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I agree with much of what you have said but you have to question why Eastbourne are on the verge of closure when 70 miles along the south coast it is - by all accounts - boom time at Isle of Wight (I am reliably informed that last nights attendance was the biggest ever under the present promotion). Smallbrook is no less inaccessible than Arlington, and you need a car to get there (you can walk but having done so a few times I certainly wouldn't recommend it - with no streetlights and no pavements, its like a rather nasty game of chicken with speeding motorists). I think the stupid BSPL decision to run before Covid restrictions were removed and before the vaccination programme got into its stride hamstrung Eastbourne (and indeed all the other clubs) That meant reduced capacity (Wolverhampton, for instance, described that as a 'financial disaster') and people - rightly or wrongly - still being nervous about attending spectator events. Isle of Wight, in contrast, waited until all Covid controls were lifted and more had been vaccinated, and therefore suffered no limited attendances nor misgivings about actually being there, nor were they burdened by financial loss in the early part of the season. Covid has actually worked in Isle of Wight's favour, at least to a point. Its likely that the amount of domestic holidays in 2021 has been greater than at any time since the early 1970's (every day I seem to read about how packed Cornwall is) and the Warriors have really cashed in on it. You have to ask why Eastbourne - which is in no less of a holiday area - have not done the same. Part of the reason might be Isle of Wight's furious attempts to publicise the sport on the Island, recognising that many visitors might be unaware of the speedway's existence. In my many trips to Eastbourne, I don't recall any such attempts at all. Then there's the fact that Isle of Wight have substantially diversified their activities on race night. That might not be to everyone's taste (me included) but is anyone going to suggest it doesn't work ? The main factor, though, I think is financial responsibility and that is taken extremely seriously by the Isle of Wight promotion. Whatever else might have been said about the Warriors, they operate on the basis that income must reasonably cover expenditure. To me, its seems clear that Eastbourne grossly overestimated income and/or grossly underestimated expenditure and that's why one club is in the black (more than that, much more, I suspect) and the other is on the brink of closing down.

I'd say the subject - as I initially put t is the 'stupid BSPL decision to run before Covid restrictions were removed and before the vaccination programme got into its stride hamstrung Eastbourne (and indeed all the other clubs)'. If indeed Eastbourne had bigger gates at the outset, based upon the likes of Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Newcastle they have seriously bucked a trend. Too much is being made of the fact that a speedway team has nigh on doubled its gates ?? Really ?? I would have thought any speedway fan would have been giving that more consideration than any other topic or subject brought up by the sport given its current plight. Two points you have missed and, first, one you deliberately ignored. Isle of Wight is no more a holiday destination in holiday season than Eastbourne is. For every person 'captive' on the Island, there is one who doesn't have to pay £50 to a ferry company to get there. I don't doubt that Eastbourne's problems are substantially about financial mismanagement, but why have the formers gates gone up spectacularly while the latters have stagnated or decreased given that their circumstances are almost exactly the same ?? Isle of Wight has always been a holiday destination in holiday season, so why is the speedway getting far, far bigger attendances now than it did when riding NL meetings ?? Covid doesn't account totally for that. 'Zero' chances of it working elsewhere. What is certainly true is there are a number of people on this forum who gave it 'zero' chance of working at Isle of Wight - after all, all they were offering was a 'circus' or' fairground', composed of small children, has beens, grasstrack riders, second halfers and even females. Even the Warriors management knew they were taking a major gamble but the fact remains is that while the rest of speedway has had the begging bowl out, been pleading fans to turn up and running up losses, they have been a huge success. I see no reason why such an approach wouldn't work at Eastbourne or possibly Poole, King's Lynn., Kent, Mildenhall, Berwick and Plymouth, all of which are in holiday areas. Truth is, you - and you are not alone - are terrified that other tracks might copy it, and only one thing terrifies you more................that it might just work. The sport has to embrace change and doing nothing is not an option. If a track massively increases its gates by adapting its race night programme that must be given very serious consideration.

And the truth of this is.... we have based our "circus" on my experience travelling to speedway in the US, Canada, across Europe where with the exception of Poland it is run very successfully... I know its not for everyone but there is no reason AT ALL, why the "Circus" cannot be run at the same time as a league meeting... We do not proclaim to be the font of all knowledge, please remember we were in our view bullied out of the BSPL and then took the bull by the horns and sad no, no this isnt right and decided we will now run speedway how we wanted to run it 6 years ago but were stopped. There is no one to stop it now, and it will, without doubt, grow. Enjoy your speedway wherever you view it and keep supporting your clubs.

Riders were not happy with the track which caused the start to be delayed half an hour,,So now it was a race against time to beat the ludicrous curfew ,,A few riders tried the normally fast outside line to no effect so the match became follow my leader round the white line,,,,,there was no time to grade and water the track and a huge blue line developed on the inside.....This was the only bad meeting of the season so far ,,ok we won ,,but i go there to see exciting racing and this was not ...where the fault lies i do not know but once again speedway shoots itself in the foot ,,and a few more lost fans the we can do without in these difficult times for the sport we love.........

Another decent crowd and another perfect summers evening to watch it in. The sun blazed down throughout before disappearing behind the copse beyond the flyover. The track appeared to prove a little difficult for the riders early on, but some remedial work seemed to sort it. The latter half of the meeting it looked really smooth and there was more passing. Plymouth certainly have provided excitement and value for money to their fans this season with yet another last heat decider. This time, coming from behind when the Brummies looked certain winners mid meeting. Riss, looking fast and stylish and the battling Castagna looked particularly dangerous and with Chris Harris enjoying his return to the south west, the Brummies looked like running away with it Led by the outstanding Crump, this week, the “engine room” provided back up. Pedersen not quite having his gating gloves on this week. It really is a pleasure watching the 3 times world champion once again. Hopefully he will continue next season. I noted his son was assisting him in the pits...an absolute spit of his father with that familiar shock of ginger hair. The crowd seemed bigger than usual, undoubtedly swelled by the presence of Harris. He still remains one of the most exciting riders I have ever seen. He simply never gives up and is one of only a few riders these days that can execute the “dive bomb” inside pass. He did this brilliantly passing Bowtell, and in heat 15, Pedersen. For a second or two it looked possible that he would catch Crump, but his chase ended when Crumpie realised he had Harris on his tail, and he sped away. Harris repeatedly acknowledged his young family who were sat in the NHS stand, and he always speaks well on his Centre green interviews. Additionally, he is still a superb team man, and is first out of the pits, sprinting across to team mates that have come to grief. Plymouth have a fine set up and deserve the healthy crowds with the financial risks they have taken this season. The slow but sure development of Cook, Bowtell and Ruml have produced a competitive side and the recruitment of the shrewd and experienced Garry May has certainly helped.

It could be worse, like watching Lakeside four times at Lakeside.

What makes the difference so stark between grasstrack and speedway is that despite both needing specialised kit that is largely useless elsewhere a grasstrack rider will travel great distances to find a track of varied standards, ride it and pay for the privilege (with the potential of some prize money), a speedway rider will travel great distances to find a track of varied standards, grumble about it at least 50% of the time, put in questionable effort and still expect to be paid handsomely for the privilege.....

I don't think that IOW's 'circus' would work everywhere else. What i do think/know is that they know their audience and how best to please them / attract greater numbers. Its obvious that under the BSPL handcuffs that wasn't possible and is proving the same for a number of other clubs. I know fans can be fickle, there were calls at several NDL teams to step up to CL level for multiple reasons and yet the step up has brought financial issues to most of these (publicised or otherwise). What has often been needed is a brutal dose of honesty, we would like to move up but we just can't afford it or this is the best team we can build without breaking the club. Circus or otherwise IOW have two ringmasters who are calling their own shots, riders prepared to entertain and not be intimidated by the mafia and the only ones left looking like clowns are the BSPL.

Of course they can... they can explain on what has happened when they have spoken to Gi i guess they have seeing no stadium is being built after yet another broken promise. even if Gi have given no reply to there questions . if they are not trying to contact them then that is even worst . its hardly a lot to ask . The lack of pressure put on Gi by the club the press and the local mp has been shocking to be honest . Looks like yet again another con by Gi is going to work with a barely a wimper of oppo

Oh dear. The track was total garbage, and not for the first time this season. Its actually getting worse. Before a wheel had been turned you kind of thought it would be one sided. Sadly, that was the case. However, I would still like to see all 4 riders in each race for all 4 laps. Riders seemed to 'go missing' then re appear from the dust. It was awful. A bit surprised that referee Chris Durno didnt slap the 2 minutes on more than he did. If only to get it over and done with. No point in putting the boot in to Newcastle, they know their limitations and getting to the end of the season is their main objective. Feel for the Diamonds supporters. However I am totally fed up with excuse after excuse regarding our track preparation. Same goes for the scoreboard. Same old excuses, week after week. Its embarrassing. Big crowd, beautiful evening, perfect for showing all that is good with speedway. Not a chance with that track While Basso tried too hard at times, the track certainly didnt help. Throwing riders all over the place. Just pleased that every rider got away safely. Gawd knows what track surface we will get on Sunday afternoon v Birmingham. No need for sun cream, you will probably leave with a 'dust' tan anyway.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard promoters says this. There must be an inner circle within the BSPL. Fingers crossed Plymouth go from strength to strength, I really enjoyed my first visit.

Totally right for me speedway is just four guys giving there all entertaining us.Like you i like a meeting to start at 7.30 finish say at 9.30 job done come hopefully seeing a few good races.I have grand kids now and if you take them get them to enjoy it the speedway and other activities it has to be good something for everyone.My wife who is not a massive fan would love that model now at IOW go off and have a nose around at the other activities with money being spent makes sense.Both my boys followed speedway from 1995/ 2008 and are now aged 29 and 27 they don’t go they say it is overpriced and they both have other things to do now.But both still follow the sport still know what’s going on which is bloody frustrating but as you said things need to change.

We have/are enjoying a great season in Plymouth the matches have nearly all been last heat deciders, of which in the main have been in our favour ,we are building a good fan base with alot of youngsters attending, it was a gamble but to be honest our hand was forced by the powers to be with the late acceptance into the league and limited time given to build a team to an acceptable strength i,m sure they never expected us to succeed in doing so but here we are and as our promoter said in a recent interview he will do what ever it takes to put Plymouth Speedway on the map, obstacles are still being put in our path to stop us progressing as a club and team but it just makes the promotion and club,fans etc even more determined. Roll on next season.

Orion makes a good point. As ive said prior, when eastbournes 3 masked ok crowds occurred no bugger was allowed to do anything else and going out was a novelty. Im convinced someones been dipping in the kitty . Onto another point any promotion worth its salt has to arrange its 2 south coast derbys in high summer, whenever possible, thats your chance of a 2,000 crowd to swell the coffers , surely

You may see it as the flying circus but we don't. We provide an evening packed full of entertainment for all ages at a very reasonable price for all people to watch, but moving on to your last comment about running from March to October. When running in the NL, we never planned to run in March or October, as we recognised that those months would be difficult for us but we did try and stage a meeting every week.. This year we are running later than in previous years so we will see how things look after those meetings but we may spring a surprise later on.

Brutal as this may sound and i don't want to upset any Eastbourne fans here but the IOW's act of curiosities, oddities and entertainers (Circus) are highly unlikely to run March til October and nor should they as that won't produce the best crowds, best energy or best value for their crowds BUT there looks a strong likelihood that they will be running.....how many other clubs can say that with such certainty? “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” ― P.T. Barnum

I've watched speedway since 1976 (at various tracks, as I've moved around the country) but hardly at all since 2008. Against your experience at Sittingbourne, I'll set my visit to Scunthorpe (versus Redcar) a couple of Fridays ago. It was only my second meeting in four years: Large car park (Scunthorpe charge a quid to use it - and always have, as far as I'm aware. I'm OK with that. They're not taking the Mickey) £17 admission (not cheap but it did include the programme, which was designed well enough for my speedway rookie wife, a solicitor, to fill in without any problems) Tidy little stadium whose facilities have improved greatly since my last visit, in 2008 Pretty sure there was a mascot (being child-free-by-choice, I have no interest in mascots or what they get up to) The meeting started on time, and the main match racing was finished in an hour-and-three-quarters (despite several riders given maximum time for 'two on the trot'). The riders were introduced (rode round without helmets, IIRC) Advice to drivers is to follow the Normanby Hall brown tourist road signs. Worked a treat No merchandise on sale (a personal speedway first - and the one black mark) The staff (starting with the guy on the turnstile) were smartly dressed and friendly Announcements and music clearly audible The stand we were in had lighting ( a little more would've been desirable) In the clubhouse, my tea was served in 15 seconds (I don't do sports stadia food but it seemed to be going out efficiently) Couldn't tell you about card payments in the clubhouse (although Scunthorpe have the option of buying match tickets online) I can't say I noticed a great deal of 'gardening'; the referee seemed keen to get on with things The racing was superb, with passing (inside and out) in various places in most races. Indeed, some attendees described the meeting as the best they'd ever seen An enthusiastic crowd, with plenty of away fans, made for a lively atmosphere There was a victory parade, which seemed to please the home contingent My wife described the spectacle as "engaging" and was keen to see speedway again (which we did, twice in the next week) Scunthorpe Speedway has a vast catchment area, including the northern half of Lincolnshire, Hull (reached easily via the Humber Bridge) and west towards Doncaster. We travelled from York (as had, bizarrely, the two people next to us). Should Scunthorpe be attracting more than 800 spectators? This experience, coupled with those - similarly positive - at Belle Vue and Redcar that followed, suggests it's not all doom and gloom. Incidentally, I've been to Kent Kings once, in 2017. I thought it was fine. Decent racing, decent crowd and decent (by speedway standards) facilities. Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey seems to take a lot of flak but I'm struggling to find fault with the meeting we attended at his track. Why didn't he invite along Martin Goodwin? Tsk.

We were very surprised that Keleher was chucked out for the last bend incident in Heat 3. Being on the apex of bends 3 /4 we were directly in line with a front-on view. No doubt in our opinion that Shanes barged his way through, taking ZK's line and caused Zane to fall. Otherwise, a thoroughly entertaining meeting with no shortage of passing. So good to see a sizeable crowd on a sunny evening (around 1000 I'd guess, given the promoters comments recently about having a hard-core of 700-800.. there were many more than usual). Excellent summer of racing at the Boniface Colosseum.

It is well known that the Final score doesn’t always reflect the standard of the racing.Entertainment is what matters to majority of fans.(what’s left of them).

Having been in love with Speedway for 50yrs but falling out of love for the last 10 or so I decided to try my nearest track (Kent) last night. Start was hugely delayed, something to do with the track conditions despite it being good weather for days here in Kent No rider parade/introductions. Multiple attempts to run heat one. Then inconsistency in applying the rules of rider exclusions. Programme poorly designed No signposts or advertising of stadium Merchandise poorly designed with poor clarity of brand, no car stickers (unforgiveable) Scruffy staff Scruffy stadium (could do with some cheap smartening up) Announcer was too quiet to hear, made a few mistakes and was very 'low energy' - no presentation etc Barely audible music played randomly with mainly silence around the track Main stand had almost no lighting 4 portions of chips and 2 sausage rolls took 30mins from ordering to eating No card payments in the Cafe Interminable 'gardening' before starts Utterly pointless 2 minute warnings No team riding by the 'heat leaders' Barely any overtaking past bend 1 (this is a perennial speedway problem not just Kent obviously) And please.....in 2021, no more undignified victory parade with riders looking bored being driven round on the back of a lorry/trailer/car! - Get the riders without helmets to ride round in formation on their bikes carrying Kent flags! Positives: The mascot was fun and looked interested! The riders looked smart Parking Nice stadium with lots of potential Huge local catchment area if anyone knew about the Kings It was nice to see Martin Goodwin in the restaurant (fantastic rider) and nice to be back at a speedway track but not many reasons for a newcomer to return. I really fear for UK league Speedway

Having been in love with Speedway for 50yrs but falling out of love for the last 10 or so I decided to try my nearest track (Kent) last night. Start was hugely delayed, something to do with the track conditions despite it being good weather for days here in Kent No rider parade/introductions. Multiple attempts to run heat one. Then inconsistency in applying the rules of rider exclusions. Programme poorly designed No signposts or advertising of stadium Merchandise poorly designed with poor clarity of brand, no car stickers (unforgiveable) Scruffy staff Scruffy stadium (could do with some cheap smartening up) Announcer was too quiet to hear, made a few mistakes and was very 'low energy' - no presentation etc Barely audible music played randomly with mainly silence around the track Main stand had almost no lighting 4 portions of chips and 2 sausage rolls took 30mins from ordering to eating No card payments in the Cafe Interminable gardening before starts Utterly pointless '2 minute warnings' No team riding by the 'heat leaders' Barely any overtaking past bend 1 (this is a perennial speedway problem not just Kent obviously) And please.....in 2021, no more undignified victory parade with riders looking bored being driven round on the back of a lorry/trailer/car! Get the riders without helmets to ride round in formation on their bikes carrying Kent flags! Positives: The mascot was fun and looked interested! The riders looked smart Parking Nice stadium with lots of potential Huge local catchment area if anyone knew about the Kings It was nice to see Martin Goodwin in the restaurant (fantastic rider) and nice to be back at a speedway track but not many reasons for a newcomer to return. I really fear for UK league Speedway

So what if IoW is a circus... have you seen Nitro Circus? Pulls in the punters... The real Circus are the clowns running the BSPL vehicle until the wheels and doors fall off

Apparently Dale Allitt was talking on radio Norfolk the other day and he assured people there will be speedway at Kings Lynn next season.

Some of us saw the problems. Others were either too narrow minded or short sighted to see them and pressed ahead regardless unfortunately.

Different from what ? The Stadium should been built by early summer so if they meet with them they should have been told what the delay is and quite clearly there is a delay . If Ga have refused to talk or wont give any info then the statement should tell us that . That would show that the club are making a effort to chase it up rather that waiting for something that clearly is not going to come ....You cant keep quiet when your speedway club is on the verge of closing its about keeping the pressure on and keeping it in the public eye not doing what they want you to do .

Based on what he's done up to now they should have got rid of him before he lowered his average enough to join Kent If he starts doing well now he really has had all the supporters for complete mugs, paying money to watch him reduce his average so he can earn more money

So really it was just down to bad track preparation.

He's replied to Hans saying he outsmarted him and said his comments were heat of the moment

its very quiet south of the border too lol

Stock Cars seem to work at Eastbourne... A proper "circus act"... Have you seen the bangers? The same track that is in exactly the same place, ie still miles away from the town, when either Stock Car racing or Speedway is there.. Yet one sport pays for itself and one obviously doesnt.. You can only therefore presume it's down to what's on offer, rather than how far from town it is.. Maybe that IOW "Circus" could work too given Eastbourne through this summer in particular will be packed with holiday makers..? I suppose sadly we will never know...

I would not term it as such but I have to admit that speedway for me is 15 heats with 14 blokes, nothing more. The difference between me and some others, though, is that I will embrace changes of the kind that Isle of Wight have introduced if it is going to benefit the sport and they won't, despite the fact that they know only too well that the one thing that speedway cannot do is carry on the way it is. You would think that the near closure of Birmingham and Newcastle and Eastbourne now in the balance - I am told they are relying on someone taking over - might have changed a few minds but it seems not.

Have just read the last dozen or so posts on here and they all pretty much hit the nail on the head. I think the riders in the GP saw themselves as a big attraction to their club and so did the promotion, so in their eyes it was a probably a win win situation for both, although ultimately its become a big loss for the British leagues and the fans

Almost all of those will be in corporate wrappers, and liability will be almost entirely down to the extent to which the various company bankers require personal guarantees of the directors/owners.

Not just 1st timers. I Ve been going to Kent since it started but won't be going again. Expensive rubbish experience.

And still very much the case today. The current farcical facade that pretends to be a bona fide league structure is all about appeasing the riders, rather than the paying customer or what benefits the business.... They'll never learn....

Farcical scenes at Kent tonight. The track looked rough before the start and clearly the riders were unhappy with it. At one stage i thought the meeting was going to be called off. The final straw was letting the kids go out on a tricky surface, which resulted in a tumble for one of the youngsters. A poor advert for the sport, which would have put off any first timers.

We thought that in the Ged Rathbone years, exciting as the big fish but always felt it was second best and the showground needs top flight racing for me.

Racing as been top notch all season on a well prepared track that's not prepared for home advantage like some I could mention.

Can only see a home win.

Gosh! Genius! I bet no one thought of that one…..

Break even is 1000 people..? Really? Wow... Optimistic to say the least I think.. Not many 2nd Div clubs get that amount as an average every week do they?...

The Crump, Pedersen gamble was not one of a few options, fact was there were no other riders available with Plymouth's late acceptance into the 2021 league. If & it's a big IF Crump is back next season on his current average watch out for some Plymouth success with Jason having a real influence on team selection & rider development.

It matters not whether he has ridden there or not. A huge upgrade to make sure Edinburgh don’t lose. I look forward to watching this on the live stream. No expectations on the result though a point would be good and a win sensational.

61-29.

We move on the league semi-final on Wednesday 1st September start time 5pm UK time live on TV 2 Sport Denmark. It`s a 4 team event with the top 2 going to the Vojens staged final Meeting is at Grindsted with Fjelsted, Holsted and Region Varde

Then, they will have done better away than they did at home!

This is spot on. However I cannot help but think this is about finding a way for certain promoters not to lose out rather than any greater good. If I were in the Eastbourne team I'd be seeking legal advice for loss of earnings as right now they could be signing for other clubs and earning money, something they can't do while those while the BSPA / SCB mess about trying to find a way for them not to lose out.

No, neither for the home meeting v Brummies on Sunday. New averages come into effect 1st September which as far as Poole are concerned is their away meeting at Birmingham.

Exactly

last time buster had to deal with something like this Batchelor & Holder were on their way