Ray Stadia

Not many could sustain a loss of 84k, without some kind of quid pro quoi! i.e. another business which is tied in with the same set up, that makes a profit and allows the loss to be offset against profits.

I think John Louis started late in speedway, after a switch from scrambles/moto X, but soon picked it up!

Looking at the Metro online today, they have a headline 'Speedway spectator, 57, killed by shrapnel after driver crashed into wall', but of course it's in America and relates to one of their car race meetings. Probably won't help our version of 'Speedway'!

I think the thing is, speedway teams have this person who runs the show, who is called 'the promoter'. The title sounds like he is the man/woman who holds the purse strings, is cash rich, is an expert in marketing and media marketing and an expert organiser. The reality, is the promoter is a speedway enthusiast, probably has a business to run, so has limited time, makes no money from the sport, probably loses money, but hey, he/she is an enthusiast. Perhaps the name promoter should be scrapped. The name promoter is normally given to someone who is organising a one off event, such as a pop/rock concert, who would likely be cash rich, as he/she will be running a promotion company. Team manager is probably a more accurate title.

Doesn't cost money to who? The fans, the riders or the promoters? To put on a decent presentation and to promote the sport properly will definitely cost money, a lot of money which isn't in the sport, maybe never was, probably not for many many years. For speedway (or for 4 riders going round an oval shale track to survive), in my opinion, it needs to go back to grass roots and build from the bottom. The sport needs more tracks and more homegrown riders. The sport needs to be far cheaper for everyone, the riders the fans and the promoters/organisers. It needs to be an amateur sport, similar to grass track. More tracks will probably mean 'tracks in a field', but does that matter? If a rider wants to ride, they will ride for free or even pay to ride, as grass track riders do. The sport needs to get back to everyone loving the sport, i.e. the riders, organisers and the fans. At the moment, everyone is gathered around the patients bed watching the patient slowly die and everyone feeling depressed. However, there are a minority who feel all is well and are ignoring the fact, the emperor is wearing no clothes!

There have been tracks over the years, who have operated during the week and successfully. What holds back many of us, from travelling outside our local areas, is the diabolical traffic congestion we have to contend with in this country. Of course, that also affects the riders and especially those who want to work and ride. It's a bit late now, as so many tracks have gone, but over the years, people have said the teams should be put in leagues based on where the track is located, i.e. Northern League, Eastern League etc, but for reasons best known to others, it never happened. For speedway to survive, there needs to be a complete overhaul, but 'limping on' seems to be the way it is presently.

I don't think so, that flies in the face of the very point I and others on here are suggesting!

The trouble is, you end up with positive discrimination and that doesn't help anyone. Everyone should want to be recognised for their own talents and efforts, not for the colour of their skin. sexual orientation or ethnicity. I think, in some areas and not only the media, positive discrimination does exist.

There are disadvantaged people throughout society, whatever their racial background is. The gay community, for goodness sake, has been fully recognised over the years, including marriage, what else can the community want? TV and radio is well and truly represented by the gay community, probably on a percentage basis over 'straights', over represented. It's as though, if you are white, straight, middle-class you are now society's 'nouveau freaks'!

Do youngsters really think that the present day are the 'good new days'? We have so many issues and problems running through society. We have so many movements telling us 'gas lighting us' what we should be doing, what we should be thinking, etc etc. Trying to force people to think a particular way won't get what these movements want, all it does is gets peoples backs up and pushes some people into joining far right movements. Society really isn't in a healthy state at the moment and sadly, it will get worse in my opinion. The 'PC brigade' has gone too far!

I suppose there could be a 'proud to be human' event. However, am I proud to be human? No I'm not!

So, from your comment above, are we to assume you are on this forum as an interloper and have no interest in speedway?

Speedway, in my opinion, has never been good at marketing itself. There have been some promoters who have had a go, but marketing requires money and time. Most speedway promoters have businesses to run and can't afford the time. As for the money for marketing purposes, speedway promoters don't have the spare cash. Even if they did have the cash and the time, would it put more 'bums on seats'? I think speedway needs to concentrate on cutting its costs, it needs to be more of an amateur sport than a professional sport, to allow promoters to at least break even.

We could have a minutes silence at the beginning of each speedway meeting, to respect all the defunct tracks. Also, maybe a remembrance day, for all the defunct tracks and wear some kind of badge or flower. Perhaps a badge resembling a can of Castrol R?

On this forum, we are constantly told the average speedway fan is upwards of age 50. Upwards of age 50, is likely to mean they are less tolerant to gay celebration events, so, in my opinion, I don't think it will go down very well with the average supporter. It's a generational thing. I'm 63 and I have no issue with LGBTQ+, but at the same time, I don't want my nose 'rubbed in it', which is what society seems to want to do, with many issues.

I notice there is a banger/stock car track, The Mendips Raceway, Somerset. Could the track ever be used for speedway? Sometimes a joint operation with bangers and speedway do not work, Skegness as an example.

I have not been or seen the Somerset track, but does anyone who knows the area and track, think there could be a chance in the future for another promoter to restart speedway there or will the land the track is on disappear for other uses, such as industrial units etc?

Yet another example which dispels the saying 'if only the promoter had owned the track, they would still be running'!

Perhaps they could remove the stanchions for speedway meetings?

Actually, I could have added Stuart Bamforth of Belle Vue. He owned Hyde Road, but 'sold out'.

You are missing the point of my post. A stadium owned by the promoter is no guarantee of continuance, was my point! It was in response to the suggestion that speedway suffers closure, due to most promoters being tenants of a stadium.

And as i recall, the GRA willing to sell the stadium! Last I heard, they were holding out for housing development.

Tim Stone (Newport) did a 'Leicester and Belle Vue', sadly died and the replacement promoters balls'd it up! It is not only the deep pockets that count , but the adeptness of the promoter! Of course, Cradley stadium was owned by the Pughs and I seem to recall a son was racing at the time, when they sold the stadium to Barratt's. Coventry was shafted by the owner. Being an owner of a speedway stadium guarantees nothing, when big money is on the table. I seem to recall John Davis didn't do Weymouth any favours!

I had to go to the Halifax area in 1985, on business and took the opportunity to see the stadium 'upfront and personal'. I thought it was a lovely stadium! When I heard the Hams were moving the Dukes from Halifax to Bradford (Odsal), I did question in my own mind the eventual wisdom.

I think Leeds did try running speedway many many years ago, unless it was another track calling itself 'Leeds'. Mind you, I think most of the thinking on here is the occasional use of the track, as regular use will be the stocks. It seems these days, the barriers against running speedway, go far beyond an existing shale track which is going begging.