Tsunami 10,219 Posted March 2, 2021 2 hours ago, proud panther said: More VAT in my opinion. It's not unheard of for an Inspector to stand outside, and estimate the crowd going in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jenga 2,998 Posted March 2, 2021 8 minutes ago, Tsunami said: It's not unheard of for an Inspector to stand outside, and estimate the crowd going in. thats what one wucky promotion did when they were in charge . but not for tax reasons . prob looking for folk getting in for nowt ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RS50 359 Posted March 3, 2021 11 hours ago, proud panther said: More VAT in my opinion. Speedway crowd figures were not published even before the introduction of VAT. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,297 Posted March 3, 2021 19 hours ago, Sotonian said: It's not just speedway though. How many Asians do you see competing in or watching any branch of motorsport? Thought the Tamil Tigers got a fair following.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest compost Posted March 3, 2021 17 hours ago, cityrebel said: Why don't speedway clubs publish their attendance figures. Even the lowest non league football clubs reveal their crowd numbers. Speedway never has, even in the good times for the sport. I think that Long Eaton and Oxford both published figures for a while in the midish 90's until 'advised' by the authorities to desist. Wasn't it something Tony Mole's tracks did for a while (no idea how accurate the figures were of course) ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted March 3, 2021 2 hours ago, compost said: I think that Long Eaton and Oxford both published figures for a while in the midish 90's until 'advised' by the authorities to desist. Wasn't it something Tony Mole's tracks did for a while (no idea how accurate the figures were of course) ? I don't get what the big secret is. If it was for tax purposes, the authorities would be all over it. Maybe the promoters are embarrassed by the low crowds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnieg 3,651 Posted March 3, 2021 2 hours ago, compost said: I think that Long Eaton and Oxford both published figures for a while in the midish 90's until 'advised' by the authorities to desist. Wasn't it something Tony Mole's tracks did for a while (no idea how accurate the figures were of course) ? I think the other promoters were simply embarrassed by how low the figures that were being reported by Tony were. BTW A previous Long Eaton promoter was subject to a prolonged tax investigation, which yielded nothing of any substance for the Inland Revenue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghosty 500 Posted March 3, 2021 1 minute ago, arnieg said: I think the other promoters were simply embarrassed by how low the figures that were being reported by Tony were. BTW A previous Long Eaton promoter was subject to a prolonged tax investigation, which yielded nothing of any substance for the Inland Revenue. Scenario: You have a potential team sponsor for the coming season, do you really want them to know that for one meeting last season your paying crowd was only 400 of course not! Let's all hope the current covid restrictions, once lifted MIGHT revitalise our sport with punters keen to see live action, there's certainly no positive steps that have been taken by the BSPL to address the issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydog 156 Posted March 3, 2021 I remember probably back in the early 90s or even late 80s a promoter (cant remember who, it was a NL club) basically saying that announcing the attendance figure at a match like they do in Football would have been like announcing bad news... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RS50 359 Posted March 3, 2021 2 hours ago, cityrebel said: I don't get what the big secret is. If it was for tax purposes, the authorities would be all over it. Maybe the promoters are embarrassed by the low crowds. Crowd figures were not published even when speedway was the second most popular spectator sport, after football. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted March 3, 2021 55 minutes ago, RS50 said: Crowd figures were not published even when speedway was the second most popular spectator sport, after football. I know, i posted that earlier. It's pretty amateur stuff though, isn't it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,297 Posted March 3, 2021 I seem to remember Hyde Rd having a turnstile that clicked but never registered... Similar to a great many sporting venues at the time when it was pay at the gate... Is it a crime to over inflate your attendances? Especially nowadays when so much is paid by card, tracks could easily show how much they take if the IR get involved, but still put out the odd 'mistake' when it comes to attendances.. If you read "3000 fans at the NSS for the Aces v Wolves match" if may get some of the many "sheep like people" to follow the week after.. Nothing wrong with a nice bit of 'economic with the truth' hype... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PotteringAround 633 Posted March 3, 2021 (edited) 26 minutes ago, mikebv said: I seem to remember Hyde Rd having a turnstile that clicked but never registered... Definitely wouldn't be the case. The idea of the turnstile clicks was so that the owners of the Zoological gardens could check that the turnstile operator employees weren't stealing from them. The money handed in had to exactly match the number of turnstile clicks registered. Edited March 3, 2021 by PotteringAround Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tosh1218 593 Posted March 3, 2021 When teams could last race in 2019 which teams in both leagues got the highest crowds and which teams from both leagues survive on the lowest gates please Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Stadia 1,071 Posted March 3, 2021 31 minutes ago, Tosh1218 said: When teams could last race in 2019 which teams in both leagues got the highest crowds and which teams from both leagues survive on the lowest gates please That sounds complicated. I think you would need one one of the 'specialists' modelling the spread of the virus, to work that out! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites