Mylor

Apart from riders demands, what else makes running in the EL so expensive and prevents PL clubs from seeking entry?

Reading this thread the other half and I really fancy going. We's a bit late though................HELP!! Does anyone have any experience of booking late for Prague? I can sort the flight, hopefully, as I expect this to be the most difficult, but what would be the situation with hotels. We can't be fussy about the price at this late stage so could we get a room in a 3 or 4* hotel in the city? What about seating in the stadium. Again we can't be fussy but would booking via the GP website be the safest option? There appear to be lots of seats left so either someone's not updating the site or we have a chance. Are there likely to be tickets for sale on the night? I'm good at guessing so no guesses please, just genuine experiences.

Johnathon Green said, at Belle Vue last week, that he was getting the hang of 'this rain business'(?) or something very similar. Apparently it could rain all day. As long as it stopped a couple of hours before the meeting the track would be perfectly rideable. Under these circumstances, or if the covers were removed, how long would the trackstaff need to prepare the track? If the covers were removed while it was still raining and they needed 2 hours to prepare it, would the track still be rideable for the next 2 hours? Can someone tell me whether we still have access to Trackman's old posts? Seems a shame to lose his expertise.

Not at all Sandman! Excellent stuff.........You're just saying what many of us are thinking. Keep posting. I'm sure you're not gonna receive many negative replies.

Some good points in your post Sam. Couple of questions............. If we exclude GP riders then we'd have no Elite League. Would Sky be interested in sponsoring one of the 2 viable divisions? Would having the GP riders competing against each other 3 or 4(?) times a week, to keep their income at it's present level, devalue the GP's and make the other meetings rather , well.............same-ish? Methinks BSI and the broadcasters may not be quite so interested after a short while. I still can't think of anything better than not allowing them to ride for more than one European club and, perhaps restricting clubs to 1 GP rider. Spreading them thinly across 20 or so clubs should reduce running costs somewhat. It's not perfect but where else can the top riders go. They seem to have priced themselves out of the market so will probably have to suffer some of the pain.

Phil, Can I suggest a 'Sticky' in the same vain in each of the other forums to tell 'em we're here? Perhaps they haven't really noticed the section yet.

I entirely agree andyo. With top riders riding too many meetings and picking up more injuries, it seems the promoters are taking the easy option of using the PL as an unlimited source of very short term contract labour. Who can blame them? They don't have to negotiate terms & conditions nor even worry about whether they too get injured.........there's plenty more to choose from !! Of course this leaves the top PL guys also riding too many meetings, increasing the risk of injury. Perhaps more so as they're constantly trying to prove themselves.

Sorry about the extended quote guys. I thought about this a while ago but dismissed it on the grounds that the admission fee for, in this case 14 matches would be prohibitive. I'd expect, and probably so would the fans, an increase for the few ECC matches I proposed in my earlier posts. I think it's unlikely that promoters would use the TV and sponsorship money to subsidise admission fees. Strikes me though that we're not far off having a workable solution. It would be good to have the opinions of a few promoters though wouldn't it?

SCB, You may wish to read my posts under European Club Championship - http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forum/view...opic.php?t=3294 I've copied a couple of sections here - So how does it reduce costs? Because riders can only ride for one team in such a competition. They would reduce their travelling, machinery, workshop and support costs, but, when it takes off, the spinoffs should be enormous. The promoters don't have to spend enormous amounts hiring 2 or more GP riders to stay competitive and some PL teams may, in this new environment, like to take up the opportunity to ride in a higher league Hopefully the EL would be too big to be run on the present basis leaving some dates for the return of the prestigious individual meetings such as the Olymique, Brandonapolis and even the Internationale. After all, the GP riders will have some time on their hands, only riding for one club. Now would Channel 4 or 5 be interested in those?

We got 'em as kids. We put the time and effort into them. They're now damn good riders........we're keepin 'em. And as long as they want to stay with the club that trained them, why should they leave? Even if that team developed into a 60 point team. They could be excluded from any points limit calculation if the club wished and the remaining places filled with riders meeting the points limit in force at the time, say an average of 6.5? Can anyone see a problem with this in principle? Methinks this would give training tracks/clubs a real incentive to keep up their good work. Yes, they could still be loaned out to gain experience but remain a club asset if they wished.

Well, I think Rob & Trevor have the two extremes sorted!! Should we consider something in between? For 2004……….riders can only sign for one team reducing the costs of running in the EL. Steady now.........read the rest of this before you come to any conclusions!! A few PL teams may then become interested in moving to the EL and those thinking of leaving the EL may change their minds. This would give the EL supporters more variety, keep Sky interested and solve the immediate crisis. The top 4 or 5 would qualify for the European Club Championship (ECC) along with teams from the Polish, Swedish and other leagues. For 2005………..All teams would ride in their national leagues. Perhaps those qualifying for the ECC would become exempt from the BLC if it’s still running. The ECC teams, say 16 or 20, would go into a draw to produce 4 mini-leagues. They would compete home and away. The top 2 go forward to the 2 leg quarterfinals, 2 leg semis, then a final held possibly on a GP track within a few days of the GP (because the corporate & merchandise infrastructure, TV etc would already be there?). Qualifiers would get a full league program, including local derbies, of course, and a minimum of 6 or 8 ECC matches. TV (Sky and/or terrestrial, who may become interested at this level) would get a larger EL and 25 or 33 ECC matches. Promoters get more through the turnstiles and more TV money. Supporters get...............to breathe a sigh of relief at least but I get the feeling it will put smiles on quite a few faces. Hopefully the EL would be too big to be run on the present basis leaving some dates for the return of the prestigious individual meetings such as the Olymique, Brandonapolis and even the Internationale. After all, the GP riders will have some time on their hands, only riding for one club. Now would Channel 4 or 5 be interested in those? Time is running short………………… If you think this will work, you may wish to post this thread or a link to it on your club websites (Is that ok Phil?), get it printed in your match programs, stick it all round the track at your next home meeting. Sorry I can’t translate it into Polish, Danish or Swedish, (only French……………..LOL) but if any of you can……………

Thanks for moving this Phil. I forwarded this and the link to BSI a few days ago. I haven't had a reply but there again I didn't expect one but at least whoever read it knows the forum and similar threads exist. If anyone else feels the urge to remind them, here's their email address. mail@benfieldsports.com

No. It would be a financial disaster. If teams want to race in the EL then move their on their own accord. Look at the trouble happening in Sweden and Poland with their finances. This would develop British young riders, as when in trouble promoters would just look overseas. The EL, Swedish and Polish leagues could probably overcome their problems at a stroke if they agreed that riders could only ride for one European club. This would not only cut their costs but create more teamplaces for youngsters.

But Tony, don't you think that the greater the popularity of the sport at the highest levels, the greater the attendances lower down?

Rider costs certainly......along with the size of the present EL (same old faces twice a year etc) So what will encourage PL teams to move up? Exactly the same as other league sports........more profit. And how can top level speedway provide that? By cutting costs and increasing revenue, mainly, initially, from TV rights. Would Sky or others be more attracted by a larger EL........you bet. More matches, more coverage, more revenue for the clubs. Would more coverage increase gates and create a larger customer base to make new tracks viable?....you bet. But the icing on the cake is surely working towards a European Championship AND cutting costs at the same time. Riders can only ride for one European club.................EL costs cut at a stroke..............and eventually the rewards would be enormous. Even more coverage, more variety, more gate receipts, more merchandise sold, more press coverage, more tracks opening, more, more, more................ Now how can we get the ball rolling?

Thanks guys, for the replies. I understand that some of you may have done the topic to death in the past and also understand your reluctance to reply again but us relative newcomers could become a little disheartened when we get no replies. Phil, as we have a 'years gone by' section, would it be in order to ask for a 'years to come' section while the sport goes through this hairy but exciting period. It would make it easier for some of us to find the 'future' threads and perhaps reduce repetitive ones.........only a thought. I know this would be a more popular winter topic but feel we would have more influence over future decisions if we discussed it before the BSPA and others made them. I know a few influential people read the threads so reasoned discussions during the latter stages of the season would probably have more effect especially with BSI, SKY, C4 (excellent work guys) and others who will already be planning their activities for next year. Let's not tinker with with this. let's go for it. If you want a taste of what I'm on about, read my and others threads on European Club speedway. To the 'it wont make any difference' fraternity I can only say it's no good 'voting the day after the election'. Where did the crowds of 25,000 disappear to? Apparently the introduction of an entertainment tax in the early 50’s hit the sport hard. Many tracks closed. Then along came tele in a big way. I’m not sure why this seemed to affect speedway more than other sports but may go some way to explaining why we rarely see attendance figures quoted nowadays ;-)

Danny King ban - 97 replies Speedway, the future - 4 replies. I think we're floggin a dead horse on this forum wolfcrazy. I tried a couple of detailed posts, with solutions, on this subject and asked what people thought. - 0 replies. Conclusion? Members are more interested in trivia and negativity than the future of the sport :-( Anybody disagree?

I entirely agree with a lot of what's been said here. Can I suggest an alternative solution? See my reply on another thread.......... http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forum/view...t=2745&start=15

So........promoters want to improve their profit & loss account, Sky want a great product so they can sell more advertising and we all want to see more variety whether on Sky or at our local track. Now BSI also want a great product for much the same reasons as Sky. Assuming BSI are the only ones interested at present I can see no reason why they don't go to the FIM and buy the rights to a competition that doesn't even exist..............should cost them next to nothing. They could then approach Sky or (C4 or others) and the leading teams to thrash out a deal which would reduce costs to the promoters, provide broadcasters with another level of international speedway and give us the chance to see teams we hardly ever see at present. Will we/they ever have a better opportunity to launch a European Club Championship? So how does it reduce costs? Because riders can only ride for one team in such a competition. They would reduce their travelling, machinery, workshop and support costs, but, when it takes off, the spinoffs should be enormous. The promoters don't have to spend enormous amounts hiring 2 or more GP riders to stay competitive and some PL teams may, in this new environment, like to take up the opportunity to ride in a higher league. How many would it put on attendances if your team were riding against Bydgoszcz in a European Championship tie? The Polish Champions v the British Champions? How much would Sky pay to televise it? How much would the advertisers pay to have their logo's on the air fence? Is there a market for corporate hospitality? Ok, perhaps not a lot in the first year...........but the potential is enormous. We have to move forward. Please take a look at my sig, think about it, then, if you think it could, just possibly work, I suggest you write to BSI.

A1. The World Championsip is decided on race results. A2. A true champion should be able to score well from any gate. A3. The luck of the draw should even itself out over the nine rounds. Rickardsson's a great rider but, especially last year, his triumphs were somewhat devalued in the eyes of neutrals (and more importantly the missus :? ) by his domination of gate 1. He's still top of the tree under the new rules so that says something. Will my hearing return to normal before next year?? :roll: :roll: :roll:

Sorry peeps, just found RichieEarl's post from Friday. Answered 2/3rds of me post. Thanks guys. I'd just left for Cardiff as he posted it. 100 lines..... I must keep up. I must k........... ;-) ;-)

Stunning work Nicky!! Loved the mindgames on the startline in the final :twisted:

I know, I know........Gollob doesn't like temporary tracks. There again, had Bomber EVER ridden one before? Does anyone know how much notice he had and whether he was involved in Friday's practice? I was over the moon to see him in the starting lineup but still don't know how he got there. I can only presume the other reserves were still somewhere in europe so they called him in as a 'third wildcard'. Any other ideas? Well Done Steady!! :!: :!: :!:

..............but methinks, only when they were world champion. I believe this was abandoned in '65 when the BL started. It was '65 weren't it? Handicapping for the "Big Five" was abandoned in 1964 because by then there were only three of them, Briggs, Fundin and Knutsson and they refused to continue with the handicapping. Thanks Norbold. So how did the Big Five become the Big Five? If it was because of their standing in the WC how did they get reduced to three? Or was it because they were the only world champions still riding?