oldace

Are you under the misguided opinion that anyone cares what you think. Your opinion is as valid as Tsunamis'. You are both more in the objects of ridicule category rather than someone to be taken seriously. I am pretty sure Shawn wont lose sleep that mr "5 league titles in a row" thinks he is an idiot, in fact he probably sees it as a compliment

So are everyone's Phil, mine included. People are allowed opinions that are contrary to yours without it being slating or moaning. Being doubtful that something will happen is a world away from hoping it doesn't despite what a few wallies on here will have you believe.

And your point?

Admission cost though is relative. For a tenner i expect a tenners worth of entertainment. For £100 i expect to be entertained to that value. For me, and clearly nowadays, thousands of others that vfm threshold was long since tipped into the negative. £20 isnt actually a fortune for a reasonable night out. I have paid a good few hundred for theatre tickets and the pre show meal and been more than happy with the vfm. I have been to speedway for £12 or £13 and felt cheated. What should be worrying the promoters though is that when someone with a love of the sport doesnt want to go what chance of attracting new fans

Well no but i had hoped you might take the hint

Anyway following on from that does anyone have a contribution that is not straight from the mouth of a complete halfwit. How you getting on convincing people of the aces 5 league titles in a row by the way

You don't get that in the real world do you, it is a peculiarity to speedway. You don't get a good plumber invited onto the board of the company he works for just because he is a damn good central heating installer, asked for his opinion on policy etc. Speedway riders are no more qualified to advise on the running of a club than anyone else yet you often get this kind of nonsense spouted.

On the site are already 2 hockey pitches. Outside of major events hockey isn't played for the spectators, it is more participation. The set up as it is is far more suited for the hockey fraternity than a pitch at least 30 yards from the prospective audience. Clearly the hockey pitch is included in the plans as a way of utilizing an otherwise wasted space and to, in some way, compensate for the loss of two fully functioning pitches already there. A new stadium for the Aces (and speedway) has the potential to be a catalyst for better fortune but on it's own, with the sport left to limp from one calamity to another, it won't stop the inevitable

To be honest your GP is more likely to happen than the recent one in Riga, sounds like you have put more thought into it as well.

Don Valley is actually a good case in point. As an athletic stadium it was one of the finest, thing is, outside of big championships, no one goes to watch athletics, its more about participation at club level than attracting huge crowds. Problem for Don Valley though was that it didn't lend itself to anything other than athletics, Sheffield Eagles played there to rather pitiful crowds in a totally sterile atmosphere, largely dictated by the layout. To make Don Valley usable it would have pretty much had to be demolished and rebuilt, the council electing to carry out only the former The European GP will go to whoever stumps up the cash to hold it. You could host it in your back garden if you are willing to give BSI a few hundred grand for the privilege

And at the heart of it is an oval shaped stadium designed for speedway. It will be pretty much useless to anything other than oval track sport so should the Aces vacate it, for whatever reason, it would need a massive injection of cash to make it into a usable venue for anything else.

Which is why i am amazed at the city council being involved with this. It is quite likely they will end up with a £6000,000 white elephant on their hands. Only the most optimistic can see a long term future for british speedway in its current guise and the current incumbents dont seem to have a clue how to turn things round

In reality though most of Speedways 85 year existence has been in decline and the good times owed more to luck than judgement. Its very early years were fairly successful, more to novelty value than anything else, by the early thirties crowds were beginning to fall although the invention of league racing generated interest again. Of course the war then intervened and post war was a boom time for speedway, largely due to an audience starved of live entertainment but by the very early fifties it was in serious decline, a decline that continued until the formation of the BL in 1965. This brought about a 14 or 15 year period of stability to the sport but by the early 80s the decline was back and has continued to this day. In all those 85 years speedway has only really been successful for about 25 of them (if that) Those, myself included, who view the 70s as the golden era are probably about right based on cold hard statistics

It might be as simple as he was the primary cause of the stoppage, hence an exclusion

Is Swindons new stadium nearly finished yet Phil, the have been building it for 7 months now.

I wonder if yo really believe any of that or if you are just too stupid to see what is written. I suspect the latter

Not really only in speedway. In most walks of life the little guy is the one to be made an example of. The higher up the food chain you get and the more you are worth to your paymasters the less likely you are to be harshly dealt with. Like i said right at the start, i expect darcy to be given a token punishment

Well I for one cant wait for next 01st April to find out

Classics, every one, did you get them from Manchester Paul Are you available for birthdays and christenings etc

You should save little stories like that. They would liven up a dull party every time.

Yes it is really, if speedway riders have to wear leathers and helmets why are dart players allowed (aloud) to wear fancy shirts. Its one law for dart players and one for speedway riders

Yes I remember. Did the law ever Nick anyone for that. I heard the culprit smashed their way into the stadium with a wooden Mallet but it could just be a rumour

I might try that one if I ever get my collar felt for being slightly over the limit while driving. "But Anthony Fleet did it in a darts match" is a perfect defense. That one is as good as immunity

They also said it would have unlimited track access, now its just a few 2 hour sessions per week

Dont know, 3 or 4 years. I was referring more to short stroke and light flywheels