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We’ve got to find something to talk about as any premiership speedway is about as rare as kings lynn winning the title 😬

Update from Danyon Hume posted on social media. Just a quick update for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. Tomorrow I’m going down to have all of the metalwork removed from my back. This is a huge step forward in my recovery and brings me one step closer to getting back on the bike where I belong. It’s been a long, challenging road to recovery with plenty of ups and downs, but for the first time in a long while, there’s real light at the end of the tunnel. Once I’m through this next stage, my focus will be on working hard to rebuild my fitness, strength, and confidence so I can return fitter, stronger, and more determined than ever. I can’t thank everyone enough for the support, messages, and encouragement along the way. It has meant more than you know. The comeback starts now, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.

What a sh*tshow of a season.... No wonder the SGB Premiership Speedway League Thread has so many other topics to pad it out...

1 point each... move on

I was down in Poole last Wednesday on a lovely bright and breezy day when you postponed your solitary junior development event of the season 😉

"Nigel! Hello Nigel!!! What do you think?".... A London Stadium GP would easily deliver 50,000 fans I would think... Tens of thousands from defunct London clubs whose fans still fondly remember the sport.. Admittedly, most will be well over 80, but you live longer these days don't you?... Also, a London GP would transform the sport in the wider UK... Almost overnight, dozens of business people will invest millions into purchasing land and more millions in building tracks... Just like the way sport has grown so much since Cardiff came onto the scene, it will be a huge success... Cardiff, when Wembley was being rebuilt, was the highest focused stadium in the country, hence UK Speedway was able to piggy back off this media focus and grow like it has for the last two decades or so... I can see a Saturday GP at the London Stadium being a huge success for both the series and UK Speedway in particular... Buxton could even run a meeting the next day... Easily 5,000 there I would think given the nation will have suddenly realised the night before that Speedway is still going...

Wow, he is obsessed, we won the double the following year!

Surprised he’s still there tbh. If the rest of the team weren’t so good he’d be long gone.

Speedway is definitely dead... No effort to run meetings, no tv coverage, ive actually stopped looking at results regularly now.. only today checked if sheffield rode monday to find this meeting already off.. Sheffield only ridden 2 home league matches and next planned in 2 weeks , they last rode 25th May No wonder there is no interest

Trackrat sounds like he has escaped from a mental health ward f**k me!

Tanked out again. Can no one cope with water😅 An island surrounded by water as it would be and gold fish following speedway riders by not even giving it a go, no hope for sport in this country. I’m off to the Sahara desert for a bit of sand racing.

Do any of the Social Media outlets advertise car sharing?.... That might encourage more to go and it shares the costs... Four in a car with three passengers giving the driver £20 each may get a few more away fans there.. Sixty quid should pay for the fuel there and back and get the driver in the meeting for nothing...

Sorry to disappoint you but the gold fish racing championship has been called off, course waterlogged apparently🫤

OFF before we had even started the topic!!

Bloody Buster again.. That man has a lot to answer for Oh, it's not him...Err Oh well, he must have something to do with it.... Surely On a serious note. I don't think most clubs can afford a rain off once all the riders have travelled any more. Even worse if a meeting gets abandoned after a few heats. Travel, points money/ guarentee, track rent for most.

Wow, not like Leicester to postpone a meeting!!

Nope not at all, plenty of success since then

Cant be any poorer than last visit.Reid was the match winner on that occasion will miss his scoring for sure.

and of course Wembley wasn't a patch in High Beech was it! 😉

Just seen this on eBay if anyone’s interested? Can’t remember the score.

Whilst I agree with some of the comments highlighting the financial implications of screening these meetings and the fact that clearly Mayfield Sports can't afford, or don't want to spend the necessary sums to show them, there are in my opinion some anomalies in all of this, and indeed in the way the whole series has been promoted over the past few years. Firstly let's examine WBD, who proclaimed endlessly we were entering a "new era" of speedway. This crowd then gave control of the whole thing to a bunch of people who had very little, if any, knowledge of the sport. Incredibly they created a rolling package whereby considerably more than 100 people (honestly!) were transported around Europe for each SGP. The costs of this must have been enormous! Not only that, but they then tried to "Formula 1ise" the world championship by creating the most ridiculous system of running in front of empty stadiums for what was essentially practice, and made it even more ridiculous by then dishing out world championship points to the riders who got to the final 4 man race of the practice, again in front of empty stadiums. You couldn't make this utter nonsense up!! As if that wasn't enough they introduced drones and steadfastly refused to change this introduction when many fans complained bitterly that it interfered with their TV viewing. TV viewing that was proving to be costly and expensive. Their 10 year master plan quickly fell apart and they panicked and pressed the eject button to escape at the half way stage through their get-out clause. But before we leave them, let's not forget that they also made the whole series harder than ever to access, with difficult to find channels and live events hidden away in expensive pay per view places. It was an unknown-to-speedway fans company that out of the blue stepped in. Mayfield Sports. Most of us had no idea who they actually were. Now, we are only two SGPs in, so let's give them the benefit of the doubt as to what we are going to experience as we go forward. But the early signs as we have seen are slightly alarming. I was pleased to see the drones had gone. Firstly I imagined that was a decision based on customer feedback but now I suspect it's financially based and is a cost cutter. The fact that many SGP events are now 2 day events with meetings the day before suggests another attempt to close down the costs . Nothing actually wrong with that and actually it's sensible when you think about it. But, here's where it begins to unravel. This ditching of the screening of SoN2, SGP2 and SGP3 came out of nowhere and has, understandably, left lots of people unhappy. And it seems clear that Mayfield had no intention of telling folk beforehand. Until they were forced to. That's not good business sense. There's also been the reduction in prize money for the riders, which did come out pre season. So it seems we are now looking at a shoestring production, at least compared to previously. Richard Coleman claims he needs to get the SGP series itself right first, which is commendable, but let's put our hands on our hearts and ask ourselves seriously if you believe he will later extend things to what they were previously? And here's where I want to ask the question. Why didn't the FIM think about giving the whole series to Poland to promote? I'm pretty sure OneSport, organisers of the SEC series, have previously wanted to take it on, but were rejected. I have to ask the question, why? Poland leads everything in speedway. It's professional in every way at a level that no other country can match. Its weekly televised productions from Canal Sport and previously Eleven Sports are beautifully put together events that run to time, are superbly slick and professional and clearly there is a large pot of money to do things the way they should be done. Now, I completely understand that perhaps no Polish company came forward to promote, but I have to ask, were they actually asked? And if not, why not? To hell with FIM prejudices against the Poles, which clearly exist as Poland has long complained bitterly that they have to fork out more than other nations to stage SGP rounds. The FIM should, in my opinion, be begging OneSport or any other Polish TV company that will, to take this series by the scruff of the neck and promote it PROPERLY. Speedway is in a mess. Everyone knows that. Even Polish promoters and owners of clubs I've spoken with over the past couple of years are worried that their product is attracting less young people than previously. But, if we want to see our beloved sport, the sport where racing can be utterly spectacular and beautiful, be able to succeed, we have to market and promote it properly. And that includes promoting and televising the youngest and younger racers at world level too. If Mayfield Sports don't have the will, or the money to do that properly they should either change their business plan, or get out quick and be replaced by a company from Poland that can do it properly. It's the only way I see our world championship events remaining a serious TV proposition.

Another one off.. New date Sept 10th.

Not a great meeting, there was some passing but Edinburgh were very poor and uninterested in competing much, the track was not that bad considering the weather but only one side seemed to want to attack it.

9 heats were “FTG” according to the updates site.😂 You could argue more because three others included references of someone rounding or coming under someone else on B2 L1. The worst track in the country.

Bit of random guest booking that. Team riding a bit questionable by both teams tonight.

Didn’t realise it was Scotty Dog Mitchell on comms 😄

Not as much as you missing the great occasions you share with your bestie, The Shirtlifter

Ok now

Since I blocked you and your aliases - no not at all. No need to respond I won't see it, count the hairs on the palm of your hand instead.

Agreed... but 1 home Lions meeting in 2 months of late spring/early summer is far from ideal.

What a prick

That’s better than rare it’s non existent

It just shows the state the sport is in these days.... Almost zero margin for error... And is this a track owned by those who run Leicester?... If so, no rent to pay, yet still being cautious due to all the other costs involved... Does "Absence make the heart grow fonder?".... Meaning such long gaps between meetings result in good crowds due to missing the sport?... Or will it be more "out of sight, out of mind"?, and crowd numbers suffer?... Or, are we now solely down to the die hards only who turn up whenever, and accept whatever is put in front of them?.. If ever a sport needed a huge injection of cash, it is UK Speedway... Who from though? Given its inherent flaws and issues, is the several million dollar question...

Speedway was profitable back then. Nowadays we fly in a load of riders from abroad

It's normally much drier in Sept & Oct when the meetings will be run, silly trying to do that in late spring & summer..... In other news, recently watched the British Final from 84, run on a very wet Coventry with KC and his broken leg. So if we used to get meetings on in the wet before but don't bother now, what's the preference? For me, it's the former, with regular meetings on and postponements a rarity. I'm in the 1 point each and not re-run them camp to focus minds.

Well.... Plenty on here moan about missing regular Speedway (like in the Good Old Days)... So. Pretty soon they will have Monday, Thursday, Monday, Thursday, Monday, Thursday, Monday, Thursday, at home every week for a whole month...😁

It's cheaper to drive by yourself than take the bus. It's also barely advertised.

Although Cairns average is higher on the averages it is lower on the latest championship declarations. It will most likely change when the next declarations are issued.

Due to high cost of the bus trip, £40 per adult, most people go by car as it is cheaper, folk that don't drive miss out unless they can share cost with drivers. We used to get families on the coach but numbers have dwindled dramatically over last few years and costs increased. I always went on supporters bus but at approximately £80 per trip inclusive of food , entrance etc. I will be watching the stream this time round, too expensive when on a pension.

Just thought you might be interested in the DVD, sorry for being considerate.

Staging a Speedway Grand Prix at a temporary venue like Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium is a massive financial gamble, heavily driven by infrastructure logistics. Because Alexander Stadium is primarily a premier athletics venue (with a fixed 18,000 capacity around its running track), hosting a GP requires building a bespoke, temporary dirt track from scratch and renting additional seating if you want to scale up. While exact, line-by-line budgets are kept strictly confidential by promoters, looking at what it takes to build a temporary track and secure an FIM license gives a realistic cost breakdown. You are looking at a total layout of **between £1.5 million and £2.5 million** for a single Grand Prix weekend. The major costs break down into three distinct pillars: ### 1. The Track Build & Logistics (£400,000 – £600,000) Creating a raceable speedway track inside an athletics stadium requires meticulous engineering to protect the existing international-standard running track. * **Protection & Base Layer:** Thousands of wooden boards or heavy-duty plastic geotextile membranes must be laid down first to fully protect the underlying running surface from heavy machinery. * **The Dirt:** Promoters have to source, transport, and lay roughly 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes of specialised shale or granite mix. * **Safety Equipment:** You need to hire and install FIM-regulated air fences, starter gates, referee communication systems, and track-grading machinery (tractors and bowsers) for the weekend. * **The Tear-Down:** After the meeting, every single grain of shale has to be meticulously removed and the stadium pressure-washed back to pristine condition. ### 2. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Rights & Sanction Fees (£500,000 – £800,000) To host a round of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix, a local promoter or council must pay a substantial staging fee to the global rights holders, WBD Sports. * This fee secures the calendar slot, television production rights, and covers the base prize money fund for the 16 competing riders. ### 3. Stadium Hire, Staffing, and Temporary Infrastructure (£400,000 – £600,000) Alexander Stadium’s permanent capacity sits at 18,000. While that is solid, a flagship British GP usually aims for higher numbers. * **Temporary Seating:** If a promoter wants to temporarily scale up capacity (Alexander Stadium can technically be expanded up to 40,000 using temporary grandstands), the hire cost sits around £100 per temporary seat. Adding even 5,000 temporary seats can quickly add £500,000 to the bill. * **Staffing & Overheads:** Hundreds of turnstile operators, stewards, medical personnel, and specialized track staff are needed, alongside the cost of hiring the stadium itself from Birmingham City Council. > **The Financial Catch:** Unlike a permanent venue (like Cardiff's Principality Stadium, which can absorb immense costs due to its 70,000-seat potential), Alexander Stadium has a lower financial ceiling. A promoter would need to guarantee packed-out stands and high-tier ticket pricing just to cover the upfront costs of transforming an athletics track into a world-class shale circuit. 👆 ai

Unless you can grow the core base of the sport it is unlikely that you will ever have 80k plus attend a speedway meeting in the UK.. Those days have long gone. However, and it is a gamble, but you almost need to do a “Kerry Packer” and consider thinking outside the box and put on a high value/stakes individual series over and above the GP where the winner gets to take home a substantial amount and for example you have a three or four meeting challenge where the overall winner gets to take home Euro1m plus. The sport itself is high octane high risk and with a format that has a winner takes all it has to be worth a punt assuming you can get the sponsors but it will take a good sales pitch and the Poles are best placed to do this. If it can be sold to sponsors you have one round in Scandinavia, one in UK and one in Poland and it has to be the top riders based on averages not just pandering to smaller nations. The sport needs to invest in its profile and the current GP format generates little interest outside the current hard core following hence it plays in spectator terms, to a mediocre audience in the stadia which in the main leave a lot to be desired and it is never going to take itself to a higher level or reach the previously historic support that you saw at a Wembley final. It needs vision and marketing and unfortunately only the Polish authorities can sell the concept to a European/world wide audience. The UK cronies have no chance of being instrumental in selling the sport at the level needed

Are you an RNLI member or simply an inshore fisherman who makes a living catching crabs and towing inflatables to Dover.

Are you a converted boat person who has a vested interest in becoming a speedway supporter to gain asylum status. Sadly you are many years too late. Labour has moved on to those who they believe have human rights and no U k resident qualifies for that. Try Latvia or better still Rhodesia. Alternatively I hear Iran is a decent option. 😀

It’s been that long since I saw live speedway it’s gonna feel like start of a new season on Saturday night

At least there will be some decent start line girls 😄

I am an exiled fan with no club to support and haven’t been to a live meeting since Lakeside closed in 2018 but I have used BSN in the past and indeed this season, any funds the clubs get from the likes of me is bonus because I am never going to go to a meeting in person unless the Hammers come back at some point.

Lasse has certainly not impressed but the season is so short and disjointed it’s hard too keep interested.

2 nites of fast and furious racing, nearly worth the ticket price, £2 each way ont bus,from city centre , but £7 a pint 😲 if your going to have a fan zone, the short appearance of the riders won't keep fans standing around all day, and with very little else in the area to mingle and meet fellow fans, how about, having local singers/ bands on during the afternoon in a marquee with a beer stall 🤔

No, do not miss the long journey south , the expensive hotels..etc. I,m past the going out and having too many drinks now.