TotallyHonestJohn

Not sure in the day and to be fair I can't think what they look like now or there make up and size... However if they have structural steel work in them the cost for this has gone through the roof over the last 2 to 3 years not only for the materials but the installation costs for labour (steel erectors!!! Scaffolders on steroids)... also concrete prices have started to turn silly as well... That's the thing you have to think basic and permanent structures cost and the difference between a 15K structure (which I would say you pal probably has right as are these not Breeze Block and wiggly tin) and a 360 digger forming a grass bank is about 13.5k cheaper which could be spent on something else... but no business person in their right mind would invest 150k into something losing money... As an educated guess Rob will be out of Brough by the end of the year and the landlords wont be too keen to re-let the site and as stated who will pump 150k into a new site on a venture that is losing money... think we just need to enjoy our last three meetings and hope people turn out... Honestly it's pie in the sky if anyone thinks that there is a long list of suitors queing up to buy this franchise... The parrot is deceased it's a dead parrot... Regards THJ

Dankeschön Or as we say here in the North East "Donkeysh!te Mate" Regards THJ

Honestly Not sure what your background is but I am guessing you don't have much site experience If a pits area is constructed the same as Redcar it would be less than £10k in breeze block with a wriggly tin roof and for £30k Werneck Cabins could sell you a small village worth of refurbished cabins including Office; Food; Ablutions and Welfare; and a 200KVA generator to run said small village £10k for that and the red diesel to run a meeting less than 50Lts @ .50p per litre so £25:00 for the juice and who says the Hire Of Portable Mobile Toilets is expensive? you can hire them for £22 quid a week or buy your own for £375 quid. As for running in mains it depends where you are bringing it in from as we have just had a 3 phase supply connected into a shop on the West Road in Newcastle and it was £3.5k however I know of a site in Workington where they have been quoted £60k to move a supply approximately 20 metres so if its less than the cost of a generator you would do it and forget the Genny, then water and foul services can run from £1.8K to £30K depending on the length of the run and if you are on a brown field site you are standing on a massive soak-away so drainage shouldn't be a consideration. Site and track lighting could be installed for under £10k and mounted on bent scaffolding poles set in Postcrete. Everything is doable on a budget. Duns has cost between £60 and £70k to date so as unlikely as you think £150k seems; rest assured; it could be done and how Professional do you want an oval dirt track to be as I never said it would be the next NSS it would be very basic however as stated it would be a starting point and it would be functional. Also I have no doubt like at Duns and Northside and when Derwent Park was finished off in the late 40's early 50's there would be an awful lot of support from various sources and volunteers would supplement on the less technical tasks. Plus food wagons can be towed to site and even Guinness have a chilled trailer that serves beer!!! Finally you are right it is all moot to be fair but again we are talking about putting this in somewhere near civilisation not Langton Lees, in Duns on the outskirts of nowhere (as good as that little venue is and could be another Redcar) Where there is a will there is a way... if we had said in 1939 it was too hard and couldn't be done we would all be speaking German now!!!! Regards THJ

Wee eck had covered it on the previous page Terry... 250k in 2006 but to be fair I wouldn't call Redcar a basic set up... all the utilities on the site with a large permanent stand etc... Regards THJ

To be fair it doesn't matter where the money comes from you would.still only be allowed 3 promoters and one vote so what could the BSPL have to complain about... (cough cough) Regards THJ

I suppose there would be but these things don't happen overnight and take a awful lot of organising, drive and commitment by/from people and still require a sizable investmment from the end users. It aint easy... Regards THJ

Yep I know where you are coming from and I have noticed that the land at Seaton Burn is rapidly deminishing as it is being developed now as what looks like more industrial units and you need a minimum of 12 acres to set up something decent on land speedway wise... It's a knacker job for a site around here as the value of land is going only one way and one thing is for sure they ain't making any more of it... For all the points you have put they are the very reasons that councils won't support it... they make very sympathetic noises and nod their heads but they won't do anything... Rob and the club are between a rock and a very hard place unfortunately.... Regards THJ

@Wee Eck has given pretty accurate costs for a good set up of a Stadium but if things can be done on a budget and then added to overtime you can start out on a reasonable spend... but it's a moot point if your core business isn't sustainable... unless you have a very generous benefactor or company to underwrite the losses... I would be happy to discuss a fan run club along the lines of Edinburgh or what Worky had but again the cost can be quite onerous and at the end of the day you can only have three promoters max and how much say would the fans want... more money more say but then less can afford to contribute... you have some good ideas and valid points on the likes of sponsorship.... What would it take for Rob to stop... maybe 750 people through the turnstiles for the last three meetings... no begging bowl no looking for cash injections just numbers through the door... Or on your fan base run club... 40 people put a grand in at the stsrt of the season or 80 people 500 quid or 160 put 250 quid in or 320 put 125 quid in or the 400 fans who regularly go to Brough pay 30 quid a meeting for what is percived as a 10 quid sport or we all pay 15 quid to get in but we double the gate so 800 fans... They are all just daft numbers but for Rob to stay I think it's what it will take for him to at least give it another year... Regards THJ

I know what it's costing over in Cumbria to develope Northside and you are spot on 150k will get you nothing like the current Newcastle set up but it will get you a track laid two mobile temporary stands a scaffold stair case stand and maybe grassed banking to stand on round the bends. A basic breeze block pits and a shower block with changing rooms however it won't be a Stadium by any stretch of the imagination it will be a savagely basic "motor park" for want of a better phrase but again the stands come on wheels and are nothing like Redcars Stand... and again you are correct the add on's like an air fence tractors and whether you get a permanent electrical supply which will add 50k+ on the bill... so to keep the cost down you would have to use your own generator which will cost between 8 and 10k and you would need to go to someone like Wernick Group Ltd and buy some second hand cabins... I have set some large sites up for less than 30k for building projects so you will get a fair bit for 150k but it wont have the infrastructure of a Scunny or a Redcar that is for sure and as stated it would be "savagely basic" to start off with but from little acorns and all that... Regards THJ

Dont disagree to a certain extent but are we going to cow tow the the greedy few and allow the tail to wag the dog... who runs the sport the BSPL or the riders... Restrictive Trade disputes were an arguement that rose out of being in the European union and supported by the European Charter for equal rights and opportunities and the like and since Brexit it will be a brave person who brings a legal claim for this now... If a charter is laid out in support of a formal set of rules that are notarized and signed and backed up with good employment law practises you dont fall foul of this but as usual I have no doubt that the BSPL would write something down on the back of a fag packet call it a gentlemans agreement and then the usual suspect would pony all over it... I suppose any system can be manipulated you just need to be as cute as those trying to manipulate the system... there is always more than one way to skin a cat... so you introduce a restricted grading system and one might slip through the net for a season for a team but not three for sure... Regards THJ

Lot of huffing and puffing on behalf of the two main local authourities Newcastle and North Tyneside and the potential of something materialising at a site in Seaton Burn but Im not sure what come of it and it seems to have went cold... plus with all the song and dance that went on about moving from Brough I think the promotion become a little disallusioned IMHO about the idea of investing thousands of pounds in a new site when there was little support for the idea... however if someone does come in it is an option that must be explored further when all ARC will sanction are yearly leases on Brough. How do you build a business plan on that... Regards THJ

Honestly I did and there was no way of telling what was lying in wait for anyone who took it on... It was totally bad luck... because if Rob had of collapsed Newspeed from the off and just ran with the new company from the start he would have been protected from what happened and not lost anything... The books were a shambles and I knew what was going on as I had the same accountant as Newspeed but I thought there could have been possibilities in taking it on however when Rob came in I backed off... And with luck like that I will never win the lottery... Regards THJ

Multi Million Pound investment? Council set up the infrastructure level the land and stick a fence round it... Diamonds lay a track, hire or buy a second hand genny; hire or buy a second hand stand (similar to what the Falcon's started with at Kingston Park) set up a scaffold type stand (aka Redcar) stick an air fence round it build some pits and a changing room (similar to Scunny) and off you go generating funds daily and not just on a Sunday... training sessions to hire out amateur meetings to run... stock cars and a BMX track out back to encourage the kids... outlay for that around 150k... No different to Scunny who have a good set up and Rob Godfrey started off with a basic site and built on it over the years... that site didn't just land overnight with one massive outlay of Dosh its taken time to build.... and that's certainly not the Olympic Stadium is it... but it's fit for purpose and does the job... Regards THJ

This had me thinking so I put a call in and @Wee Eck was just about right and I am told the three year rule was actually dropped for the start of this season... So there ya go... something right for a change... but it's taken some time for the change to happen... well done the BSPL... although being an old cynic I can't help think that this was done for something else other than fairness... Regards THJ

It was discussed however it was never implemented as when Rob Grant had to fold Newspeed at Newcastle due to the VAT Fraud he inherited and started with a new company name he was told he has lost his voting rights for 3 years... so the rule still stands... Regards THJ

Below 7 above 2 in the second tier for team build only and if they go above 7 you've scored for that year... but at the outset the rider wouldn't be coming in on ridiculous wages or aspirations of huge guarentee's... Regards THJ

So no one moves up? do away with the "Top League" and everyone comes "Down" and the NDL is run with the "second/junior teams of clubs only who can afford them" which leaves Mildenhall out on a limb a bit but bear with me... if the Monday and Thursday rule is stuck to for TV revenue then the clubs who may have genuine reasons for not running on those days are Newcastle; Kent and possibly Birmingham and the perceived (other) "Hard Up" clubs like Berwick and Scunthorpe (maybe wide of the mark with these comments but again bear with me) and maybe bring back Eastie and the IOW or even Oxford till they find their feet which gives 8/9 clubs in a mid way Secondary League and state to these clubs they can not utilise a rider with a 7 point average or more in the newly formed British Primary League it will save on costs; no temptation to go and get a perceived "top league" star on a ridiculous rate and no caps on riders wags who feel they might be worth more than they actually are; the market will dictate what they are worth to clubs. If there are no brakes applied (pardon the analogy) then this run away wage chase will never stop. Promotions cant be trusted to stick to wage caps that's been proven more than once in the past so take the temptation away... likewise to strengthen the Primary League no one without an average of 6 or more in the Secondary League can move up (So 6 moving up divided by 1.5) can race in the Primary League which means the lowest average a rider you could have in the Primary League is 4 and for the Tertiary League (or NDL) no one can not move up to the Secondary League until they have achieved an average of 6 in the NDL (So 6 moving up divide by 2) giving a starting average of 2 for the Secondary League. Build to say 45 in the Primary League 35 in the Secondary League and 30 in the Tertiary (NDL) to again restrict teams with unreasonable or unfeasible team building ambitions and this will potentially give 11/12 teams for a Primary League 8/9 teams for a Secondary League and anyone who can afford to run a junior team in the NDL can do so... Last thing we need are more clubs closing down and there is still a need IMHO for a staging league in British Speedway as a pathway to the higher echelons of the sport... this Rising Star thing although full of good intentions is a waste of time and effort as putting young kids in without racing time and experience under their belts at a senior level is just a joke. There is an average system and a process to see these junior riders progress and everyone goes through it from Craig Cook Steve Worrall Richie Worrall and Rich Lawson to James Sarjeant Max Clegg Willie Lawson Ashley Morris and Simon Lambert ultimately they all find their level. Put the rule book in the bin and rule No 1 should be; there will always be a minimum number of rules to adhere too; if the rules run to a second page rule No 2 should be the BSPL will work to reducing the number of rules to one page. Do we not over complicate things at times? Regards THJ

Honestly Ian can't disagree but the BSPL are the problem... I am brewing for a blow out with a few home truths I'm just checking with my brief and other colleagues as to what I can and can't say because it's disgusting what's went on really... but more on this possibly later... It gives me another meeting to work on Rob and see what we can do because he is the only hope for the spot... unless I win the Euro lottery that is... Regards THJ

Well the parties over and we're calling it a day after 92 years... RIP Newcastle Diamonds... big thanks to the hard core of fans who have followed the Diamonds through thick and thin... Regards THJ

Err yep that would be me buddy the same day it was announced... believe he was seeing you on the night time after work... however I was more referring to the riders who were signed up three week ago and the approaches that were made prior to any anouncements Same happened at Worky when they wobbled in the 2018 campaign all the riders were got at by other clubs and the whole team had been divided up until Tony Jackson amongst others steadied the ship... Regards THJ

Ya not wrong but the vultures now picking over the bones had been circling for weeks... Regards THJ

They can do owt ya want... they even do a veggie option... special dietary requirement and cranky old farts like ya good self Geoff can be easily catered for xxx Regards THJ

Ya not wrong and I've been told the grub is spot on too... However if you're up there stuffing ya chops who is gonna do the track work? Come on now remember the motto Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die and scrape the shale to where it should be and keep the air fence as clean as it could.be... Regards THJ

Am I right in thinking both of those must be in someones 1 to 7or they wouldn't be allowed to guest? Does a top league 1 to 7 count? Regards THJ

Aye enjoy them they should be good meetings but who would you fancy as a guest at home? R/R for the last two away meetings so would you use R/R again for Plymouth and Brum the last two away meetings? Well that will be down to Rob Grant and after the last two years no one would blame him if he walked... problem is there is no one in the wings waiting to jump into the breach so that would be it if he walks... but what I will say is he has done all the hard work this year and would be mad not to give it one more year and it would be impossible for next year to be anything like the one he has just been through... just need the fans to vote with their feet and get along to Brough and cheer on their team... You may in the first one but just in case I will be waving from the royal box upstairs on the last one as we have decided rather than standing outside for the last meeting we are going to do the corporate hospitality package upstairs and try out the prawn sarnies... So keep an eye out from the centre green Ruff and I will raise a glass... to you and the other volunteers who without whose help and support there wouldn't be a meeting... Cheers Buddy Regards THJ