Littleze

I think the Sport not looking good occurred a few centuries ago to be fair.

This is undoubtedly true, but then the *sport will never be taken that seriously, which is where we are now. Low attendances tell the governing body that by and large very few people are into Speedway, so seek meaningful change or call it a day.

I don’t disagree with what you say, but different times, different choices, expectations etc, plus they were one offs, not a gp series. I paid for travel, hotel and tickets + anything else.. the minimum I expected in 2023 is a track you can race on, they couldn’t even turn or tried to in some races.

Probably needs to happen though, adapt/grow or die. Choose a clear path and give it everything, if it doesn’t work, then there is clearly no real appetite for the Sport.

Please not local bands, or stuff of this ilk, it stinks of village fete stuff. I remember Colin Horton doing this will a local dance school, great for the girls, but it was embarrassing really, this isn’t going to entice people through the door. Newmarket Races during the summer nights, have the likes of Spandau Ballet and so forth after the racing…as a comparison. This isn’t a dig btw.

I went to Cardiff for the 2nd time, I believe it was 2yrs ago, when the track was an absolute disgrace, I can’t even recall who won it, I took a mate was a long time lapsed Speedway fan, it was embarrassing, crowd levels poor and I felt the day around the City centre was muted/lowkey. So when they have the infrastructure the basics (track) lets it down. The whole sport needs to grow from the basics, professional, credible, modern stadia, unaffected by weather as much as possible. The trouble is it needs money + more, and I don’t see where that comes from, the sport has had this before and it’s gone backwards. I don’t want to see some fat bloke over 40 with an ill fitting top, as the start matshall, or a bloody traffic cone stopping the tapes from sagging, or track staff smoking.. blah blah.. image, respectability, perception counts for a lot. I’ve said this before on various platforms - to a letter in the Speedway Star many years ago. AFTV was started by one guy essentially, with nothing to sell other than fan views, this channel has daily podcasts, interviews etc. if the powers that be can’t sell a product, their club, riders etc, to the world on various social media platforms in this day and age, the *cough “SPORT” has no chance, all it/we do is reminisce, was it much better years ago.. to some degree yes, but probably not as much as we think it was. It needs to be an out an competitive sport, or be a contrived entertainment (which is what has been for many a year) Anyway…

What is something in between though? The whole “sport” is contrived, hence why it isn’t taken seriously. No points limit, reduce rider numbers in a team, relegation/promotion, squads, no guests.. so much to unpick.

A million pound prize fund is hardly big news in any modern sport, so personally I’d disagree that you can sell more off the back of it. It wouldn’t suddenly make the sport credible, or more attractive imo. Until you sort out the basic rules, and infrastructure it doesn’t move forward. If the powers that be can’t sell a sport that suits modern audiences (concentration levels low) with powerful bikes, with no brakes, suggesting danger, a team sport too. A million pound bounty won’t disguise that stadiums are dire and crowd levels are poor. I’d have a squad of riders, no points limit (but I guess that’s not feasible for all sorts of reasons, unless you go to 5 person teams?) Could you run regular double meetings on one day, utilising the squad? Thus getting 30 heats and fixtures fulfilled (weather depending) but I suppose costs would scupper that too.

The grandstand was outdated, and pretty crap if we are being honest. Find somewhere else and make it a multi functional facility. I accept there is a lot of history etc there & this will irk many.. and the challenges are obviously big.

Can they not even spell benevolent..

A rally… effing hell… I hope Buster hasn’t approached a local school to come up with some *cough* rallying words for a sing a long. This has happy clappers written all over it. They should seek out some No To Oil protesters… that would get some attention, maybe splash Purple & White paint over some retailers window and glue their knackers to a programme board.

Tarnished? lol… I guess all the multi national sponsors will pull out, and the back page headlines will have a huge effect, I get your sentiment but please!!!

You’re not putting your life on the line, £1000 a week isn’t that much money, especially once taxed etc.. until anyone tells me what a generic Speedway riders contract looks like.. then it’s all conjecture, riders can also get dropped at a moments notice.. unlike most other jobs. I know what a footballer’s contract is largely consisted of, because it’s an open sport, helping it to appeal to a broader audience. A footballer could well be/and is on a basic salary over a period of time, appearance bonuses, win bonuses, image rights, cup/league bonuses, goal bonuses, loyalty bonuses, likely to get a bonus if represents their country (if they haven’t already) individual targets set by the club.. clauses to allow personal appearances on radio/tv etc.. and clauses inserted to do work in the local community and so forth….

I don’t blame you… it’s playing on diehards emotions basically.. and offering up, not a lot.