mikebv

Always amazed me that EL clubs in particular would spend collectively Circa £40k per week (two matches) paying 'Number One/GP riders who if they were there or not hardly impacted the attendance, yet 'p1ss all' to a marketing company to increase public awareness of it... The Sky money has been severely wasted....

If for nothing more than for the image of the sport, tracks picked for the live matches should be ordered to fill the stadium come what may, by any means necessary. Anyone watching at home should be given the impression its a successful, popular sport, something that (with people often being like sheep) they should maybe start attending.. Even tracks like Wolves should have huge adverts down the back straight blocking the emptiness, with the next meeting info slap bang in the middle.. Give away 3000 free tickets to local schools in the town/city (Mcds didnt become successful by targeting adults, they targeted their kids) and have the pit lane eye candy out into the stands interviewing crowds of face painted kids waving free merchandise with the clubs brand on, rather than spending time asking riders, who havent a clue what any score is other than their own, "do you think you can still win this?" Lots of marketing is successful due to smoke and mirrors and can cost very little... TV should be the sports showcase, a two hour advert beamed into peoples homes. One that someone watching may just be tempted to try, especially if their kids start mithering to go as it looks like the place to be.... Each live match should be a highly planned and detailed stand alone event. Executed to the final detail and used for further marketing potential to those who attend...

Empty stadia virtually every 'live' match couldnt help attract advertisers either as the image of the sport is 'one man and his dog' in attendance... Amongst the (many) things Speedway over the years could have replicated from the American Sports Franchise structure is the way if an NFL game is shown 'live' the hosting club must have a virtually full stadium to ensure the 'correct image' is portrayed to the wider watching public. Some teams literally grab people off the street with free ticket handouts if they are struggling to fill their stadium, as doing so means they avoid a fine for conduct which is deemed to be detrimental to the sports image... Speedways image is exactly what it is, old, tired and outdated in its thinking, which accurately mirrors the ideas of far too many involved... Year on year, narrow minded vested interest outcomes have been delivered to situations, rather than decisions being made for the collective good and the sports growth. This has delivered a truly 'basket case' of a sport.... Try selling it to a major multiple, I wish you luck....

Anyone contacted Stannah Stairlifts, stand up bath makers, steradent and incontinence pad manufacturers to see if they would be interested in advertising during Speedway? Tartan Blanket and Tartan Flask makers must also be worth a punt? Thanks for the update, Speedways customer base demographic certainly makes it a hard sell I would imagine.? Yet another obvious situation ignored and allowed to happen over the years by those in charge....

Amongst all the doom and gloom, maybe some good can come out of all the pre season problems.. Namely that, for once, supply of riders will exceed demand meaning pressure on riders to perform or they will be replaced. Pressure also on them to turn up rather than prioritise elsewhere and (whisper it) could we even see 'guests' that don't belong to teams in the same league?.. Don't get me wrong, its still not right, but maybe a move forward..?

But why would cash strapped teams pay a loan fee for a British rider when they have a foreign asset riding for them already? The sport is simply reaping what it has sowed for the past 20 years.. Well meaning out of their depth amateurs trying to run something that needed professional, independent leadership.... Circa £20 million handed to the sport on a plate by Sky and we have what we have today.....? The word incompetence doesnt even come close to doing it justice..

Bees fans... Ever feel like you've been had?

Be interesting to see how they make it work to underpin a successful season.. Too often these 'freebies' don't deliver the cut through all season long as not enough is done on the night to entice 'newbies', those who 'used to go' and 'non regulars' back.. As often has been mentioned on here, phone numbers, names, addresses, emails etc need to be taken to keep communication with the (hopefully) thousands who will attend... Might also be worth selling 'next match' tickets on the night too at a tenner a time? Getting people to repeat their visit and get into the 'Speedway habit'..? If that works, then do the same every week going forward. Buy in front for a tenner or usual admission if you pay on the night... The only downside to a 'freebie' is often that those who attend fail to see the full price admission the next week as 'reasonable' for what they have just watched so attend no more... Surely it's better for finances to get someone attending two or three times for a tenner a night rather than never attend at all at circa £17? Hope it proves a great success for Sheffield. Great credit to the promotion for trying something to boost attendances...

And when a rider eventually decides "enough is enough" and withholds his services, he is then slapped with a 28 day ban... Do then his fellow riders stand four-square alongside their fellow wronged colleague? No, they fill their boots by taking guest bookings to ride instead of him or his team mates earn extra cash by taking extra rider replacement rides due to his absence... Sometimes its not just promoters who reap what they sow....

Agreed, Well done to Cov for doing it.. One further add on could be do a 'four for £50'? The 'eight for' offer would I am sure appeal to loyal Cov fans who see the value in the deal... The 'four for' deal though might sway some 'casual fans/gone away fans' to dip their toe in the 'Speedway waters' and give the sport a go again for what is, in reality, a bargain price.. (It may also get some Leicester fans shelling out an extra £50 for four more top league meetings, especially if one is Cov v Leicester)! I've said before on other threads, these 'deals' should be used by more clubs. If not for anything else it brings cash flow in to the business 'up front', which in a sport where you can have one home meeting then a run of away matches I would suggest is vital.. More meetings in the deal, the better the discount.. I have always thought 'Buy one get a second ticket for the same meeting at half price' is also a mechanic that Speedway could benefit from as it drives tangible footfall into the Stadium... Bigger crowds, more programme sales, more merchandise opportunities, more concession sales, more personal data can get collated, and, as we all know, the bigger the crowd the better the atmosphere, the better the atmosphere the more likely people will be to repeat the experience.. As 'bring a friend' is just about the only marketing tool the BSPA seem to have then make it worthwhile...

Obvious I know but get the kid's there and their parents or guardians have to take them! Family areas would be a start where all the kids can be together, forging friendship's and meaning they can't wait to go the week after.. Allocate someone to 'fuss over them' (little cherubs), provide free merchandise, photos with riders,etc etc and who knows maybe they will want to go every week! And the huge opportunity for the sport is 99.99% of the local conurbation are not attending. You don't actually need to attract the same people every week just as long as you attract the right number to hit your budget.. Then if that works, don't blow it by charging kids when they get to their teenage years as that is when 'other interests' can take over and they are also by that stage getting into and understanding (good luck with that) some of the sports many rules and regs.. Wouldn't be a fortune surely to have a PS4 in a club house, free WiFi etc for the teenagers to use? Build a bloody skate park if you can! Got to be more 'cool' today to attract the 'dudes' and 'bros' of this world Innit...

I have always thought promoters miss an opportunity to run the first meeting as a 'freebie'... Budgeting your season with one less meetings income surely wouldn't make or break the season? And regardless, you could still, as you describe make a good few quid through donations.. You could even run a few 'free entry all season' tickets in a raffle... If you could get 3000-4000 in I am sure you could get a good few grand through this... The first meeting of a new season gives you months of marketing time in the lead up to truly make the event known to the local populace.. Capture email addresses, mobile numbers etc on the night and you have a large database to target further marketing and offers.. Maybe, also dispense with season tickets (which restrict adhoc offers) and flog 'multi meeting' tickets to those in attendance on the night, eg two for £25, three for £35 etc etc. Bringing upfront cash flow in to offset any gaps between home fixtures... As we know, a big crowd brings atmosphere, Speedway needs to market itself as a 'big crowd sport' to bring self perpetuating success. So anyway it can deliver that big crowd should be explored..

Tac subs may have been around for donkeys years... Guests may have been around for donkeys years too... However in this modern IT age with 24/7 instantaneous media outlets both would look ludicrous to any right minded 'generic sports fan'. And that is the type of person Speedway needs to attend.. A good few sports have 'bonus points', eg Rugby and Cricket. But that is for achieving things, they dont get the opportunity to improve their position artificially just because they are doing badly during a competition.... Years ago you turned up at the track and found out that your favourite rider wasnt there and was replaced by a guest, or you sometimes turned up to find one of the teams with more guests than regulars... Bottom line was, you were in, you had paid, so just got on with it, even though you were peed off.. Nowadays we know 24 hours before a meeting who isnt there, how many guests are in attendance and right up until meeting time we are informed via social media (officially or unofficially) of any further changes.. Meaning, (for me at least, and maybe a good few others?), that I will give any such 'Mickey Mouse', 'Select Team' meetings a miss... Nonsense rules are obviously not the sole reason for Speedways decline But they certainly dont help reverse the trend...

Depends what yer missus looks like...😀 Interesting then that all those people managed to get there from 'various parts' that particular night... Maybe the 'nightmare' that is the Dartford Tunnel wasn't an issue for that one 'free' evening...? The only evening in the past lord knows how many years...😘

Didn't Lakeside get 7000 in to the stadium one night when they did a 'freebie'? How many of those paid full price the meeting after? I suggest admission price does make a big difference when deciding what to spend your 'leisure time disposable income' on... And charging circa £40 (or more), for a family of four (without the obligatory food and drink) is asking a lot if you expect many to take you up on that deal...

Allied to the 'equal problem' of having to watch riders representing 'your club' who belong to other teams, meaning you just don't have that 'emotional' connection as often the team on show simply isn't 'your team'... If the sport had that then (maybe) they could get away with the current admission level as your loyalty would mean you 'have to go' most weeks... (Many football teams get away with this)... Now I can easily miss several meetings when 'select teams' are on show and not feel I have missed anything at all, such is the contrived nature of the event.. I would though still watch a 'select match' if it was on Sky and take it for what it was, ie 15 speedway races to be hopefully enjoyed, however I would be also glad that I didn't pay any money to attend it in person..

Correct, 1800 seats would be ample I would suggest, and no need for 'back straight bogs' as everyones 'needs' will be met by the grandstand facilities.. Whether 1800 people max is enough to pay the bills is however another matter... As is how many wouldn't go if you had to sit down rather than stand..?

Or they both ride for Newcastle in their home leg and then ride for Kings Lynn in their home leg?

Think Speedway needs to make its sport (in GB) 'fit for purpose' then go after some mainstream media coverage.. Chicken and egg really.. Mainstream media would bring high profile sponsors... High profile sponsors would bring mainstream media... Currently, guests/more guests/even more guests/double uppers/downers/turn it all arounders etc etc would do more harm than good if played out to 'non fans' in the mainstream media... Would not attract anyone extra to the sport when it looks so 'Mickey Mouse', in fact it would be ridiculed by most casual observers I would suggest... Let's hope over the next couple of years it can get its operating model in line with 'proper sports' and then start to be taken seriously by 'proper media outlets'... We might then see some much needed fan base growth?

Exactly why Speedway needs a CEO to run "British Speedway PLC".... All marketing, merchandising, advertising etc etc under the umbrella of one organisation.. Maybe the guys involved now with the NSS who seem to have quite a 'business pedigree' can influence such changes one day?... It will be interesting to hear their views after a few months of dealing with many of the current Promoters given the level of leadership they will have been used to discussing things with in the past..

I still think bespoke specially made 'half n half' Kevlars are the answer.. One half of which Craig would have in Aces colours, the other half in the Comets insignia.* It would simplify the situation and add great credibility to the competition as his points scored would be added equally to both teams' scores, therefore neither would gain an advantage by having him ride for them..** * (Obviously I mean in half down the middle rather than the front and back being different, as that may appear to be seen as somewhat ridiculous and lose the contest its much needed kudos) ** (I do realise if he was riding for double points for one of the teams it would be a problem, however if that situation occurs something could just be made up by the ref, or someone else at random, on the night to sort it)...

Incredible if true....! THE flagship event of the British Speedway Season and it is suggested that some tracks didn't actively promote it at their own venues...? Wow... No wonder the sport is 'Donald Ducked' in this Country when personal individual feelings are allowed to take precedent over the greater good... No Independant CEO so what do you expect though?

Spot on.... And it naturally brings with it the need for so many guest riders to replace those missing because they are 'elsewhere'... Guest riders which then give the meeting (and therefore the competition as a whole) zero credibility..... Tough to generate a crowd to attend a 'Team Sport' when the fans have little 'emotional loyalty' (and often no connection) to those representing them on track, in a competition which is ultimately meaningless due to being so contrived week in week out...

Some very good points... However... You forgot to include the often reported view of many Promoters over the years of "if you don't turn up, it's YOUR fault when I close it down"... Always the victims of circumstances, never their fault....

The track must have been unsafe as it took about a month of digging it up and re-laying it to get it to standard.. Ultimately that would have needed to be done, even if the meeting had gone ahead, as there was obviously a major long term inherent problem.. I was as p1ssed off like lots of others at the time, but I got my money back, the track is now superb and we didnt find out the track wasnt 'fit for purpose' by riders getting injured on it (or worse)... Hopefully DG and Mort will get recompense for the costs incurred of the work not being up to the required level and the subsequent impact to their business... It would be a bit 'silly' to blame ***** (whoever he is), as he didnt stop the others competing and subsequently given the weeks of repair work done, he has been proved correct...