mikebv

I am sure I read that they were doing some temp stands for this event, similar to what the NSS did a few years ago for the SWC... A crowd of 4000 or so would be similar to the NSS last year...

Just got in... Been out all night putting up "Welcome To Manchester Tai" banners across the A6 from Mcvities up to Kirky Lane... And done the same the other way from Piccadilly Station... They look great... Can't wait to see him ride for the Aces.. Edit : Bugger..... How do you spell KK's names?

Considering they seem to have crowds which are similar in size to the UK, Danish teams do seem to sign a lot of riders... Some of whom are very much "back up" riders who probably wont get too many meetings... Their major league sponsor has gone this year too...

Considering a 'squad system' (according to many), cannot happen in the UK due to cost... How do Denmark afford it? Some of the teams have several riders who quite possibly won't ride for them next season....

Miss a meeting for no good reason then a 28 day ban surely? Any injury or illness means you 'stand down' for 28 days also... (To help you get that so desperately needed recuperation obviously)... Wont happen though as we know,, given the top two from each team are involved and therefore 'vital' to all the teams.... However, as has been said, pay rates will be the make or break I would think... As from your home leg you will need to find enough money to pay 50 races combined from your top two riders in the five away legs... Or maybe the home team pays all costs of the other five in attendance..? If that was the case then you would think basic pay rates will be the order of the day.. 15 heats of racing from your top two in each team will need a few bob if you pay them their 'normal money'... Or who knows? Maybe a key sponsor has been found to fund the championship? Be a very good concept if done well... And it also means the Aces can enter a team..

Speedway in the UK is more "sports entertainment" than a bona fide sporting contest where who wins has relevance, kudos, publicity and financial reward.. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to embrace this and build on it by using the "core product" of the racing as its "centre piece" and then building an overall entertainment package around it... With hopefully, "something for everyone" being the box that gets ticked as this means a more likely repeat visit....

They do form part of a forum though and I must admit do make me laugh now and again... But, in fairness to them, not as much as I laugh at those who rise to their bait and get themselves all worked up about something so insignificant.... And seem to react EVERY time....

And why not when rules allow them to do so? Makes total sense to me in a competition that doesnt take on any meaning (if any at all) until the back end of the season... Is it top six or four who qualify for the play offs? Either way, you would expect Poole to be in the play offs and enter them with a team that could quite conceivably win the final...

Takes me back to my accounting days..... Limited Liabilities... Nice...

However in Div 2 you can pay Div 1 standard heat leaders a "bit less" than their Div 1 counterparts, (but still a decent amount), whilst (unlike the Div 1 teams), pay the bottom end of the team money commensurate with their lower capability and lower standing in the sport.. Having three top heat leaders in a side is a no brainer (especially in a league with so much difference from top to bottom riders), as they will usually ride a minimum 14 times out of the 30 times a team races, meaning almost 50 percent of the meeting is covered by a "good heat leader".. At times riding together to possibly gain heat advantages, and at times preventing the other team getting heat advantages.. Meaning for most meetings they are always in with a shout.. For Poole, dropping down made perfect sense.. They could still ride Wednesdays and also afford to put out a very competitive team.. Which they rely on to keep their fanbase who have sometimes "walked" a little in seasons gone by when the team has nothing to ride for, with the drop more noticeable at Poole due to the very good crowd levels they usually generate when doing well.. The only down side to having teams like Poole in Div 2 is that "the have nots" stay as exactly that given the lack of talent to go round, and the league becomes too strong to be the bridge between Div 3 and Div 1, undermining progression as well as undermining the "top leagues" standing as the aspirational standard bearing "flagship" which any top league in any sport should be... Maybe three leagues of six would be a better way forward with the top two sharing most of the heat leaders and the bottom six teams all being allowed to put together competitive teams using Div 2 second strings, reserves, and NDL up and coming talent? With any clubs wanting to run a "second team" running in a seperate Div 4 development league...

Painted themselves into a corner haven't they? So not sure they can reduce their offer... Often using six Div 1 heat leaders per match rather than a couple at most with a mixture of riders of 2nd Div standard including two to four riders of Div 3 Heat Leader standard wishing to progress.. Instead we now have "Premier Light"...

Twenty years ago I would have been one of them... However, as usual, we had a fractured, halfway house, survival or the fittest/protect the weakest, muddled operating model with zero clear direction of where the sport was going, nor vision of what it was going to be... Nowadays you would have to think that having as many tracks (who are left), geographically around the country is 100% vital to at least try and keep some recognition of the sport by reasonably sized conurbations..

Div 2 teams being too strong is the biggest single issue for the sport for me... Should have had a points limit for top three riders in each team to share the heat leaders around.. Even if the teams with the most money then pay over the odds to bring a new high assessed rider in it would still have freed up heat leaders that they couldnt accommodate.. Given the disparity between top and bottom in each team in Div 2, it makes sense for teams with cash to spend big on heat leaders, as the bottom end of the team wont be of a level to demand too much I would think, and would be very interchangeable as the season goes on.. Will they ever truly see that working together to keep your weakest link strong enough to compete is the only way forward?

The losses could be even more if you "win"... And end up closing a track down.... Adrian Smith clearly has the support of those who pay the bills, and also, (from his interviews in the past), seems to understand what the sport needs to move forward, so would also be a loss to the sport overall... A tough year ahead maybe for the Aces, but crowds are very loyal there considering they had so many years of abject rubbish at the old track... Who knows, a few "cheap nights" salary wise and they could even make a profit... The irony of British Speedway....

2nd Division teams seem to do "ok" with 700 or so... And in Oxford's case you would like to think that the early meetings in particular will be a huge % amount higher than 700 given they are relaunching.. Lots of local publicity too initially, so hopefully these early crowds will help pay for a successful season overall as the crowd levels settle down and stabilise to its true level.. And even (if it is "just 700"), it's more than would be watching the sport if they hadn't have come back... 20 home matches or so and that is 14000 more clicks at the turnstiles for the sport..

They have had plenty of this over the years haven't they?... Bless them...

Careful now.. We don't want innovative Ideas.....

£8 for me in Birmingham...

Rider's Van's? If so, more points money needed...

Maybe it is "both"? ie you only lose what you planned (thus could afford) to do, by running a tight ship?

And that was back in the days of No1 riders running 11 point averages and teams having 2 point reserves... A huge gap between top and bottom, and even though BP's counted then, the No1's generally didn't pick many up.. Now we have No1's running less than 7.5 point averages and 4.5 point reserves so much closer in standard, meaning even less need to replace your No1 with a guest.. Just use a better RR system, which gives riders more chance to earn money and keeps the team ethos... And, more importantly, keeps the sport credible...

As mentioned.. Cut the number of riders per team and you have surplus... Lose a heat leader from every team for example... Those who only ride over here get to double up so have priority for a place, and given they are just riding over here you can plan in fixtures easily... The rest who currently ride in three and four countries become the adhoc temporary replacements, no doubt happy to get back over here and earn a few quid to top up their other contracts.. Or run a fit for purpose RR system... Guests are just too easy to use. That is the real reason we have them... And of course it means you can bring in ringers at the same time...

I would suggest that this forum is very balanced and full of fans who have lived through the malaise of the sport in this country, with many offering up some, hopefully, constructive ideas, whilst recognising that years of poor leadership cannot be sorted quickly.. With many putting out Ideas to try and improve the obviously glaring issues that led many on here to stop attending, but who still follow the sport closely, (with that gap left by them in the stadiums not getting filled by anyone else to replace their admission money).. However, if the ideas are "Barry White" then really who gives a toss...? It's a forum. For debate... Frequented by a few people who follow a sport frequented by circa 0.03% of the population each week.. I am sure Promoters do "all they can" but sadly many of them have a skill set not aligned to the "entertainment industry" and that is definitely an industry that requires certain specialist skills to firstly attract, then maintain a customer base.. It is over 30 years since I did my marketing degree, but many premises still remain... Sell yourself uniquely to create lots of interest. Try to exceed expectations, but if you cannot do this, at least meet them. Build constant communication with your customers to build long term loyalty. And, listen to them when they give you feedback, both good and bad, (but especially the bad), as you can then improve your offer to them... Bottom line though, is if people aren't coming then even letting them in for nothing can be a huge plus for you if you plan well, and deliver a great night when they come.. The sport suffers massively from so much working in splendid isolation rather than collectively working together. A national marketing initiative would carry far more clout and cut through than each doing their own thing.. Sadly, Speedway seems to be a huge "secret" in the UK, and unless those in charge of it start to work collectively to drive the sport generically, rather than individually, it will probably remain that way.. A truly staggering amount of money (in a sport watched by so few), will get paid in 2022 to riders, riders who with the greatest of respect will put hardly one extra bum on a seat, yet nothing like this amount of money would be spent on advertising and 2022 marketing techniques... Balance that equation and it may help the long term future... However, as I say it's only a forum...

Maybe also down to having not much home advantage too? Most riders make their money by their home scores and the Aces seldom seem to "smash" teams at the NSS.. I would imagine also with the 'need for speed' being so prevalent there that engine maintenance costs could be higher than at some other tracks given the revs needed to compete.. It makes for cracking entertainment but we fans dont pay the (ridiculous) bills to race...

Never understood why clubs do the 'free programme' thing.. The Aces could knock £39 off the season ticket price. (Hell let's go mad and knock forty quid off), and the ST then becomes more worthwhile buying... And they still may sell 13 programmes.. Presume at cost price for them it isnt really three quid so they absorb it, whilst making if sound like a good offer.. But it isn't much of an offer to the many who dont ever buy a programme, so defeats the object.. Edit: Should have added "cant understand why they do ST's full stop anymore". The amount they sell cant make much difference to cash flow surely? All it does do though is negate opportunities to do some "special offers" throughout the season...