Fromafar 10,436 Posted May 26, 2022 51 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said: Completely agree. This is why I find Polish extraleague quite boring because I enjoy watching riders mastering a track or failing badly and it's not always about overtaking or the best set up bike. Completely agree regarding the different skills required in GB,but unfortunately the modern day riders are not interested they just want to earn money abroad.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,373 Posted May 26, 2022 39 minutes ago, Fromafar said: Completely agree regarding the different skills required in GB,but unfortunately the modern day riders are not interested they just want to earn money abroad.. And to benchmark yourself you really need to be in Poland and/or Sweden.. Years ago when the best were over here you could do the same, so it was another advantage to riding here... As we can see, not many seem to miss riding over here anymore... And, to be fair, the intensity level of leagues over here, where you share riders on any given night, cannot be the same as riding in leagues which offer big financial rewards and publicity, and you are tied to one team with a tribal, fervent following.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,436 Posted May 26, 2022 4 minutes ago, mikebv said: And to benchmark yourself you really need to be in Poland and/or Sweden.. Years ago when the best were over here you could do the same, so it was another advantage to riding here... As we can see, not many seem to miss riding over here anymore... And, to be fair, the intensity level of leagues over here, where you share riders on any given night, cannot be the same as riding in leagues which offer big financial rewards and publicity, and you are tied to one team with a tribal, fervent following.. You only have to see the fans in Poland to realise they are supporting “their” Team ,guests certainly would not be welcomed.Great atmosphere although seemingly can get a bit volatile at times. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Jones 2,128 Posted May 26, 2022 7 minutes ago, Fromafar said: Reminds me of the trip we made to Poland in 2000 where we took in the final GP at Bydgoszcz, & on the Sunday drove up to Pila for a league meeting.When we entered the stadium we were told that because we weren't local we must go into the fenced off section reserved for visitors. Very intimidating area !! Fortunately someone involved in the Pila club found out we were there , they came round and rescued us & took us to sit alongside them in the better seats where they kept us involved all afternoon & even took photos which they put up on their website .Turned out to be a very decent afternoon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
secsy1 215 Posted May 26, 2022 22 hours ago, Mr Blobby said: The stadium hasn’t actually been sold. So we can if have the funds purchase it. 18 hours ago, speed29 said: Yeah get new track home!!! and its stupid building house all time not good, come on leave speedway alone. Edinburgh fans want team to keep going!!!! 16 hours ago, Fromafar said: Where to find that kind of money will be the problem or they could have bought it years ago. I believe it has planning permission for housing.( could be wrong though) Answering all 3 questions at once is easy, put a plan together and buy it. Over several years many Football teams went bust through bad management and ill advice. Grounds shut or demolished. Scarborough, Bury and Macclesfield all suffered, but with hard work by local business people and fans and with council help are all on a great financial footing. Both Bury and Scarborough are fan owned, so why not a speedway club? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,436 Posted May 26, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, secsy1 said: Answering all 3 questions at once is easy, put a plan together and buy it. Over several years many Football teams went bust through bad management and ill advice. Grounds shut or demolished. Scarborough, Bury and Macclesfield all suffered, but with hard work by local business people and fans and with council help are all on a great financial footing. Both Bury and Scarborough are fan owned, so why not a speedway club? Where is a Speedway Promotion liable to find the funds in this case, would be my Question.Comparing football to speedway is not really compatible.IMO Edited May 26, 2022 by Fromafar 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnieg 3,694 Posted May 26, 2022 32 minutes ago, Fromafar said: Where is a Speedway Promotion liable to find the funds in this case, would be my Question.Comparing football to speedway is not really compatible.IMO Also stadium with planning use restricted to leisure activies: Market value £500,000 to £1million Stadium with planning permission for residential development: marketvalue £5 to £10 million. Note figures are illustrative and dependant on location and a host of other factors. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,436 Posted May 26, 2022 4 minutes ago, arnieg said: Also stadium with planning use restricted to leisure activies: Market value £500,000 to £1million Stadium with planning permission for residential development: marketvalue £5 to £10 million. Note figures are illustrative and dependant on location and a host of other factors. I believe Armadale already has outline planning for a housing development.( I stand corrected if I am wrong) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GWC 495 Posted May 26, 2022 4 hours ago, secsy1 said: Answering all 3 questions at once is easy, put a plan together and buy it. Over several years many Football teams went bust through bad management and ill advice. Grounds shut or demolished. Scarborough, Bury and Macclesfield all suffered, but with hard work by local business people and fans and with council help are all on a great financial footing. Both Bury and Scarborough are fan owned, so why not a speedway club? When football grounds get sold for development in nearly all cases a new ground emerges. Guessing the greyhound people own the stadium so a sale supports their ailing business these days. Sadly speedway isn’t seen as a community necessity that football is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fina 78 Posted May 26, 2022 I think a few of the greyhound stadiums were bought by the big bookies - I suspect there is good money for them in the betting on greyhounds so they do not want to see that sport go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wee Eck 703 Posted May 26, 2022 2 minutes ago, Fina said: I think a few of the greyhound stadiums were bought by the big bookies - I suspect there is good money for them in the betting on greyhounds so they do not want to see that sport go. But there’s not been greyhound racing at Armadale since 2016. There are only two greyhound tracks left in Scotland - Shawfield and a “flapper” track in Fife Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fina 78 Posted May 26, 2022 1 minute ago, Wee Eck said: But there’s not been greyhound racing at Armadale since 2016. There are only two greyhound tracks left in Scotland - Shawfield and a “flapper” track in Fife I was thinking more general than just Scotland, sure some of the tracks were up for sale for development and bought up by bookies. No way a bookie would step in for speedway as nowt in it for them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wee Eck 703 Posted May 26, 2022 7 minutes ago, Fina said: I was thinking more general than just Scotland, sure some of the tracks were up for sale for development and bought up by bookies. No way a bookie would step in for speedway as nowt in it for them. Was the last big deal not when Oxford, Belle Vue and a third track I can’t remember (Wimbledon?) were bought from the GRA by a Guy Hands company with the sole intention of closing them down and selling the land for development. A bit like Sandhu at Coventry. If it was Wimbledon, then it has been redeveloped and Belle Vue is well on the way to being a housing estate. The only one that escaped the permanent closure of greyhound racing was Oxford Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fina 78 Posted May 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Wee Eck said: Was the last big deal not when Oxford, Belle Vue and a third track I can’t remember (Wimbledon?) were bought from the GRA by a Guy Hands company with the sole intention of closing them down and selling the land for development. A bit like Sandhu at Coventry. If it was Wimbledon, then it has been redeveloped and Belle Vue is well on the way to being a housing estate. The only one that escaped the permanent closure of greyhound racing was Oxford Done a bit of digging in my archives and its Ladbrookes Coral that I was thinking of who own a few greyhound tracks, including Monmore Green, or did at the time I was looking into it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tyretrax 2,257 Posted May 26, 2022 3 hours ago, Wee Eck said: But there’s not been greyhound racing at Armadale since 2016. There are only two greyhound tracks left in Scotland - Shawfield and a “flapper” track in Fife And they are trying to close them. Horse racing next on their hit list then it'll be fishing they'll get round to speedway eventually. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites