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Majority on here seem very negative towards this new venture. A shame really as they need to have fans behind them. Peterborough, Birmingham and Coventry are lost and fans could easily head over to Northampton to give their support. I wish them all the best in this venture. It’s going to be hard to start from scratch in a town not known for speedway. Hopefully the locals will come out to see what it’s all about and a fanbase can be built. Good luck to them.

And the final nail in the coffin of the Northampton venture 🤐

It's certainly a strange thing to say. I re read it a few times, but am still wondering what he means by that! The other part of the article that struck me, was the explanation of why they were so desperate to invent the 6th team. In a 5 team league where the top team goes straight to the playoff final, riders may find it preferable to finish second or third in order to get 2 extra meetings. If that's the ethos of professional sportsmen that represent their teams, how can you expect fans to invest in it? I know I'll be accused of being negative or moaning, but while I sincerely hope that Northampton and the season as a whole is a success, it does smack of desperation.

https://ipswichwitches.co/ipswich-seek-next-generation-with-young-person-tickets/ they’re listening!

Could have been Luke Becker as the replacement if America hadn't started an illegal war with Iran 😂 ... I presume the FIM will be banning all American and Israeli riders from all of their events 🤔

The season is 1 day old and just 1 meeting in and King's Lynn has lost at home already After the turmoil of the winter some normality at last

Me and my wife will be there every match we are twenty minutes away .

That’s the Premiership Champions to you if you don’t mind 😁

Masters replaces iversen

Surely it's a BSPA event, not a Premiership event. Given that two of the BSPL directors are Championship promoters, nd that there are more Championship promoters than Premiership promoters then I don't see that theory as having legs

Spot on. Sums up why this venture has attracted so many negative comments from people that look at the bigger picture. We all want this to be a success but that doesn’t mean we can’t be realistic.

yes, me and my son.. I started watching Speedway at Weymouth in the 80s whilst on holiday and travelled the country with them until the eventual demise , I also went to Coventry and Milton Keynes again until they closed too My lad used to come with me when he was young ( he's now 36 ) and we are looking forward to it . It all seems a bit quiet though on the Promoter/ Team/ Publicty front which is strange

I mean that isn't true is it

I think they got a lot more stick putting Woffy in then they would have putting Parnitskyi in!

You mean the world under 21 champion who should have got the place ahead of Tai anyway?

Pleased it looks like Tom Brennen's recovered well from his mishap in America, always been a tough lad physically and mentally.

Pipe down Taps. Stop deflecting from the shambles that was Ippo

It’s a shame there’s no longer a shuttle bus operating. Used to get on at the old cattle market in town centre, take you straight to Foxhall, then come and pick you up after the meeting and take you back to town. Pretty cheap return tickets too if I remember rightly.

Like you say a good start, maybe next year bridge that gap for the next group of people 19-24? One thing I like that KL have done is a free programme to every match with a season ticket. Not much but you add up the matches £3.50 x 12 matches that's another £42 the season ticket holder would save(I know not everyone fills one out)

It's a start isn't it (a good start)... It's effectively a student ticket, but there's still a 64% increase on your 19th birthday... happy birthday! I'd still like to see a reduced price ticket for up to 24/25 year olds, that is the average age of people flying their parents nest in the UK and suggests they're not on a sound enough financial footing until that age.

Less than 2 weeks until kick-off! I can't wait. Good line-up for the Ben Fund too. I just hope this bad weather won't continue until the end of March and we have lots of sunshine on the 28th

Yes . When sandhu stood down from speedway. And offered the promotion for grabs. With the hundreds who were wanting to take it on and mick Horton got the nod. How surprising. It’s almost like he was the only one who was prepared to give it a go and without him spoedway would have been all over at Coventry

The Brafield team of the 1950's and 60's were called the Badgers. Given that Badgers are mostly seen dead on their ar$es they do share some other similarities with those who run British Speedway. They have very poor vision and they are creatures of habit who will follow the same paths for generations despite the dangers and do not adapt well to changes in their territory. Badgers would be ideal. All we need is a Bodger to manage the mashed potatoes.

Chris Holder rolling back the years tonight... superb stuff 👏

For God's sake, don't mention Horton! They're still looking to name a figurehead promoter....

Northampton No Stars

Imagine starting a completely new team in a new sport in a new venue. And just over a month to go. No team name no players signed. No website . Absolutely zero information . The people in the surrounding area who are the demographic who would form the support for the venture know absolutely nothing about the exciting new entertainment which will be coming to their doorstep in a matter of weeks. A completely ridiculous situation and only speedway. Could f:;k up an opportunity like it .even hardcore fans of speedway are completely in the dark about iit.

The whole presentation is a bit crap tbh

Very true - but given the rain I drove through to get here I'm very glad to see the track looking so good. Let"s hope it performs as good as it looks. If it is too grippy on the onside it can detract from the rscing

Could get beaten more than an egg and it wouldn't matter Form is temporary, Class is permanent

The conspiracy theorist in me says woffinden was never going to ride but to put a Ukrainian straight in to the line up was a too obvious bit of virtue signalling so do it by the back door

A mature decision I would suggest... Fair play to him.... Laguta as the WC surely... If the GP's want to have credibility...

That's the Manchester wild cards sorted at least, he'll get them both if he starts the season well I'd have thought

Does having Parnitskyi not count as “another nationality)?

Exactly this… the whole system re modelling.

When are going to mention Artum should be signed. is that the lead in Quote🤔😂

Probably 10 days since the announcement that Northampton is the 6th team . BUT still no further details about team or organisation structure, the season has officially started 😧

It would be good if there was a partnership within the sport with the necessary skills to handle the long term negotiations when planning, funding and building a multi million pound, purpose built speedway stadium. They would be gold dust currently and rightly cosseted by the sports hierarchy.

You can watch racing at the NSS for £9 if you are 12-17 & £15 if you are a student aged 18-22.

Not quite the same because what you're talking about is what happens on the pitch. But it's a relevant point because any sport has its own particular arrangements as to how it's organised, and there are reasons for that. Speedway enthusiasts should not be shameful about any self-esteem problems in that respect. Why should speedway replicate or align with other sports. It's different, it has to be, it does things the way it needs to. Shove that in yer pipes and smoke it, you ignorant and self-important football/rugby/whatever fans!!

Easy - you explain that the three leagues are separate entities, and that riders are not salaried employees, but are self employed and make agreements with teams from season to season, which can include (within a framework of limitations which apply to teams in the respective leagues) with teams in two of the three UK leagues, and indeed also make similar arrangements with teams in Polish, Swedish and Danish leagues. You'd add that a large proportion of riders, in doing this, seek to maximise earnings from Speedway during the months from March to October because, for whatever reasons, their income from November to February is restricted. You'd also mention that many riders employ mechanics, lease vans, and rent workshops, and these are not paid for by the clubs they ride for. You'd also mention that not all riders have the same set-up as regards income and employment, for example there's one who drives an HGV all year and who just rides in one UK league and not for a Polish/Swedish/Danish club. At that point I'd invite questions, respond to them, then say goodnight and leave before any question about Guest Riders was raised!!

I don't think one will happen this year with how late Northampton are to the party. No announcements as to who is riding for them, no team name, so probably don't even have team suits made yet (if they're even going to have any)

Thinking about poor Andrew, he reminds me of Man Utd, it’s all gone downhill since Fergie left 😂

Seemingly no ill effects from his double leg break. Good first meeting back.

The impression I get is that, at the club I've had conversations with at least, there just isn't anyone who has the capacity, contacts and experience to set that kind of thing up. I know that certain major cities have police initiatives focused on bike crime, not all of those have speedway but Manchester is one. I imagine that when it comes round to noise complaints or fending off developers, being the in council's good books would come in handy. As you say as much as anything that kind of project is about building good relations with the local community and local government, rather than directly attracting fans or even riders (although it might do those things too!). This is obviously massively important for speedway, because fundamentally, the thing that separates British and Polish speedway, and the thing that has secured Belle Vue ther stadium, is local government support. But I can imagine how these kind of long-term, diagonal strategies might seem like luxuries if you're flat-out fighting crisis on all fronts. One angle that has only just occurred to me, and could well be a good seller in the current educational contexts, is that I've got a little hunch that both in terms of spectators and participants, speedway might be a sport that favours neurodiverse people. The connection to ADHD is obvious: massively intense, massively sensory, short bursts of violent action; impossible to ignore; regular hits. I think there are connections to some points on the autism spectrum too. All the numbers, the averages, then the physics, the immersion again. As a spectator it's a very attention grabbing all-senses experience (apart from the food). I would imagine it's exactly the kind of job for someone who needs to be in-the-moment. Speaking as someone who has these conditions. So... this line of argument could be used in schools and universities to students. That is a growing proportion of students (up to around a quarter in some universities) who might respond very well to a welcoming community that invites them in, especially if they've got a mega-exciting entertainment at the centre of it. But again developing these kinds of projects and arguments requires a certain kind of mindset and experience which, if you haven't worked in those kinds of areas, you might not have. Which I imagine is the main reason they haven't happened. Certainly to actually get funding you need to be able to speak their language. From the perspective of speedway it would be about: how can we solve a problem for someone else? That's basically how you lever them into being willing to solve yours. Once you get started down that path there's all kinds of places you can take it though. Arts council? Performing rights society foundation?

Depends what levels you set the leagues and how many riders in a team I guess. doubling up is killing the sport in this country. We have to either limit it to uk residents first and then get rid or the whole system in say 5 years time. for the sport to grow it has to have credibility.

Instead of doubling up and down why not double the fixtures instead like we used to have. a meaningful league with promotion and relegation settled via play offs while the team who tops the league are crowned champions would mean every meeting meaningful.

In a word, no! 99% of the population would not know the name of or recognise any speedway rider if they stood at a bus stop. This is why I have previously said that if British speedway were brave enough organise an affordable sport structure without trying to retain certain riders as a top priority, the current so called stars will not be missed in a few years time. Being blunt, get rid of doubling up. If riders can’t afford to stay in the sport, go part time or quit. Targeted new followers of the sport (which are vital) will not give a damn, so long as racing is competitive and their own new hero’s will emerge. Common business strategy I would have thought.

He's a director of Swindon Motorsports Ltd, so the logic would be that he believes in the Studley Grange project. Of course, with Gaming International being the company with significant control of Swindon Motorsports Ltd, an alternative view is that if and when permission to demolish the Abbey Stadium were given there would suddenly be a reason why Studley Grange could not proceed

If it’s not on BSN it will be on BVTV.live.