Najjer 2,890 Posted December 8, 2019 20 minutes ago, Ben91 said: Perhaps the books don’t balance because the riders demand too much in the way of wages. Speedway is dirt track racing, it shouldn’t be considered a professional sport if the crowds coming through the door can’t support just that. Most sportsmen practice their chosen discipline as a hobby until such a time as they reach a standard where their skill merits that they are paid to do it as a full time job. It strikes me that Speedway riders expect a living from the sport and the promoters are happy to go along with it to the detriment of the fans (doubling up being a salient point here). There will always be enough riders about, there won’t always be fans of the current trend of putting prices up and lowering standards continues. I’m sure Najjer would go to watch NL standard racing if the entrance fee represented the standard of racing on offer. 100% spot on. As a matter of fact, I started attending speedway when Somerset were in that bottom tier all those years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruckerroo 792 Posted December 8, 2019 Just out of interest what were the top and bottom prices for all 3 leagues last yr? I am a nomadic fan since the demise of reading , go to watch Eastbourne a bit as Saturdays suit, I thought they priced CL very competitively at 16 quid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drew2 252 Posted December 8, 2019 2 hours ago, ruckerroo said: Just out of interest what were the top and bottom prices for all 3 leagues last yr? I am a nomadic fan since the demise of reading , go to watch Eastbourne a bit as Saturdays suit, I thought they priced CL very competitively at 16 quid So we have, Najjer saying £16 isn't good value at Somerset whilst the same product and price at Eastbourne is stated as being competitive. I have watched the Rebels every year since they started and have enjoying every one of them whatever level we raced at. The racing in 2019 was no less entertaining than in the Premiership years of 2018 or 17 or any year before that in fact, in my opinion. I am looking forward to those tapes going up at the OTA in 2020 as well. But that is it in a nutshell, everyone has and is entitled to an opinion on how they see things. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spin king junior 394 Posted December 8, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, ragdoll64 said: If you REALLY loved speedway, you’d still be going. Don’t think you can be a true fan of the sport in my opinion. Absolute rubbish. It's fans that take it as it is that are killing the sport. If it keeps going the way it is, then it'll never bring in new fans, just p*** off the existing fans and the so called "die hards" that'll accept any lazy promoting and the general dross that's shoved our way. Maybe rather than trying to scaremonger the loyal supporters to show, they should work on the sport itself and promote it? Because 'use it or lose it' doesn't work, will never work and is just slapping a plaster on a gaping wound. Edited December 8, 2019 by spin king junior 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ragdoll64 647 Posted December 8, 2019 1 hour ago, spin king junior said: Absolute rubbish. It's fans that take it as it is that are killing the sport. If it keeps going the way it is, then it'll never bring in new fans, just p*** off the existing fans and the so called "die hards" that'll accept any lazy promoting and the general dross that's shoved our way. Maybe rather than trying to scaremonger the loyal supporters to show, they should work on the sport itself and promote it? Because 'use it or lose it' doesn't work, will never work and is just slapping a plaster on a gaping wound. So, we should ALL walk away then?............good tactic..........never thought of that. Seriously.....what is you’re solution to make the people who provide speedway give YOU what YOU desire? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spin king junior 394 Posted December 9, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, ragdoll64 said: So, we should ALL walk away then?............good tactic..........never thought of that. Seriously.....what is you’re solution to make the people who provide speedway give YOU what YOU desire? No. If you enjoy the product in its current state then that's all good. Have at it and you keep going. But if someone like Najjer or anyone else doesn't, then they should vote with their wallet. Speedway isn't a charity, it's a sport and a form of entertainment and if you feel like you're not getting your money's worth then don't go! My main point is that speedway is on its arse. If speedway was a person, it'd be on life support. There isn't any any quick fix for the sport and there are an absolute load of problems that can't get addressed in one go. But one thing that absolutely will not save the sport is use it or lose attitude for more than one reason- 1. It doesn't entice new fans because they don't give a toss about speedway, so they couldn't give a rats arse if the sports ends or not and just makes everything look a little bit unprofessional. 2. The current fan base isn't enough to hold up speedway to begin with, so whether the diehards show up or not, it's not going to save speedway long term. It's a short-term solution and is only effective a minority of the time as a quick fix. 3. It let promoters get lazy. Rather than addressing the (many) problems speedway has, let's just blame the supporters! It's their fault for not showing up to the meetings. Not the promoters who run the sport. Edited December 9, 2019 by spin king junior 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben91 1,743 Posted December 9, 2019 8 hours ago, ragdoll64 said: So, we should ALL walk away then?............good tactic..........never thought of that. Seriously.....what is you’re solution to make the people who provide speedway give YOU what YOU desire? I found a nice restaurant a number of years ago, I’d go there regularly to eat. Over the years the prices started to rise and the standard of food started to slip. The last time I went I was served a steaming pile of turd in a bun. I told the proprietor I wasn’t going to eat it or pay for it, he told me to take it or leave it so I left. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruffdiamond 6,115 Posted December 9, 2019 5 minutes ago, Ben91 said: I found a nice restaurant a number of years ago, I’d go there regularly to eat. Over the years the prices started to rise and the standard of food started to slip. The last time I went I was served a steaming pile of turd in a bun. I told the proprietor I wasn’t going to eat it or pay for it, he told me to take it or leave it so I left. and have you been back since, or do you think you will go back??? I had the same sort of problem with my mixed kebab and, the quality and quantity of shish, he never addressed it so I go to his competitor round the corner and pay a pound more. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,997 Posted December 9, 2019 17 minutes ago, ruffdiamond said: and have you been back since, or do you think you will go back??? I had the same sort of problem with my mixed kebab and, the quality and quantity of shish, he never addressed it so I go to his competitor round the corner and pay a pound more. You are lucky. Some of us don’t have a competitor round the corner. So we gave up with kebabs and started visiting the Kentucky on kebab nights instead 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ragdoll64 647 Posted December 9, 2019 49 minutes ago, spin king junior said: No. If you enjoy the product in its current state then that's all good. Have at it and you keep going. But if someone like Najjer or anyone else doesn't, then they should vote with their wallet. Speedway isn't a charity, it's a sport and a form of entertainment and if you feel like you're not getting your money's worth then don't go! My main point is that speedway is on its arse. If speedway was a person, it'd be on life support. There isn't any any quick fix for the sport and there are an absolute load of problems that can't get addressed in one go. But one thing that absolutely will not save the sport is use it or lose attitude for more than one reason- 1. It doesn't entice new fans because they don't give a toss about speedway, so they couldn't give a rats arse if the sports ends or not and just makes everything look a little bit unprofessional. 2. The current fan base isn't enough to hold up speedway to begin with, so whether the diehards show up or not, it's not going to save speedway long term. It's a short-term solution and is only effective a minority of the time as a quick fix. 3. It let promoters get lazy. Rather than addressing the (many) problems speedway has, let's just blame the supporters! It's their fault for not showing up to the meetings. Not the promoters who run the sport. All I asked for was your solution to the problems?...... and stated that walking away, like some people who claim to love the sport are doing, isn’t going to fix it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ragdoll64 647 Posted December 9, 2019 50 minutes ago, Ben91 said: I found a nice restaurant a number of years ago, I’d go there regularly to eat. Over the years the prices started to rise and the standard of food started to slip. The last time I went I was served a steaming pile of turd in a bun. I told the proprietor I wasn’t going to eat it or pay for it, he told me to take it or leave it so I left. But you had umpteen other restaurants to move to. We’re talking about Speedway as a whole here.....and there’s only ONE Speedway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben91 1,743 Posted December 9, 2019 44 minutes ago, ragdoll64 said: But you had umpteen other restaurants to move to. We’re talking about Speedway as a whole here.....and there’s only ONE Speedway. There are umpteen other forms of entertainment that offer better value for money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*JJ 512 Posted December 9, 2019 Hardly: £150 for a round of golf? £40 (cheap seats) for a football match? Speedway is dirt cheap. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
geoff100 1,426 Posted December 9, 2019 8 minutes ago, *JJ said: Hardly: £150 for a round of golf? £40 (cheap seats) for a football match? Speedway is dirt cheap. In london last weekend went to see ticket prices for a show was quoted £192 so speedway is good value . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topsoil 2,498 Posted December 9, 2019 15 hours ago, ruckerroo said: Just out of interest what were the top and bottom prices for all 3 leagues last yr? I am a nomadic fan since the demise of reading , go to watch Eastbourne a bit as Saturdays suit, I thought they priced CL very competitively at 16 quid Berwick, in the Championship, last season, including a programme (this year it seems without) worked out at less than £13 a meeting for season ticket holders. They try and reach out as much as possible to families. Lots of people of minimum wage in the area. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites