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Thoughts with everyone at Workington Speedway at this time.

Point your boss to the "What will 2026 UK speedway bring?" topic thread and I'm sure they'll understand... they may even give you compassionate leave! 😂

Odious man. At least they haven't got his vile spouse involved.

Based on the most recent attendance figures from 2023 and 2024 (including data from industry analysts Two Circles, government reports, and governing bodies), here are the top attended sports in the UK. The "Big 5" Spectator Sports These five sports generate the vast majority of all ticket sales in the UK, with football being the undisputed king. 1. Football (Men's) * Annual Attendance: ~55 Million+ * Context: The Premier League alone draws nearly 15 million fans. When combined with the EFL (Championship, League 1, League 2), Scottish Premiership, and cups, it dwarfs all other sports combined. * Trend: Consistently breaking records; Premier League occupancy is at ~97%. 2. Horse Racing * Annual Attendance: ~4.8 Million * Context: Historically the UK's second-biggest sport. While numbers have dipped slightly from pre-pandemic highs (approx 6m), major festivals like Cheltenham (250k+), Royal Ascot (300k), and the Grand National still drive massive crowds. 3. Rugby Union * Annual Attendance: ~4 - 5 Million * Context: Driven by the Gallagher Premiership, the United Rugby Championship (Welsh/Scottish teams), and huge international crowds at Twickenham (82k capacity) and the Principality Stadium (74k) for the Six Nations. 4. Cricket * Annual Attendance: ~2.5 - 3 Million * Context: A mix of International Tests (The Ashes are huge), The Hundred (which has boosted numbers significantly), the T20 Blast, and County Championship matches. Lord’s and The Oval regularly sell out summer fixtures. 5. Women’s Football * Annual Attendance: ~2.1 Million (2024 Estimate) * Context: The fastest-growing spectator sport in the UK. According to recent reports, it has now overtaken Rugby League and other traditional sports to break into the top 5, driven by the WSL and Lionesses' success. The "Chasing Pack" (Over 1 Million) 6. Rugby League * Annual Attendance: ~1.5 - 2 Million * Context: Concentrated heavily in the North of England. The Super League draws ~1.5m annually, with the Championship and Challenge Cup adding to the total. 7. Ice Hockey * Annual Attendance: ~1.25 Million * Context: Often cited as the UK’s biggest indoor sport. The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) set a new record in the 2023/24 season, with teams like Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers drawing large weekly crowds. 8. Greyhound Racing * Annual Attendance: ~1 - 1.2 Million * Context: Has seen a significant decline from its mid-20th-century peak, but the frequency of meetings (daily events at tracks like Romford, Hove, and Monmore) keeps the aggregate attendance numbers high. Major Event & Rising Sports (Top 10-20) Rankings in this section fluctuate based on annual events (e.g., if the UK hosts a World Cup or Commonwealth Games). 9. Tennis * Key Driver: Wimbledon (~530,000 attendees over two weeks). * Total: ~700k (including Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, and Davis Cup events). 10. Motorsport (Formula 1 & Bikes) * Key Driver: The British Grand Prix at Silverstone (~480,000 weekend attendance). * Total: ~1 Million (including MotoGP, British Superbikes, and BTCC). 11. Golf * Key Driver: The Open Championship (~250,000+). * Total: ~400k - 500k (including the PGA Championship at Wentworth and the Scottish Open). 12. Darts * Key Driver: The PDC World Championship (Ally Pally) and Premier League. * Total: ~350k+. The Premier League tour fills large arenas weekly for 4 months. 13. American Football (NFL) * Key Driver: The NFL London Games. * Total: ~250k - 300k. The 3 annual games at Wembley/Tottenham sell out instantly (80k+ per game). 14. Basketball * Key Driver: Super League Basketball (formerly BBL). * Total: ~200k+. Growing fast in urban centers, with high participation converting slowly to viewership. 15. Boxing * Key Driver: Stadium fights (e.g., Joshua/Fury bouts at Wembley/Tottenham). * Total: Variable. A massive stadium year can hit ~250k; a quiet year ~150k. 16. Speedway * Key Driver: The British Speedway Premiership. * Total: ~200k. Declining but retains a loyal following at tracks like Belle Vue (Manchester) and Ipswich. 17. Snooker * Key Driver: World Championship (The Crucible). * Total: ~100k (Limited by small venue capacities despite huge TV figures). 18. Netball * Key Driver: Netball Super League (NSL). * Trend: Rapid growth. The 2024 final drew a record ~8,500 crowd. 19. Athletics * Key Driver: Diamond League (London Stadium). * Total: ~80k - 100k annually. 20. MMA (UFC/Cage Warriors) * Key Driver: UFC London events. * Total: ~30k - 50k (Limited by few events, but always immediate sell-outs).

But in those days it was dropping down a standard, today if one league merged into championship and the riders like fricke,Douglas etc all raced in it too Kurtz would still be racing against the same riders from this season, it’s only premier in name, not in quality

But .. Apart from that. ? Comparing Chalk and Cheese isn't it? Yet, it appears, some UK promoters seem to think what the UK produces has some similarities.. Baffling... Just deliver the sport you can afford to, with the minimal outlay..

The 9 championship clubs will stick together to protect themselves, as they have some form of business acumen. One big league could work, but it most definitely is not feasible to try and plan in December, it needs to be decided in the summer ready for the following season, and it may well be that this happens next year ready for 2027 like you say. But Ipswich, and Belle Vue, need to realise that it is unsustainable to continue to bring in GP superstars, forcing teams who can’t financially afford to compete to go to the wall and go under for the sake of two or three clubs.

Fans from other teams breathing a sigh of relief! 😂

Welcome back to Workington Batch

How many times did we hear Tatum & co last season more or less saying that playoffs is the real part of the season? In that case, just skip the majority of the season and stage playoffs in October between 4 clubs who want to and able do it. Leave team building until September with a high points limit so that riders no longer involved in Poland and Sweden can make a few extra bucks. Call it the Bet Victor Super Series, get it onto YouTube tv, with 'Arry and Phil fronting the whole thing. Sorted!

You have one problem with your one big league for 2026, and that’s the fact that none of the 9 championship clubs will bow down to the Ipswich way.

Phew!!

An interesting list. Of course in person attendance is not the only metric. Sports like darts, snooker, athletics, MMA etc are way, way, way more valuable and have massively bigger attendances when looking at TV and social media. In terms of participation, motocross, angling, pool, martial arts and golf are all way bigger than speedway. This is another important metric to consider, as participants are a major part of the sport's economy. Speedway's reliance on paying spectators at trackside is another reason why the business model fails.

It looks like you are contriving issues in speedway and ignoring what goes on in the world of sport generally. The guest system is not ideal but can't be seen as an issue otherwise betting companies wouldn't offer odds on British league speedway which they have done for years. The British and Irish Lions select a national rugby manager to coach them thus the manager effectively coaches two teams - again a non-issue as it is in speedway as the teams don't face each other across leagues/competitions. A rider easing off to let their teammate through - is that any different from the main striker in football passing up taking a penalty to his teammate so his teammate can get a hat trick? Or a rugby player making an unnecessary extra pass for his teammate to touch it down? Or team tactics in formula one where a driver may be asked to make way for their teammate? All are non-issues to betting companies.

I know a fair few people who have given up on the forum because of what’s written above. Speedway has enough problems, it doesn’t need all us fighting each other. We should ALL be doing our best to bring people to the sport, not name calling and insulting each other. As a Poole fan who’s attended for as long as I can remember, I enjoy being able to post on various pages, it’s what makes the forum enjoyable, enlightening and most importantly SPEEDWAY!

Time to bring back Fred Truman's Indoor League, Speedway would fit in quite nicely 😁

Christ, you were on that quickly. I hadn’t even pressed confirm on the edit!

Probably based on promoters tax returns 😉 I'm joking I'm joking interesting stats. I wonder what happens if TV viewing figures were added?

Rushen going to Workington

Love the energy on this forum. Everyone’s so pleasant.

Good signing imo, not a No 1 these days but mostly solid scores, often good when a HT 13 + 15 result required. Will be a good back up to Jeppesen at No 1. @lewy will be disappointed as he wanted him at Plymouth 😄

Batch back

Obviously you're taking the p regarding a serious professional sport. Can you, or any other forum poster, remember when speedway was classed as the second most popular UK sport? (after football). I'm not taking the p but maybe my old memory bank is letting me down?

Have a bit of faith in your team, that's what I like to see. Bearing in mind that the Bears had a very good 25 season coupled to the one over 8 rule, then you inevitably had to loose riders for 26.To me the 26 Bears look to be a sound team, who should be contenders for silverware.

The Worky accountant been pulling strings again

There will be a fair few promoters not bothered about making any profit at all... For them, it is a hobby that they happily fund, in several ways, differing from club to club.. A "successful team" could actually adversely impact these type of clubs, even up to the point of closure as we have seen in the past... The losses expected will be budgeted for, with "winning at home regularly" being their No1 aim for the season.. These clubs won't grow their support like Ipswich did last season for example, as they don't have historical large fan bases which can "come out of the woodwork" when success happens.. For them, they will maintain a certain following which won't fluctuate much win, lose or draw, and also know that spending excessive money in trying to win something that delivers such small reward isn't really worth the risk...

Ipswich have a part in all this ,where’s their buyer it’s all a bit of a shambles.Sheffield don’t exactly look rosy.You can’t blame Championship for going ahead with their plans.You seem to be clutching at straws.

The Championship winners wouldn't do it They would be shaking like a big girls blouse worried they may incur an extra fiver in costs to stage the meeting

The old 2nd division was a far superior standard to that we would get with one big league now.... None of the 'stars' would drop into it on a merger anyway so it is rather a mute point

I really rate Cairns and I’m sure his reserve partner will be capable, knowing Poole’s team building abilities, but I’m surprised the Hagon/Hodder pairing are being written off above. I think our reserves will surprise a few.

Given his previous, I don't expect Mario Hausl or Antonio Lindback to be on his fave rider list.

I was going to ask if you'd looked at the Speedway Researcher page......but then I saw that it was you who had compiled it! 😁

personally think there are some big question marks over the Glasgow team and not sure why everyone has slotted them in as favourites. If Rushen signs then Poole are by far the clear favourites for the league.

I hope it’s Perry because I hope he secures a Championship spot next season. I don’t think many could argue against retaining Hodder at his expense, but if you could bottle Max Perry’s desire and effort, you’d make a fortune. He’s got the bravery to go wide, but I think physically, he appeared to struggle to control his momentum coming off the second and fourth bends; he subsequently often lost that momentum. He’ll be a great prospect for any club.

Agreed think pooles 1-5 will be weaker than Oxford’s rumoured top 5 and Glasgow well we will wait and see as they have 2 unknown riders in at 2&4. And as you say Poole look strong in the reserve berth with the potential signing of Cooper Rushen,on paper one of the stronger pairings but not many reserve pairings have been announced yet,actually thinking about it I would have to say Redcars reserve pairing has to be the strongest looking at it again.

Where are those averages available? You’re looking at it from a Poole pov, I’m a neutral, Kyle Howarth and Scott Nicholls are better than Zach Cook, both average wise, and just from watching them. Zach Cook scored 5pts at Plymouth three times, 4 at Edinburgh, 4 at Berwick last season, those 3 teams weren’t amongst the best in the league (slightly harsh on Edinburgh from myself, but it was a 3 horse race last year really). He was at Berwick before the signings of Morris and Jeppesen and only managed to beat Smith, his 4 other points came from falls and retirements. At Edinburgh he beat Grahn and Starke, his other two points were from retirements. This was all whilst riding at the considerably easier number 4 position. Compare his scores to Kyle Howarth, who’s lowest score was 6, at Poole, and a bunch of 7’s, but ultimately far more consistent around the tracks, at number 5. Scott Nicholls scored 7+3 away to Edinburgh on his comeback meeting, a poor score of 3 on his home debut then managed at least 9 thereafter.

God how privileged do you Poole fans think you are ? People come on here with genuine debate or questions, but you don't like it and call people names 😗 fair enough maybe, but it's not clever, and to make matters worse you are all over other threads saying the same tings. Let's keep it all speedway orientated and stop the stupid name calling.

So what if he is? Maybe he’s new to the sport. Common courtesy and helping somebody doesn’t cost anything.

Flait of him getting a max again?

Although I do agree that his performance at Scunny was disgraceful, I am glad to have him back. His home form can definitely be improved on but away from home he scored the most out of anyone. Highlights for me were his performance at Scunny (second time around), and heating Harris and Howarth at Glasgow. Really happy he's back, especially now he doesn't have the pressure of being number 1. Let's get this season started! UTC!!!

Bain must have robbed a bank.

That would be the end of the sport imo.

If the admins short of pins, I’ve got plenty

Personally I don't think betting is viable specifically for all the reasons you mention - far too open to manipulation and perceived corruption ( even if no corruption exists) . Maybe Sir Philip has been recruited for his marketing knowledge - which as we know is sadly lacking in British Speedway. Of course, Speedway Futures Ltd could just be transparent and tell us, but I'm sure none of us expects that

He can only dream. He goes where the money is.

Thanks mate. Appreciate this, but I wasn’t actually looking for his average. I merely referenced how strong an asset Cairns would be at reserve, but that I wasn’t aware of his average. That simple comment grew arms and legs for reasons highlighted above, but which aren’t worth revisiting.

precisly , like said before he has an inflated reserve avrg which historicaly and at least 70 percent of time never improves in the following . I liked the lad an dont get me wrong if he was back id of backed him all the way but but i agree with management decision in this .

If there is no Premiership I won't be purchasing a BSN Championship pass No way am I funding the clubs (indirectly - no blame to BSN) partly responsible for its downfall should it happen

As opposed to being a big fish in a smaller pond?

I think something needed to be done. At the start of last year Glasgow, Poole and Redcar looked to have significantly more top end strength and so it proved with those 3 clearly a level above the rest. There is no ideal solution, but better this than the way the Premiership went with the strong teams killing off the weak and possibly not having a league left. Speedway does not have the in built blind loyalty that football has. It needs all teams to be competitive (even if only at home) to keep the crowds that it has. Presumably the rule was written so that the top 9 averaged riders were split between the 9 teams and no one missed out, but the signing of Pickering put a spanner in that. Although, it could be that no one wanted Klindt after the number of times he seemingly chose not to ride last season.