Leaderboard

The current business model is clearly unsustainable. Premiership club dies so a Championship club has to step up to keep the Premiership afloat. Rinse and repeat. This Groundhog Day can only repeat itself a finite number of times, before long there will be no teams left. It’s concerning the number of fans who think things should carry on this way, let alone that the people running the sport seem to agree.

You can’t force a business into spending money they don’t want to or operating in a way that’s not profitable just because it would benefit others. If Glasgow were given the ultimatum you suggest it would end up in court very quickly. The club is run by very successful business owners who I can’t imagine will be easy to push around. If the premiership want more clubs they need to make it an attractive prospect not try and force more clubs in.

Some Sunday League, and Semi Pro football teams, have tens of thousands of followers due to their own in house coverage and editing... With the YT algorithms taking you to them after you have watched one... It has been a perfect media for Speedway for at least five years since these type of programmes started... People eating loads of food quickly, get millions of followers!!!! Nearly a quarter of a million has watched the Wright/Allen fight, and over 400,000 have watched the final of the 2025 British Championship.. Imagine if just a tenth of those numbers attended a track each week?! The template to follow is out there due to what other sports teams do, so just follow it... Plenty of money can be made if you get the views and subscribers, and you don't need to spend loads to earn it, nor do a lengthy video... 15 to 20 mins featuring riders arriving, pre match team talk, some action, some during the meeting conversations between team and manager, post match team talk, and the riders post match thoughts, is sufficient... Fast paced, small soundbites, and race snippets from the best races, and not lengthy conversations and full races (unless a cracker)... People don't sit and watch two hours of sport like they used to, they now often just watch the fifteen to twenty minute highlights on YT... I have got into Baseball by watching 20 mins highlights, but wouldn't sit and watch three to four hours of the sport, watching pitch after pitch not getting hit... Speedway desperately needs some modern thinkers involved rather than those who have led the sport with the mantra "we have done it this way for decades"..

They have had almost 30 years of coverage and the fanbase is probably (at best), half what it was 30 years sgo... Promoters have had hundreds of two hour advertisements for their businesses and done nothing to make the sport look "popular" via the optics... I am always impressed the way the directors can focus in on thirty or forty people stood, or sat, together to make it look like a "crowd" is in attendance... Unfortunately, they then have to show the racing using a wider angle and the swathes of empty spaces and seats become clearly evident... When Sky first covered the sport, kids got in for free and they had face painters there, bouncy castles etc, and a "roving camera" that focused on the face painted groups of kids waving and shouting into the camera. This then often led into the adverts, and was the first thing you saw when they came back for the break. Giving the impression I presume that Speedway is great to take your kids to, and "fun".... Nowadays nothing appears to be done to create a "fun" atmosphere when on TV... A 2 hour advert that others in the entertainment industry would kill for and use to create interest. Imagine several restaurants being filmed for two hours, several times a year, with just four people eating in them each time they were on TV? They would ensure the place was packed, even if they all didn't pay!!! Sports that can only half fill their stadiums often close parts down to squeeze the crowd together and use the closed sections for large banner advertising of their sponsors... I always think the NSS, as an example, there are many others, that could benefit from that when on TV, ie fill the grandstand so the camera inside the circuit covering the start makes the place look full, (rather than it looks now due to hardly anyone sitting in the sections at the start of the home straight), and advertise your sponsors on the back straight... Just charge standing prices for one night in the grandstand, and credit the ST holders with any difference. (If they moan about it)... Put simply, Speedway, uniquely when measured against other "niche" sports, hasn't progressed one iota via the huge amount of TV coverage it has had... And you have to question why?.. So not sure what positive difference any other satellite or streaming service would make to it now.. The real issue without the TV coverage will be the lack of the six figure payment that the teams got rather than if it grew the sport or not...

Bosses need to grow a backbone and refuse starting permission for Glasgow in the Championship imo. It's a club with a Premiership business model in place on all fronts. Under no circumstances can the Premiership take place with 5 Teams.

No rider should be bigger than the sport or an individual club. Clinging on to the top riders by satisfying their financial demands is not the way to evolve British Speedway. The current crop of GP riders in this country will move on/retire before you know it and the sport in this country still needs to be standing when they do so. Powers that be need to be brave and if necessary have a total reset instead of applying fresh sticking plasters to see the sport through following season. Competitive racing with riders of a similar ability distributed across teams has to be the focus. How else do you attract fresh interest which the sport desperately needs? The people whose interest and money we need have probably never heard of the sport’s current elite. A league of five teams that can borrow riders from each other now and again isn’t the way to attract outsiders.

Agree can’t see hardly anyone being there to be honest. Strange time when people are at work and seems hastily arranged too. Not enough time for people to even book the day off work as not enough notice given. At least the groups of Romanian’s will be there to see it! Gathered around the cornhill on a daily basis making everyone else feel uncomfortable 🙄

Why should Glasgow prop up the top league. The top league over the years have pocketed fortunes from the TV deals. Now because they haven't got a TV deal you expect 2nd division clubs to throw them a rope. I would tell them to get stuffed. The only reason the top league might only run with 5/4 teams is down to them. They stood by and watched Tolly skint himself last season and now you think other clubs should follow suit?. They made their bed. Let them lie in it.

I have always thought it strange that anyone still at school isn't allowed in for free... The Aces (I think), let U12's in for free on the back straight, which is a good idea... However, just as they become more interested and nuanced in the sport the person who takes them now has to pay for them... Just at a time too when they start going out with their mates, and going somewhere (by yourself), that your Dad and Grandad attends suddenly becomes "very uncool".. Let all school kids in for free, let them bring their mates for free, and let them "sod off" by themselves if they so wish... Some will never become "paying punters" but some will, and some of those will be "mates" who never attended Speedway, until their mate who did, took them.. These "teens" are not there now in any numbers worth a mention, so let them in for nothing as you have nothing to lose, but maybe something longer term to gain... It is barmy that at somewhere like the NSS (particularly on TV), swathes of seats and terracing lie empty when thousands of kids attend local schools and play in local sports leagues... One of the positives of internet purchasing is that you gauge well in advance as to what your ticket sales will be like on the night, as the "walk up and pay on the gate people" will have an average number too... Therefore if your capacity is 2000 more than you expect to turn up, flood the local schools, kids groups, sports teams etc etc with free tickets... They, and their parents/guardians, will not be turning up to pay anyway, so nothing to lose... And if the odd few parents, who do actually attend, get a free ticket then its a small price to pay to give the optics out that you are a "popular sport"... People are very much sheeplike and get easily led by seeing a "big crowd", and just automatically latch on to it, and follow it.... The opposite also is true, ie. If it looks unpopular, it must be unpopular, and something I won't be interested in following...

It feels like boiling the frog with some people. It's crazy to think we've gone from an 8-team Elite League, 18-team Premier League, plus a decent conference league to what we have now in a little over 20 years. If that happened overnight there'd quite rightly be serious questions asked, if not something more serious. Yet here we are, still being told the sport is in good shape and has an exciting future.

Spot on... "Let's find another way to fudge through another season"... Without the TV six figure sum per team, you cannot see how the GP lads can be afforded anyway... Even if presently a significant part of their salaries is paid by sponsors, the TV money then paid for either rent and other meeting costs, or assisted towards the salaries of other riders.. That £100k leaves a huge black hole to be filled if no TV deal bears fruition...

Is that a joke. Premiership is in trouble why should Championship prop it up.

.

True & absolutely not true. BSN is just 'preaching to the already converted' & won't add anything in growing the sport. At the same time, Sky & BT/TNT added absolutely nothing to attendances for British Speedway too. Even with these "Mainstream" channels, British Speedway has continually declined & clubs disappeared. There is only one last step for British Speedway to attempt, almost everyone's favorite platform, YouTube. Free to all, the largest viewing platform & a potential global audience. If the BSPL don't want to offer the product 'free to air', have Live meetings on YouTube under "Members Only" at £10 a month, then release the meetings to all a week later. British Speedway needs to look at a 10 year growth plan rather than just looking at the now, chasing whomever will pay up the biggest bucks. YouTube is THE biggest growth plan the BSPL could use & it's cheap

British Pathe News????? 😲

All the thoughts and ideas on here have some validity but the unknown factors are the state of the TV coverage, the level of sponsorship for the sport and to a large extent the set up of the leagues which are largely determined by the self interest of the business owners who are ploughing money into a sport in decline. It seemingly has no major media coverage in the U K and is largely ignored by the average person on the street and or is unknown to the average sports follower in the UK nor does it have any profile beyond the anoraks. Despite this it can be one of the most exciting two wheeled sports and needs to be marketed correctly. Take a look at the recent Polish Gala event and watch some of the races of each season going back to 2016 and watch the likes of Gollob winning races and find another sport that can match it. Like almost all on here we do not put money into the sport other than the entrance fee and whilst some have the answers to its failings we are not the custodians and until the club owners work for the overall best interest of the sport it will stagger from one crisis to the next and without a major change in 2026 it is the same old same old followed by a further decline in attendees.

Can't agree that there's a need for the Championship to "serve" the Premiership. Both leagues are equally reliant on each other to prosper, it isn't a one-way thing. Your last point is sadly an indictment of the situation we've sleepwalked into. If the riders are demanding twice the money due to only having one team place: good for them. Equally, the clubs are justified in only offering what they're happy to pay. Sadly, we're now in a situation where this isn't practical because even a handful of riders quitting would be catastrophic, so the tail continues to wag the dog.

Adam Bednar will be at Lynn, so he’s a cert at BV

Again I don’t think singling out one business for being successful and exposing financial risk upon them would be legal. If one club is going to be forced into anything. Every club would have to be given the same “ultimatum” British speedway is in a very difficult position but it isn’t for one or two clubs to fix it

As a dad of a NDL rider who actually rode on Sunday conditions were not brilliant but because Redcar is such a good track it was rideable and racing was good imho, my biggest concern is what you pointed out, there is not a endless supply of riders at this level, no consistency with meetings is a massive concern because lads lose interest etc, hopefully they will look at this at the agm and realise it requires some serious thought

They would need three rider teams if all those came back...

I think I miss Peterborough the most out of those, fantastic racetrack.

First team a mile off There is no way Ipswich will not have a team with 2 of King Rew and Ellis in it You have also missed Dan T off of both teams and he will be back We have 3 certain starters … Doyle , Brennan and Thompson … the rest will be dependent on the new points limit

Neither teams fits into anything, the points limit has not been announced...

I totally agree with you. The premiership is doomed as costs to run without major sponsorship is astronomical. Championship over last decade at least has and is the best competitive league

Or..... They could just tell everyone that speedway is a family sport... And that the bikes go for from nought to sixty quicker than an F1 car.. And also that they have no brakes... Oh. And obviously ask everyone to bring a friend.... If it ain't broken, and all that.

I was reading on another thread Northampton may not happen as the costs to get up and running have been way under stated, it looks a massive risk for anyone to take on even at Championship level let along premiership, if anyone does take it on they will either need six figure sponsorship or be seriously minted and happy to lose 100-150k without blinking is my take.

.

No one will move up , rumour is Northampton will enter premiership

"Close it if it didn't work for them"? A perfect example of why the sport is where it is... And all to try an win something hardly anyone gives a toss about, with hardly any financial return, and all simply down to the way they themselves as a collective run things.. I remember Jon Cook (who seemed switched on), in an interview with the SS, when on the MC, saying he dreaded the phone call asking for a decision on a guest rider that may, or may not, have been allowed in some meeting.. As once, a promoter called him and said he would not run the meeting and close the track if he didn't get his way... Basically, too many promoters have seemed to have the following attitude... "If I can't have what I want, I am taking my bat and ball home with me and you all then cannot play".. They need to work collectively and ensure all come to the tapes as even as is possible, given no one is going to get "rich" by winning any UK Speedway league, nor are they going to get any national recognition... Looking "insular" is no longer an option I would suggest, and everyone needs to work together to get the sport out of its current "steeply" downwards trajectory...

If the regulations remain the same as 2025: Hellstrom Bangs: Prem - 4.50 Champ - 6.00 Bednar: Prem - 4.50 Champ - 6.00

just normally speeches and awards

A lot of championship riders won't be doubling up next season if it stays at 5 Premiership teams, that is going to hurt their pockets.

None.... They always only last 3 months....

You are certainly right about that. The Premier League is a misnomer. If all the 'Championship' riders decided to boycott the 'Premier' League' - there would be only one answer - there would be no 'Premier' League' it would not be a workable model and it has been like that for a heck of a long time now.

Think most Championship Promotions would be reasonably happy with season,problems being fixture planning and missing riders for various reasons that were not factored in.Fans probably feel the same.Now that the Premiership is having problems it is up to their Promotions to resolve without trying to badger others into their way of thinking.Just my opinion.

Your last paragraph is total nonsensical.

Is it time for Royal Mail to loose the "Royal" tag, or should they be ordered to use "Royal Replacement" or perhaps "Guest Delivery" ?

also expect a couple of quid rise per meeting. which wont go down well. my take one league get rid of top stars and drop price at least a fiver. clubs want top riders put on individual events thru season. like we had in the good old days😁

It's been on life support for a while now Brum. It will have to be just one league if we lose a few more tracks, and I just don't see a 'top league' existing in five years time...

They maybe have money,but they certainly aren’t going to throw it away.They have already stated that the speedway has to pay for itself now.After all their investment in upgrades to the Stadium.

As far as I know Oxford are not moving up.

Yes it certainly was and seeing the top riders every week in a strong 1-7 not like the watered down version now in the Elite

We are the same regarding irregular delivery times. For years are regular postie would deliver between 8.30am - 9am. Then when he relocated we have had several different ones who all now deliver between 11.30am to 2pm.

ll have you know bulbs grow in the ground 🙈

Just back from a week’s holiday in Rhodes and on the second day I was wearing my Dan Bewley Wroclaw shirt around the pool. Later that evening while at the bar, someone appeared behind me and asked if I was Polish or English as he had seen me wearing the shirt. I replied English and he introduced himself as Andreas Bergstrom. We chatted briefly for ten minutes before I had to go. A few evenings later I saw him again and this time we spent the evening sinking plenty of whiskey and rum and putting the speedway world to rights! A top fella with a lovely family. Couldn’t speak highly enough about Berwick, the club and its supporters (less complimentary about a certain person who was at the club when he rode though!) His stories were brilliant, funny, eye opening and his opinion on a certain Swedish ex-World Champion was surprising! 😉 His thoughts on speedway’s current crop were also very interesting, and his love for Bomber Harris oozed out of him. His fears for the future of both Swedish and British speedway echo many of our own, as do his ideas of how to promote the sport and turn it round. But as he said himself, there are too many people in positions of power who don’t want wholesale change for the better due to their own business interests. He currently runs his own industrial firm which is extremely busy but hopes to get some time off to come to watch the GP in the UK next year when hopefully we can meet up again. The only downside meeting him was that I’m still in the doghouse with the missus for chatting to him all night at the bar rather than spending it with her and our daughter! 🤣

Applying to join Polish league seeing as we're a Saturday night track

I can see Kildemand pricing himself out of the Championship, unless he gets a doubling up spot

But if you have a stronger #1 you can't retain the strength in depth, that's the nature of team building under a points limit.

Some interesting comments from Buster at the Lynn awards evening last night, when asked about league structures he suggested that the top division will remain but it would take a few promoters putting some money in each to make it happen. Whether that means to replace TV money or to get Northampton off the ground who knows.