MattB

Plus Poland get pretty much free access to work on their tracks. Here we get one afternoon a week with a list of instructions supplied by the landlord of things you can't do while you are working.

I think one of the issues is that there is a percentage of supporters who aren't really bothered about the quality of the action as long as their team wins. Ive been to loads of meetings over 35 years where I've been bored by the complete lack of any entertainment, yet others around me are raving about what they've seen. Also, there seems to be a perception that close meetings automatically mean it's an exciting match, but that isn't always the case. One of the most exciting matches I've seen was Wolves beating Poole about 64 - 26 in our double winning season, yet the action was brilliant because Poole were jumping out of the start and our riders were rounding them up.

That was the great chance the promoters had to really change trajectory of speedway in the UK, just like 99 when Sky got involved. Instead, they decided to just pick up where they left off. Said before though. The sad reality for me is that most people in speedway are quite happy for it to be run in this amateurish and low key way

@R87 is the poster who said "good riddance" when Wolves closed lets not forget. There is still much work to do in the fight to keep Coventry running again. While Brandon is still there though (albeit decaying) never say never. I wish them well.

Would love to be with you in the trenches....

Have only been to Birmingham and Plymouth so far. Brum crowds are poor and have been for the last three seasons (think they were up a bit last year, but certainly not enough to break even), crowd at Plymouth last night was decent to be fair.

A lot of speedway people are sadly quite happy for it to be run in this amateurish and low key way as social gathering for their mates, hence anyone who comes into speedway with any form of vision finds that the small-minded existing promoters simply close ranks.

They gambled that Wolves closing would bolster their crowds. Some Wolves fans have gone there but you couldn't claim masses of them have.

I'd go further and say that if these landlords were allowed to open their betting stalls at speedway meetings then it would change their thoughts. Had Entain had this option, they'd likely have been sticking a contract under CVS's nose rather than an eviction. notice.

Property Development remains the great nemesis that speedway faces im afraid. OK there was huge issues over the viability of Birmingham, but you couldn't suggest Coventry was not viable (albeit supported by stock car racing) but that didn't stop Brandon Estates buying the site and kicking both of them out. Likewise at Wolves, where a viable operation was removed simply because the owner no longer wanted us there. Doesn't matter how many fans you get through the gates. A speedway club in the UK is only secure as their next lease date.

Double post

Been told by someone in the know that there is zero chance of speedway being included in the plans for the old Wheels Park site. Knighthead have no interest in any form of motor sport.

Coventry was better after it was reshaped in 98. Bradford was for big matches, though I was never that keen on it for league matches. Didn't help that every time Wolves went there it seemed to rain mind you.

You're always going to get this perception home advantage whether you stage it at Belle Vue, Ipswich or Scunthorpe. Andy Smith won three British Finals in a row in the 90s at Coventry when there was a far stronger pool of riders than there is today, and guess what - he was a Bees rider at the time! I think there is mileage in moving it from track to track - its a shared event after all - but if one of the riders races at that venue every week, immediately everyone will say he has an advantage. It's more pronounced at Belle Vue because one of our two GP regulars (at least the one who bothers to ride over here) is a Belle Vue rider.

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Great post. Added to other posters who practically start letting off fireworks when certain tracks close down.

Not just a Birmingham issue either. British promoters have previous for going down the "ignore it and it'll go away" route when it comes to Chinese whispers.

Sad to see. Even though Wolves were invariably beaten there before we even started, it produced some great racing. The epic runoff between Ryan Sullivan and Mikael Karlsson in 96 was an all time classic - probably the best race I've seen live

They're certainly not the first to do it. I've got loads of matches filmed by Mike Bennett at Wolves where how much of the action you saw depended on who happened to be operating the camera at the time. If it was his regular cameraman then you'd see it, but if he was away they used to borrow someone who would normally only film the greyhound racing and they would religiously follow the leader, with Bennett amusingly berating him during his added commentary, "we did try and explain to him not to follow the rider at the front!". If anything, it's the abysmal drone camera that annoys me. It works very well on replays, but there's no need to use it during the live broadcast.

If it was 20,000 then it's still way more than any British club has had for many a long year

Sorry, that's ludicrous. Harris' win in 2007 and Rickardsson's wall of death in 2005 are among the most iconic moments in GP history

The decision itself is not a huge surprise. I went to every Cardiff GP from 2001 to this year's, and 2024 did have the feel of a final visit. However, the way it's been handled stinks. If they had doubts about viability, then drop Cardiff when they set the calendar. To put it in, allow fans to arrange (expensive) accommodation etc, then move the goalposts three months later is a huge own goal.

1000% this. One of the most disgusting pieces of riding I've seen in 34 years.

I'll never forgive Zagar what he did to Buzz Burrows at Monmore in 2003