SarahLapworth 79 Posted January 15, 2017 I can say that I am no longer involved in speedway and very rarely watch it these days. I did watch the 2nd leg of the Grand Final on SKY - well a few heats anyway until it was obvious that Wolves had won. I used to watch the GP as that was the best racing one could watch until it went to BT Sports. I cannot justify the extra subscription fee to watch it when I already pay for Sky. What I have noticed in the last few years is the rapid decline of British Speedway. I have looked at the team listings this year for the Elite League/Premiership or whatever they call it these days and I must admit there are no names that stand out. It looks like a watered down top division if you will. Ok maybe I am being a bit harsh here but my point is this. The top division clubs and even Premier League (oh sorry Championship) are charging up to £20 each to get in. take into account £3 for your programme, petrol, food and drink and you are looking at a fortune. Now one would not mind if you were paying to see the best riders in the world but the truth is you are not. What you are paying for is a watered down pile of c*** labelled as the best that British Speedway has to offer. Wages have risen in the UK over the last couple of years and folk have move disposable income but there are far better things to spend your money on. Promoters should stand back and take a look at the product they are selling. If they lowered their admission prices and marketed it better maybe more people would turn up. Of cause there will always be the hardcore fans that turn up no matter what. Do these people have more money than sense? I doubt it. Overall is the product that these promoters are selling in 2017 viable? I very much doubt it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,989 Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) All seems a bit rich coming from someone who seemed to make it his task to bring low standard foreigners into the country Each to their own i guess One of my favourites from Kelvin Lapworth http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=72386&hl=swart Edited January 15, 2017 by iris123 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil The Ace 2,860 Posted January 15, 2017 They must think they are viable otherwise they wouldn't keep coming back for more losses season on season. But yes the standard as dropped. The crowd as dropped. It is now not far of an amateur sport. All seems a bit rich coming from someone who seemed to make it his task to bring low standard foreigners into the country Each to their own i guess Ouch haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulco 7,077 Posted January 15, 2017 A debate that has been done to death on here . Is speedway value for money ? Compared to other sports I believe it is . Yes you get crap meetings , one sided meetings etc , but that happens in every sport . Do you want to spend over £100 for a ticket to a F1 race , which can be worse than speedway for a race being over after the first bend . I'm Scottish , so I aint forking out £25 to watch an SPL football match where the standard is worse now than it's ever been . Ok speedway in this country isn't anywhere near as strong as it used to be , but when you get two well matched sides on a perfectly prepared track , it's still the best sporting spectacle out there . My fondest memory of the 2016 season was those wonderful two days in the Peterborough sunshine watching the PL Fours . £30 for two days wonderful entertainment can't be beaten anywhere for value for money . 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martinmauger 584 Posted January 15, 2017 It's still alive, though you wouldn't know it at times due to the many folk asking "speedway, is it still running ?" or (more infuriatingly) "what's speedway ?". I too struggle to understand those that think £100+ is good value for a road race (bikes or cars) where you can see one corner and a bit of a straight (if one is lucky) from 1/4 of a mile away due to gravel traps. The competitors disappear for a minute or so and maybe swap places, though probably not, or not re-appear and the spectators have no idea how or why. Still no team of my own to support (sob) but still looking forward to the new season. Still can't foget about the sport or stop watching.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foamfence 2,917 Posted January 15, 2017 I can say that I am no longer involved in speedway and very rarely watch it these days. I did watch the 2nd leg of the Grand Final on SKY - well a few heats anyway until it was obvious that Wolves had won. I used to watch the GP as that was the best racing one could watch until it went to BT Sports. I cannot justify the extra subscription fee to watch it when I already pay for Sky. What I have noticed in the last few years is the rapid decline of British Speedway. I have looked at the team listings this year for the Elite League/Premiership or whatever they call it these days and I must admit there are no names that stand out. It looks like a watered down top division if you will. Ok maybe I am being a bit harsh here but my point is this. The top division clubs and even Premier League (oh sorry Championship) are charging up to £20 each to get in. take into account £3 for your programme, petrol, food and drink and you are looking at a fortune. Now one would not mind if you were paying to see the best riders in the world but the truth is you are not. What you are paying for is a watered down pile of c*** labelled as the best that British Speedway has to offer. Wages have risen in the UK over the last couple of years and folk have move disposable income but there are far better things to spend your money on. Promoters should stand back and take a look at the product they are selling. If they lowered their admission prices and marketed it better maybe more people would turn up. Of cause there will always be the hardcore fans that turn up no matter what. Do these people have more money than sense? I doubt it. Overall is the product that these promoters are selling in 2017 viable? I very much doubt it. Well as you've decided to cut yourself off from it, it isn't really any concern of yours. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahLapworth 79 Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) All seems a bit rich coming from someone who seemed to make it his task to bring low standard foreigners into the country Each to their own i guess One of my favourites from Kelvin Lapworth http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=72386&hl=swart So glad you obviously have enough time on your hands to search for posts I made almost 5 years ago! Edited January 16, 2017 by Kelvin Lapworth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midland Red 2,383 Posted January 16, 2017 So glad you obviously have enough time on your hands to search for posts I made almost 5 years ago! Doubt it took much, or any, searching for Some have good, long memories 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillwhitewasmad 1,487 Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) I attended the youth awards on Saturday and as such I would say having seen all of these kids ride I can see the green shoots of recovery coming through. Neil Vatcher is doing a brilliant job getting them track time at a variety of tracks. With the gtr engine coming through as a cost cutter to the riders and the general up turn in the economy ( it makes us happier)I can see a rise in popularity over the next few years not to the level of football but back to pre recession levels. Let's try to be more positive and enjoy our sport. Edited January 16, 2017 by phillwhitewasmad 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fourentee 987 Posted January 16, 2017 Indeed, chutes would be very much in the opposite direction. Potentially a Freudian slip for our sport, sadly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Smith 5,663 Posted January 16, 2017 Personally believe British Speedway is very much alive. I couldn't care less that "The big names" are leaving. I can see British riders coming through the system into the to league a lot faster than ever before and that's more important imo. I couldn't care less if my team has GP riders or not as long as the 7 selected give full commitment. Club are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to admissions. 800 paying adults at £18 is £14,400 per meeting plus a number of clubs (rightful so) have kids go free If clubs took admission down to £12 you'd have to find an extra 400 full paying adults to just match the consistent £18 admission prices, with marketing that'll still be some challenge. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GWC 495 Posted January 16, 2017 Very few if any sports can rely on admission income alone so marketing is paramount to the future of our sport. Speedway is unique when compared to other motor sports that can attract major sponsors and meeting attendances are not large enough to entice household names - it's a vicious circle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,986 Posted January 16, 2017 My fondest memory of the 2016 season was those wonderful two days in the Peterborough sunshine watching the PL Fours . £30 for two days wonderful entertainment can't be beaten anywhere for value for money . The race between Ben Barker and The Fish was worth £30 on its own The rest of the mostly bloody good racing was an added bonus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halifaxtiger 5,318 Posted January 16, 2017 I can say that I am no longer involved in speedway and very rarely watch it these days. I did watch the 2nd leg of the Grand Final on SKY - well a few heats anyway until it was obvious that Wolves had won. I used to watch the GP as that was the best racing one could watch until it went to BT Sports. I cannot justify the extra subscription fee to watch it when I already pay for Sky. What I have noticed in the last few years is the rapid decline of British Speedway. I have looked at the team listings this year for the Elite League/Premiership or whatever they call it these days and I must admit there are no names that stand out. It looks like a watered down top division if you will. Ok maybe I am being a bit harsh here but my point is this. The top division clubs and even Premier League (oh sorry Championship) are charging up to £20 each to get in. take into account £3 for your programme, petrol, food and drink and you are looking at a fortune. Now one would not mind if you were paying to see the best riders in the world but the truth is you are not. What you are paying for is a watered down pile of c*** labelled as the best that British Speedway has to offer. Wages have risen in the UK over the last couple of years and folk have move disposable income but there are far better things to spend your money on. Promoters should stand back and take a look at the product they are selling. If they lowered their admission prices and marketed it better maybe more people would turn up. Of cause there will always be the hardcore fans that turn up no matter what. Do these people have more money than sense? I doubt it. Overall is the product that these promoters are selling in 2017 viable? I very much doubt it. Your view is pretty much typical of someone who doesn't go and has no intention of going. For your information, no track cost £20 to go in last season and Plymouth will be half that in 2017. In addition, there will be more tracks in operation in 2017 than there were in 1987 (Coventry permitting). Its fair to say that the standard of rider in the top flight this season will not be as it has in the past. Some clubs are merely beefed up Championship ones. I suppose if all you want is to watch the top names rather than the best racing you could argue that what we will get is crap. Me, I just want to see good speedway and that doesn't matter whether that is the top GP riders or NL youngsters. The best speedway I saw last season was at Scunthorpe, a struggling PL team. No top stars but the racing, at times, was simply amazing. Paulco has mentioned Peterborough and there's not one person who would say that that wasn't a huge success on all counts. Again, not a world class rider in sight. The league that looks the most intriguing is the NL, and the most attractive side will be Belle Vue Colts (if it is as rumoured). My point is that although no-one in their right mind would say that British Speedway is in a good state of health and the loss of top riders is to be regretted, there is still an awful lot to look forward to for a speedway fan in 2017. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
