chunky 6,097 Posted November 16, 2023 (edited) Okay.... So everyone thinks that British speedway is on its last legs, largely due to the reduction in the number of tracks. In 2023, there were 19 tracks hosting league action - the same number as in other post-covid years. Doesn't seem like many does it? Particularly with the loss of Peterborough and Wolves. Are you aware that there have been a total of 14 seasons with fewer tracks hosting "official" (league) fixtures? A few will remember 1958, when the National League dropped to 10 teams - plus a reserve team from Yarmouth. Everyone thought speedway was dead then. It didn't die. As early as 1935 we had a season with only SEVEN teams in league action - and six of those were London teams! Anyway, now I've eased your worries, let's look at how many tracks have staged league racing since 1929, and how many seasons they have run. That last part of the sentence is the scary thing... I've compiled a list of tracks. When a team changed names (St. Austell, Arena Essex), but rode at the same track, that counts as one. When a team rode at different tracks (Glasgow, Belle Vue) that counts as one. This includes years where a team did not complete the season, but rode in at least one official fixture. Track shares are not counted as separate. 88 - Belle Vue 75 - Coventry 74 - Poole 73 - Sheffield 71 - Swindon 67 - Glasgow 66 - Ipswich 63 - Wolverhampton 62 - Edinburgh, Newcastle 61 - Oxford, Wimbledon 59 - Stoke 59 - Eastbourne 56 - King's Lynn 54 - Berwick, Exeter 53 - Peterborough 46 - Leicester 45 - Birmingham, Rye House 44 - Mildenhall 42 - Cradley Heath 40 - Reading 38 - Middlesbrough 35 - Arena Essex, Hackney 34 - Workington 33 - Plymouth 32 - Bradford, Scunthorpe 30 - Long Eaton, West Ham 29 - Newport 25 - Buxton, Halifax, Southampton 24 - Hull, Wembley 22 - Isle of Wight, Norwich 20 - Canterbury, Somerset, Weymouth 19 - Rayleigh 17 - Boston, Harringay, New Cross, Redcar 16 - Bristol 15 - Milton Keynes Edited November 20, 2023 by chunky 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,395 Posted November 16, 2023 really interesting post mate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted November 16, 2023 That's a very interesting breakdown and makes for fascinating reading. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,116 Posted November 16, 2023 Interesting stuff. Is the cut-off point of 15 significant for any reason? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,097 Posted November 16, 2023 1 hour ago, norbold said: Interesting stuff. Is the cut-off point of 15 significant for any reason? Not really... I will post the rest of the teams later, but I didn't want to make a single post too large and unwieldy! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,097 Posted November 16, 2023 1 hour ago, steve roberts said: That's a very interesting breakdown and makes for fascinating reading. Well, I was thinking about it, and while speedway fans love stats, they never seem to post that particular stat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,097 Posted November 16, 2023 So, here are the remaining teams by the number of seasons : 12 - Crayford, Ellesmere Port, St. Austell 10 - Kent, Liverpool 9 - Yarmouth 7 - Coatbridge, Crewe, Lea Bridge 6 - Aldershot, Barrow, Crystal Palace, Iwade, Nottingham 5 - Glasgow Ashfield, Birmingham Hall Green, Linlithgow, Sunderland 4 - Armadale, Cardiff, Fleetwood, Motherwell, Rochdale, Romford, Stamford Bridge, Tamworth, Walthamstow, London White City 3 - California, Carmarthen, Leeds, Nelson, Preston, Wombwell 2 - Barnsley, Brafield, Doncaster, Hastings, High Beech, Leicester Super, Paisley, Ringwood, Skegness, Warrington, Manchester White City 1 - Bolton, Burnley, Dagenham, Neath, Salford, Smallford, Wigan 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadster 221 Posted November 16, 2023 An interesting post. Certainly the sport was in the doldrums in 1958, but one big difference then and now was that in 1958 there were many stadia ready and waiting for speedway to be staged there. Hence, it was relatively easy matter to re-open 10 tracks when the Provincial League started and even Division 2 in 1968 saw a number ot tracks re-open. Where today are the stadia that could easily stage speedway? A much smaller number, I think Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,097 Posted November 16, 2023 46 minutes ago, Chadster said: An interesting post. Certainly the sport was in the doldrums in 1958, but one big difference then and now was that in 1958 there were many stadia ready and waiting for speedway to be staged there. Hence, it was relatively easy matter to re-open 10 tracks when the Provincial League started and even Division 2 in 1968 saw a number ot tracks re-open. Where today are the stadia that could easily stage speedway? A much smaller number, I think Very valid point. Again, when people complain about the sport's demise being down to the speedway authorities, I am always quick to point out that the lack of venues is just as much to blame. Particularly with the decline of greyhound racing... Ah, the days when speedway was a "city centre" sport... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,292 Posted November 16, 2023 Great post(s)... Wow! 88 seasons of racing for Belle Vue, and all incredibly within a stones throw of each other at three different tracks... And WW2 didn't stop the racing there either... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old bob at herne bay 828 Posted November 16, 2023 Interesting indeed. Very much at the start of my speedway supporting career. The National league continued to decline I think to only 6 teams in the early sixties, before amalgamation took place in 1965 ? Maintained a number of different competition to keep interest throughout a season - and didn’t have a silly p off system. There are still a number of venues that could support speedway ( the tracks still are there) , but I see neither a chance of them becoming financially viable, nor the landlords wanting speedway to take place bradford odsal. eastbourne rye house Sittingbourne Swindon Buxton coventry lakeside Wolverhampton I am sure there are others . But the economics of opening a speedway track in 2024 are vastly different to that in 1960 when the provincial league started . Thinking back I cannot remember where all the riders came from to get the Provincial league up and running. ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,116 Posted November 16, 2023 1 hour ago, old bob at herne bay said: The National league continued to decline I think to only 6 teams in the early sixties, before amalgamation took place in 1965 ? There were seven teams in 1964, the lowest it got to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BL65 657 Posted November 17, 2023 9 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said: Thinking back I cannot remember where all the riders came from to get the Provincial league up and running. ?? A few meetings were staged in Scotland at White City, Motherwell and Edinburgh in the late 1950s. The excellent book by Philip Dalling, 'Saving Speedway - The Provincial League & The Southern Area League', explains the role the SAL played in providing opportunities in the south of England prior to the formation of the PL. There were also a few open-licence meetings in the south-west in 1959. Riders from these tracks, together with some coming out of retirement, combined with novices from training schools in the north to form the PL teams. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnieg 3,644 Posted November 17, 2023 9 hours ago, norbold said: There were seven teams in 1964, the lowest it got to. Although during the winter of 63/64 between the closure of Sotton and the surprise re-opening of West Ham (anounced just a few weeks before the season start) there were only six. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beirao 202 Posted November 17, 2023 Something I found in my files - a graph of senior teams over the last forty years. While my projection looks pessimistic given Oxford and Workington coming back, the trend is still downward. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
