Littleze

The main reason Speedway clubs fold is due to largely, poor stadia, compared to other sports or activities on offer, no promotion, a near total disregard for their fan base, an amateurish “show” confusing rules, no meaningful competitions, which this leads to very little credibility and therefore exposure in media and the failure to attract sponsorship or investment. The failure to tap in a young audience on social media platforms. AFTV (Arsenal Fan TV) have approx 1.5 million followers on their YouTube channel alone. It was started by 1 man (many since and before have shows/podcasts resulting in exposure, advertising, merchandise resulting from this & expanding revenue streams). AFTV don’t have anything to even sell… no game/no club/no museum/no access to players… the list goes on. Speedway bosses have a product they could market to the whole world, they could interview riders, ex riders.. referees.. supporters, do bike examinations, show behind the scenes, team manager interviews, merchandise, tickets… do podcasts, show old clips… ANYTHING… what do they do… next to idiot all! I used to attend Rye, from when my parents took me from 6months old.. we went to Mildenhall, P’boro, Lynn, Milton Keynes regularly. Rye was a great venue, with potential if there was investment for it to be a picturesque stadium and good night out. I’m not sure the track design/set up, like Wolves gave that good racing.. Yet, you’d have these old codgers as track staff, smoking as they came out, some fat bloke as start Marshall with his top barely over his belly, waving to his mates on parade, the contrast being the riders & their bikes pristine. It’s shabby.. scruffy, lazy and embarrassing.. it’s professional sport.. that should apply to staff too. Image and perception is just as important. The latest trend to keep the sagging tapes from hitting the track floor is the ORANGE TRAFFIC CONE!! Seriously.. it looks rubbish on TV.. well it just looks rubbish. Add in the weather factor and all the other issues people raise. Address the above and you may just get the footfall back. Many well known high street shops disappeared because they didn’t adapt to the modern day market place.. and Speedway could well be that equivalent. That’s my opinion anyway.

Don’t watch… simple, vote with your feet. People keep going is essentially saying carry on lads.

This should have been done ages ago, in all regions of the country.

The reduction of fans is the Sport’s/Promoters fault. For a sport/race that is over in a minute/15 of racing… they sure make it complicated. let’s be honest, you need to put a dirt track in a muddy field…. No one is looking to build a *Wembley.. I know access is needed & hoops to jump through… but still. If you can’t make a noisy, dirty, fast, dangerous, colourful Sport a relative success, then I’d say there is little hope. I mean Darts for gods sake!! Plus, until they sort the covering of tracks, who in their right mind will travel long or even short distances to attend when it is at the mercy of the weather and riders.

Obviously it’s not good to lose clubs, for a whole host of reasons, that being said, I see it as a positive. Clubs can now build their own tracks & stadia, purpose built, modern facilities etc.. if they can find land/get planning permission. Why they would want to do that for anything between 1k - 3k fans and clubs folding around them, plus doubts over others too is beyond me, but maybe then they would treat the paying public with more respect and present a more professional show and experience and address the many credibility issues. Then, maybe the sport could progress over time.. if not it’s like everything else, if the product is poor or there is little interest, it shuts, that’s life & business.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about credibility, that went over 20yrs ago

I was there unfortunately. I’m still waiting on Ole Olsens findings on racing on a different surface/material.

The man who over saw the Cardiff GP fiasco… no thanks. Get an outsider “in”.

Nailed it,the sport is contrived.. one of its biggest problems as to why it isn’t taken seriously.Even the SON is contrived... you still get big home wins,the racing isn’t any closer because of it & the crowds reflect it too,not solely for that reason...obviously.Presentation is amateurish,music outdated etc...

Another idea I've had (it's probably full of holes) Is to have say 6 super regional tracks (like Belle Blue) & all the clubs operate out of them. So for example... Glasgow caters for Northern teams.. Coventry (if they can get back in the Stadium & renovate it) for Midlands. Rye House for that region (these clubs own the Stadium) Eastbourne... For South Coast Get a track in Wales.... Kings Lynn too... Covers that area. Then you have 6 tracks of differing size,would reduce "home advantage" as clubs would share tracks..... I'm sure you guys can pull this idea apart.. But trying to think out of the box.

5 man or 6 man teams?

First time poster,long time fan. The decline,I've many points & observations.Firstly,they should start with image/1st impressions. That's cut grass,tapes that are tight & don't flap in the wind. There should be standard start Marshall attire at every track,all black Polo Shirt/Sweater/black Chinos or the like with Start Marshall printed on the back,he should be no older than 35 & slim/athletic looking. No parade on a tractor (tacky) with riders waving at clouds.Walk out,introduced,allowed a couple of laps (as Coventry did) No chairs on centre green with start girls texting (which I've seen) As regards promotion of the sport,I've more of a social media presence than many/most clubs. It should be mandatory to have/use.. SNAPCHAT/Instagram (with online merch shop)YouTube channel/Twitter & Facebook.. These are all free,give you global exposure to you & riders/sponsors etc & in an instance,these can also be monetised.You only have to look at Arsenal Fan TV who have 800k followers & no product to sell..they have betting companies/Vanarama sponsoring & adverts during their content.Often there regular contributors get on SKY/5LIVE/TalkSport. I recently asked a promoter via Facebook messenger (he said I could ask him a question(s) as to why the club had very little/good online presence (see above) HIS ANSWER... HE DIDN'T GIVE ONE OR REPLY... This was Rye House & prior to the season starting/close to season/p&p. So why should I or anyone else turn up. Oh & the bloody traffic cone they use to stop the tapes from blowing is another embarrassment,they use a prong type device in Poland which looks good & unobtrusive... They may seem like small things.. But they count...