Survival of The Premiership?

[GeneralMelchett 482]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

I seem to recall that Arena Essex (as they were once called) tried a similar thing some years back?

as Lakeside we did a free televised meeting as well -  huge attendance - sadly most never came back! To be fair to Stan (and Jon Cook) they tried things - sadly both lost to speedway and of course we sadly lost Jon Cook a while back - Duggo is in the US now and I dont think he would ever contemplate promoting again!

[paulrickett 15]

Some very interesting thoughts and the six-man team idea was mooted five or so years ago.

For me the main sticking points are costs, costs and more costs.

It costs a fortune to get started in speedway, a big gamble for any aspiring rider, and the ongoing finances are just as bad. Who pays? The fans…£22 (plus £3 car parking and £3 prog) is tooooo much for what you get. That’s why the demographic ain’t getting any younger because people just can’t afford it in the current climate. If me and the missus go to Owlerton it’s £50 for 15 minutes of racing, much of which is processional to boot, having to watch in what have become awful facilities. Not nearly worth it.

That takes me to one big league…does anyone really think the Premiership promoters will agree to that and in doing so significantly dilute their TV income? The riders will also pack in in their droves because they’ll only have one team, where at the mo most have their costs geared to two, which in itself is a MASSIVE turn off for most fans.

So what’s the solution? That’s up to the BSPL bumpkins I’m afraid…the ones who following last year’s PR disasters thought that the best way forward was to keep things as they are and introduce transponders for more accurate times.

Don’t hold your breath…

 

[truthsayer 234]

1 minute ago, paulrickett said:

That takes me to one big league…does anyone really think the Premiership promoters will agree to that and in doing so significantly dilute their TV income? 

 

Is there actually a TV income?

I would be staggered if speedway gets an income from TV rights. Most minority sports actually pay to be on TV these days.

[GeneralMelchett 482]

1 minute ago, truthsayer said:

Is there actually a TV income?

I would be staggered if speedway gets an income from TV rights. Most minority sports actually pay to be on TV these days.

I can only speak from the old sky contract - I know the payment was often only a contribution to the lost revenues as so many fans stayed away so it was never an earner and i know one former promoter hated having sky in town as it meant takings were down

[Fromafar 10,363]

12 hours ago, Najjer said:

It might have been said, but hasn’t been actioned that’s for sure. As I said, it isn’t going to solve every issue but it’ll certainly be a good start.

The issue of generating more riders isn’t required completely - it’s a case of dispersing and making better use of the ones we have, as well as hoping to bring in the likes of Woffinden, Laguta etc on a shared basis - whilst then limiting the use of guests.

Crowd levels and Sponsorship in GB make it very hard to have a decent level of Top riders in Premiership.Top Riders are just too expensive IMO.Look at Admission prices just now ,fans are just not turning up.Other bike sports in UK are doing alright but not speedway,tells you something .IMO 

[paulrickett 15]

1 minute ago, GeneralMelchett said:

I can only speak from the old sky contract - I know the payment was often only a contribution to the lost revenues as so many fans stayed away so it was never an earner and i know one former promoter hated having sky in town as it meant takings were down

Yes there is. A new deal was agreed a couple of years ago. Shared amongst five promoters, which makes it a vital income stream…for now.

[Phil 303]

1 hour ago, Daniel Smith said:

King's Lynn tried this one year in the 2nd tier & half of the tickets found there way in to the hands of those already attending or at least attended Speedway before & happy to attend for the freebie. The majority of the rest didn't ever get used. 

The idea is ok in principle but as with what happened with King's Lynn, that would be what Horton meant by losing money. It's not from potential new supporters, it's from the existing taking the freebie. 

If the idea is to get extra people into the track then they need to work with a very large employee in the area. e.g Council / NHS / Union / car plant etc. -  Offer all the staff reduced price price tickets (e.g £10 or £12) every meeting on ideally a place like standing only where they can upsell if they choose to.   Maybe in return the company offers sponsorship in the future. 

      

[paulrickett 15]

6 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Crowd levels and Sponsorship in GB make it very hard to have a decent level of Top riders in Premiership.Top Riders are just too expensive IMO.Look at Admission prices just now ,fans are just not turning up.Other bike sports in UK are doing alright but not speedway,tells you something .IMO 

Absolutely. Speedway is the BEST motorsport but in the UK it’s the worst run. 
It’s great to see the big kids racing over here…but the sport can’t afford to keep paying what it is to entice them. It is ridiculous.

[Byker Biker 471]

2 hours ago, steve roberts said:

I seem to recall that Arena Essex (as they were once called) tried a similar thing some years back?

Sheffield too

[paulrickett 15]

4 minutes ago, Phil said:

If the idea is to get extra people into the track then they need to work with a very large employee in the area. e.g Council / NHS / Union / car plant etc. -  Offer all the staff reduced price price tickets (e.g £10 or £12) every meeting on ideally a place like standing only where they can upsell if they choose to.   Maybe in return the company offers sponsorship in the future. 

      

They did this at Sheffield in 2019 and managed to get Unison involved, which was a massive thing. £10 a ticket through their social group and initially they came in droves…but as the season progressed it dwindled to hardly any.

That should tell you something.

[paulrickett 15]

3 minutes ago, Byker Biker said:

Sheffield too

Correct. 30 or so years ago we had 5,000 to watch Tigers v Long Eaton.

[Byker Biker 471]

3 minutes ago, paulrickett said:

They did this at Sheffield in 2019 and managed to get Unison involved, which was a massive thing. £10 a ticket through their social group and initially they came in droves…but as the season progressed it dwindled to hardly any.

That should tell you something.

and if I believe what I was told some current paying supporters joined Unison to gain cheaper admission not withstanding those that joined the National Union of Students to all of a sudden earn concessions which is why Machin binned it.

[bloom89 496]

8 minutes ago, Byker Biker said:

and if I believe what I was told some current paying supporters joined Unison to gain cheaper admission not withstanding those that joined the National Union of Students to all of a sudden earn concessions which is why Machin binned it.

Then you could argue why should new customers get cheaper entry than current customers? Without the current customer you don’t have a product to sell at all. Much like sky etc give new customers a really good deal to get them to sign up but if you’ve been a loyal customer for years then you can’t get the same deal not exactly fair is it? Too interested in getting new customers instead of looking after the ones who you’ve already got.

 

Had a similar experience at Newcastle few years ago they had deals on wowcher or somewhere I think it was tickets for £10 maybe me, my uncle and dad took advantage of this and got cheaper tickets for one week we got in and Joan English was upset because we had used said tickets, the three of us had been going since it reopened in 97 and never missed a meeting used to buy merchandise the whole lot but because we got in cheaper one week she didn’t like it. Wouldn’t like to think how much we actually put into the club through 20+ years of going though. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by bloom89

[Daniel Smith 5,661]

29 minutes ago, Phil said:

If the idea is to get extra people into the track then they need to work with a very large employee in the area. e.g Council / NHS / Union / car plant etc. -  Offer all the staff reduced price price tickets (e.g £10 or £12) every meeting on ideally a place like standing only where they can upsell if they choose to.   Maybe in return the company offers sponsorship in the future. 

      

The best thing promoters could do is set up a gazebo in town & city centres every weekend during the season & conduct a survey. 

Have just 2 surveys available: 

• Have you ever heard of Motorcycle Speedway? 
• Do you no longer attend Motorcycle Speedway? 

The sport does not need to hear from those attending weekly, but those who don't. Giving away freebies could work for a very short time but because the products broken it's unsustainable. The promoters desperately need to get it through their heads why people just ain't interested. It'll be the only way they'll listen. 

Promoters need to actually do some work for a change. 

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Daniel Smith

[Byker Biker 471]

5 minutes ago, bloom89 said:

Then you could argue why should new customers get cheaper entry than current customers? Without the current customer you don’t have a product to sell at all. Much like sky etc give new customers a really good deal to get them to sign up but if you’ve been a loyal customer for years then you can’t get the same deal not exactly fair is it? Too interested in getting new customers instead of looking after the ones who you’ve already got.

Which is why Promoters shy away from many of the ideas mooted on this thread. They can't win if they introduce a low cost initiative like free tickets the existing customers harangue them