Oxford v Swindon Select - Rescheduled April 19

[lucifer sam 3,953]

3 minutes ago, Tim G said:

It’s not unusual for motorsport events to be cheaper to get in if you pay in advance.

Silverstone no longer have ticket offices on the day and you buy the ticket in advance and they have a cut off date for cheaper tickets.

As has Cardiff for many years.  It's standard practice - an enticement to persuade people to book.

 

[auntie doris 2,342]

Apart from the admission and lack of communication issues  the Ox are in the enviable position of being in a catchment area of millions of would be fans, half of London, and with no Swindon or Reading, the Thames Valley, m4 corridor, some of the west country, most of southern England, south Midlands, perhaps a bigger catchment than Belle Vue, around 10 Million? potential supporters. With good promoting and marketing should be very well supported, getting at least 2-3000 regularly per meeting, best supported in Britain, especially in warmer weather. I used to follow Workington, stuck out on a limb on the west Cumbria coast, but still well supported. Teams such as Lynn and Berwick out on a limb with small surrounding population.

Still feel Ox need to be in top div. for massive interest, so fans can watch the top riders, Doyley, Sayfutdinov, Pedersen, etc., It's a far better stadium than the Swindon Shabbey, more seats, better viewing, cleaner bogs, free car parking. They need to have a good season with exciting racing to sustain the fans interest. And to eventually have Premiership status as the Robins did . Speedway not the same without Poole, Coventry, Swindon, Reading in the elite level. Look forward to visit this season.

Edited March 29, 2023 by auntie doris

[Toady 231]

1 hour ago, Bojangles said:

I hate to say this, but it's posts like this that suggest the exact opposite of fans being listened to. Other than the programme now be available at the track shop, it seems most of what's being raised on here is being taken with a pinch of salt. Saying things like "forums are largely redundant and largely populated by people who have little interest in current day speedway" is just plain wrong.

1) If you only go to Cheetahs meetings (which the majority do based on the difference between attendances), the season ticket option is a bit of a joke. £269 for Cheetahs only matches works out at £24.46 per meeting! Who is going to buy that? Why is there no Cheetahs only season ticket available? I'd be very interested to see how many have actually been sold.

2) Not being able to pay by card on the gate doesn't make Oxford a 'progressive business'. A cashless system arguably does, but making everybody pay ahead of time is crazy. You can pay for most football and cricket matches at the gate, it's only when it's sold out ahead of time that they aren't available. People moan on here because they aren't happy about it, and a good business shouldn't restrict any potential paying customer - it's simply bad business regardless of how many people actually take up the option. Oxford should be trying attract younger support and the die-hards at the same time, why focus on only one demographic? How about try and make everybody happy?

3) Not responding to emails from fans is extremely disappointing. There are numerous examples of fans messaging for a variety of different reasons, and all have fallen on deaf ears.

I'm extremely happy to see Oxford back, but I can't help think that the promotion is currently expecting to get the same crowd levels for the next 10 years. They won't! Last year (and potentially this year), seeing speedway back at Sandy Lane was a novelty. The promotion needs to ensure they keep getting the fans back through the gates, and that means listening to them. History tells us crowd levels at Oxford can go downhill quickly and start to cause problems. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

P.S: If Oxford is running such a modern business model, maybe they should try updating their website regularly. It's still got the 2022 team listed!

You hate to say it because someone has a different view to you 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Toady
Spellling

[Bojangles 594]

Just now, Toady said:

You hate to say it because some has a different view to you 

And that's your take away from my post? Says it all really.

[Toady 231]

1 hour ago, Fromafar said:

Why would anyone no longer attending be even interested in this issue.I’m afraid it’s your opinion which you seem to think is always right.In this case I would disagree.

My opinion yes but just as valid as yours and you believe is right.There are plenty of people  who no longer go to speedway on the forum just look at the post above that eludes to the same.

 

[Toady 231]

6 minutes ago, Bojangles said:

And that's your take away from my post? Says it all really.

Are you one of the moaners?

[Bojangles 594]

9 minutes ago, Toady said:

Are you one of the moaners?

I'll let you decide that for yourself. Literally the last time I'm going to bother responding to you, as you can't see anybody else's point of view. You may think the prices are okay or the booking system makes sense (and fair enough, I've never said you're wrong for having that opinion), but it's not up to you decide if other people think the prices etc. aren't okay. If people are moaning as you so eloquently put it, then something obviously isn't right. It's not as if it's just one person. Not sure how else to say it to make you understand that fact.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Bojangles

[auntie doris 2,342]

2 hours ago, lucifer sam said:

Hi Chris,

The views have been listened to. Jamie asked me about programme sales, and I said occasionally some came into the stadium without cash, and then had to walk half a mile up the road to the nearest cash point to get cash for a programme. As a result, no-one will have to do that this year. Anyone wanting to buy a programme with a card this year simply needs to go upstairs to the track shop, which will also sell the programme, and which accepts both card and cash (and Apple Pay and all sorts).  As for downstairs, it'll remain cash only, because there's no way I could sell around 500 in the last hour (which happened at times last year) while faffing around with card payments.

For those who didn't like having to pay online for every meeting, there's now the option of season tickets. Otherwise, anyone introducing or bringing back a speedway track is going to run it as a modern business, which is payment upfront online. Today's call-off has again showed the benefit of ease of transfer - this was even more obvious with the mid-meeting postponement of the Newcastle meeting last year, where everything wasn't left frantically searching for their re-admission ticket. Such antiquated policies went out out the ark - it's now 2023 and not 1983.

As we know, no matter how progressive a promotion is, they will always be people who like to moan (and are fully entitled to have a moan, if they like), because it's not run exactly like it was in 2007.  But it's one reason I rarely come on the BSF these days, because forums are largely redundant and largely populated by people who have little interest in current day speedway.

Speedway does not thrive by operating like it did 15 years ago. It acts like a modern, progressive business, and then like Oxford, it will attract plenty of younger support to go alongside the older die-hard supporters. The die-hards can't sustain a business alone. 

Wouldn't mind the crowds they had in 2007 though, stronger teams, Adams, Crump, Pedersen, Hancock, etc., and the 11 team Elite league before Oxford ceased in May.

Edited March 29, 2023 by auntie doris

[lisa-colette 6,035]

I think the issue is Oxford are the only ones doing the admission like this. As someone has said other events do it, mainly entertainment things like admission to bonfire/fireworks night and carnivals etc. 

[Bojangles 594]

2 minutes ago, lisa-colette said:

I think the issue is Oxford are the only ones doing the admission like this. As someone has said other events do it, mainly entertainment things like admission to bonfire/fireworks night and carnivals etc. 

Exactly. The prices/admission policy should be compared to rivals in the Championship, not Silverstone or Cardiff.

[Toady 231]

15 minutes ago, Bojangles said:

I'll let you decide that for yourself. Literally the last time I'm going to bother responding to you, as you can't see anybody else's point of view. You may think the prices are okay or the booking system makes sense (and fair enough, I've never said you're wrong for having that opinion), but it's not up to you decide if other people think the prices etc. aren't okay. If people are moaning as you so eloquently put it, then something obviously isn't right. It's not as if it's just one person. Not sure how else to say it to make you understand that fact.

Yes but the only way you can change the system is to contact the owners Not appealing to the army of ex fans who wouldn’t attend even if it was free

[Chris Brown 542]

54 minutes ago, lucifer sam said:

As has Cardiff for many years.  It's standard practice - an enticement to persuade people to book.

 

So just so I understand, we are now comparing getting 1500 to 2000 people into Cowley every week to a Silverstone formula 1 and the Cardiff GP and using those as a good comparison

Well Rob. I call that comparing apples with pears. It's just not a credible discussion. Those are mega events trying to deal with tens of thousands of people as opposed to whenever you come to the turn styles at Oxford speedway there may be 6 to 10 people in front of you

It's simply not a credible arguement but I am absolutely certain there is nothing you will accept is wrong with Oxford

You didn't answer that question about how many other clubs you visited this season who often no facility to pay on the day other than with a pre-book ticket on an app. I suspect I know the answer why

 

 

 

[Chris Brown 542]

13 minutes ago, Toady said:

Yes but the only way you can change the system is to contact the owners Not appealing to the army of ex fans who wouldn’t attend even if it was free

Problem is that they don't answer but Rob didn't comment on whether he thought that was an acceptable either

Edited March 29, 2023 by Chris Brown

[Toady 231]

5 minutes ago, Chris Brown said:

Problem is that they don't answer but Rob didn't comment on whether he thought that was an acceptable either

I am sure if you contact or speak to the promotor when the season starts along with the others on here then you will get an answer.

I have just received an email offering me a refund or move to rearranged fixture all very prompt

[foreverblue 6,096]

40 minutes ago, lisa-colette said:

I think the issue is Oxford are the only ones doing the admission like this. As someone has said other events do it, mainly entertainment things like admission to bonfire/fireworks night and carnivals etc. 

Lower league football grounds I have been to you can pay at the gate, on top of that there are no concession tickets available. I can see Premiership football at my favourite club(not Bournemouth) for  a concession rate of 20 pounds .

Edited March 29, 2023 by foreverblue