alternative thread on the BSF debating many of the issues that are raised here. It may be worth making a visit there? 'The Way Ahead' Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted December 14, 2016 That's one of the biggest issues in speedway though, and has been for many years...not owning your own Stadium. How many tracks have closed because of issues with the stadium owners or redevelopment, rather than a club losing it's support? This will continue to be an issue with clubs that don't own their own stadiums. trying to get planning again is a nightmare. Just wait until Poole have their problems...people think they'll be ok, but I've got my doubts. Couldn't agree more! It makes me so angry when I read of the predicament of my old team Oxford who first operated before the war at Cowley Stadium and then from 1949 and were one of the longest running clubs only for some incompetent successive owners of the stadium to create the mess that presently presides. Oxford Speedway grew from very basic roots whereby Grasstrack enthusiasts who used to run ad-hoc meetings at Sandford-on-Thames took the initiative and had a stadium built on the out skirts (as it was then) of the city. I wish the Save our Stadium campaign all the best and hope that the facility can be saved for future enjoyment, in whatever guise, as the people of Oxford deserve better. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JOS50 150 Posted December 14, 2016 (edited) Couldn't agree more! It makes me so angry when I read of the predicament of my old team Oxford who first operated before the war at Cowley Stadium and then from 1949 and were one of the longest running clubs only for some incompetent successive owners of the stadium to create the mess that presently presides. Oxford Speedway grew from very basic roots whereby Grasstrack enthusiasts who used to run ad-hoc meetings at Sandford-on-Thames took the initiative and had a stadium built on the out skirts (as it was then) of the city. I wish the Save our Stadium campaign all the best and hope that the facility can be saved for future enjoyment, in whatever guise, as the people of Oxford deserve better. Sandford on Thames speedway was a loose dirt track run as a professional speedway type outfit, I have an interview with Bob Jones talking about this place and also the Gorse Hill Autodrome which I will put on youtube sometime soon. Edited December 14, 2016 by JOS50 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted December 14, 2016 Sandford on Thames speedway was a loose dirt track run as a professional speedway type outfit, I have an interview with Bob Jones talking about this place and also the Gorse Hill Autodrome which I will put on youtube sometime soon. Brought up in Cowley I've always wondered where it used to be? Anywhere near the caravan park that is/was? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
