raymondbudd

Regards the main point if attendances are on the decline (general consensus), then the sport is currently in serious trouble. General laws of economics mean that at some point the sport will no longer be viable to run. Its really a case of knowing where along the line the sport is, of which only time will tell. I'd suggest that most promoters know this and are getting as much out of BEL as they can whilst its still there (GoSpeed?). After all very few are realistically putting anything towards the long term viability. Although the success of the national league is something to note, I'd be very interested to see how much profit can be generated per annum at this level. Its not by accident that experienced promotions (Eastbourne/ Birmingham) operate at this level. I'd even go as far as to suggest that any crowd uplift at such clubs would be negligible should the move to EL happen. As such given the massive hike in operating costs, why would anybody do it. Of course I could be talking tosh. However whilst I'm fortunate and have had the opportunity in the past to seriously invest in clubs, I for one will continue to give it a very wide berth and live with the consequences should my judgement be incorrect!

I'd suspect (and it is a guess) that GoSpeed probably don't like the idea of it either. I recall that one of the stumbling blocks of the champions league meetings was that GoSpeed were the rights holders of SGB which Poole would be representative of. I agree with the above that if it was a BSPA promotion (along with GoSpeed), they would be going all out to tell us what a teriffic idea it was and that we should all attend. My personal view is that the SEC promoted events are an ideal opportunity for emerging British talent to gain valuable experience on foreign tracks.

SCB's point may not be so crazy, I'd expect that all of his results are expunged from the records. Not sure on the techical aspect of this and resultant points etc, however in principle its an FIM official statement and all derivitive bodies have to follow?

If they are being refused then in my book that's a good thing and I support the stance of immigration officials. Taking the quote above "elite sportsperson / internationally established at the highest level". With all due respect to the riders mentioned, I woukd not class them as fitting thus criteria. If they were either GP riders or even featured in SWC the previous year, I woukd say yes.

On the issue of noise, the planners are probably correct in using the Mildenhall case as a point of reference. Any decision taken has to be with the view that it can withstand a challenge at the next level up. In these cases its firstly the Planning Inspectorate and then the Appeal Court. In each circumstance taking into consideration local planning policy, previous Inspectorate cases and case law. On the issue of the All Parlimentary group, I do agree that there maybe an element of self congratulation involved. Because lets face it, Speedway really is a minority sport in the UK.

Decent enough post and some good points raised. I suspect that MPs have been in the background regarding the Belle Vue funding/planning. Not necessarily directly involved but possibly helping remove obstacles with city councils etc. I've had some involvement with my local MP who even took the particular issue directly to the cabinet minister. Neither of them could formally get involved, but it made the world of difference and things started mysteriously moving in the right direction.

The Friday John Cook story (resignation) does see, significantly at odds to this weeks Soeedway Star interview. One can only assume that the direction of the AGM is opposed to that of the views conveyed in the interview. On the issue of 3 years before being allowed to vote. This is yet another anomalie that doesn't exactly welcome new investment into the sport. I know of one or two extremely wealthy individuals (who I woukd count as close friends) that currently back PL and Championship football teams who regularly look at the whole speedway picture and basically give it a wide berth. On purely a personal note, I would never give any money/sponsorship to any individual associated with the governance of the sport.

If what Phil says is true (and I have no reason to doubt it), I find it incredible that's it's never challenged by a rider. Using the UK for example if a rider is loaned out by its "parent" club, a fee is paid by the receiving club ( I once saw £500 per average point quoted). This money could otherwise be paid to the rider. As far as the EU is concerned, it makes no difference if the loan is to Wolverhampton or Wroclaw it's the year 2014 and as such there are no trade barriers.

I've put this in the general section (rather than international) on the basis that its more about assets / loan moves than this one in particular. Looking at the news story on SGP Hampel is on his way out of Zielona Gora on a loan move to another Polish club. Which raises the question are there any clubs in the UK who would claim he is an asset of? If there is, then surely as an EU member state (Poland) this loan or transfer fee would go to the UK club? This was something which irked me the other week when Middlo claimed that all the riders in the Poole side during the Champions league meeting were club assets (of Poole). Whilst I am only guessing, I would suggest that there are also Polish sides of these riders who would also claim that they were assets (of the Polish side). So when is a rider a bonfide asset of a club (as per EU law)? and why on earth has nobody seriously looked at this?

I actuall enjoyed the downbeat nature of it, the storytelling of days gone past to a soundtrack with melonchony undertones.

Based on the timings of the last 2 articles in the Birmingham Mail, there's a fair chance that preliminary discussions have already been had. I'm not suggesting its a done deal in any sort, more that I sense we (the public) are being drip fed approved news. No conspiracy, just a feeling of news management from Pearson Media.

Disappointing, Yes. Unexpected, No. If it was such a sure investment, why was Tony Mole looking for third party input? Why was he not putting his own money into it? The same reason myself, colleagues and any other serious investor wouldn't go near the sport. For me, as a fan I want to see the sport on the up. However the reality is that (from a financial perspective) it's in terminal decline and is no longer viable at a domestic level.

Disagree with the above post, the same point had been raised by Ched Evans family on Twitter. Charlie has been a spokesperson on this topic for a long time, often on broadcast media. As a SUFC ambassador/fan it was important that she represented the victims point of view amongst the SUFC community. In general terms Charlie is clearly a hard working, good solid pro. Speedway may not necessarily be her speciality, but a job needed doing and it got done. I'd employ her in a heartbeat.

I think as Arthur Cross (who is far more knowledgable than me on this) has explained. Dog tracks recieve a subsidy on meetings from the betting industry. As such it extremely unlikely that a Cradley match at Monmore can generate anything like the income that can be gained from a greyhound meeting.

Surprised the forum doesn't have more discussion on this yet. This illustrates that unless an club has its own home. They will always be vulnerable, regardless of how successful they are.

Was about to come online with the same points as above. I rarely read the club columns, since tonally they are all the same every week. i understand that a balance has to be maintained and I don't expect any hatchet jobs, however they are all so bland. For example Nigel Pearson (I use this example because of his high profile) is never likely to say anything remotely critical of Wolverhampton, Tai Woffinden etc since they all use Pearson media as a service provider. In the wider context I do enjoy the news column and features, since these often offer something a little different. The red flag was always a good read and some of Paul Burbidge's pieces were excellent this year. I'm generally a fan of the star and Phil Rising's contribution to this forum is highly appreciated, but the often one sided tone of the publication is a real irk of mine.

I used to live in Melbourne and the Etihad (or Telstra dome in my day) is a magnificent stadium, Phil Rising is correct that Mekbourne does embrace sport. However it will be very interesting to see what sort of attendance they get. I once went to a Supercross event at Rod Laver Arena (featuring Chad Reed) and it wasn't exactly full, which did surprise me. Of course I imagine the BSI deal will be favourable and compared to F1 staging costs, this event will seem very cheap for the City. Offering another World Championship Motorsport at a fraction of the cost. I personally will be making the trip and the prospect of a week of Aussie springtime compared to dank English autumn is as welcome as the speedway itself.

I've just been involved in a planning appeal on a separate issue. Any decision will be based entirely on its merits taking into consideration planning policy, past appeals and case law. The appellant will state their case, with local council given the opportunity to respond. A period of time will follow at which point all parties will be given the file and asked for final comments. Interested parties will also be given a small window to provide their views/evidence. It is also fair to say that the planning inspectorate will not be swayed in any way by political pressure. In my situation a local MP was involved and to a certain extent a government cabinet minister. Since Kent Kings will realistically only get one shot at this (unless they lose and go through a very costly appeal court process). I'd suggest they get the best lawyer in they can and spend as long as they can producing the best case possible. Whatever happens this will take a long, long time to resolve.

Sadly for a number of reasons, no genuinely successful individual will invest in UK club speedway. Rick & Julie fall into this catagory and after all they have put into the club, how far did they get? i do not blame either the fans (speedway fans in general), nor the people of Peterborough in this case. It's more that the wider issues surrounding the sport mean that investment is a non starter.

Are there any official documents of the retained riders list, I've been through the SCB website and unable to find anything there. If anybody has anything it would be really helpful (raymond_budd@hotmail.com). Additionally if anybody has an old rider contract, this would be most welcome too. Thanks, Raymond

Slightly off topic but relevant nonetheless; Why is this new track opening? There are not enough riders as it is and we now have farcical scenarios like those witnessed recently. Nothing against the people of MK, but from a rider allocation perspective the BSPA this is a non starter.

I heard Mike Bennett for the first time earlier this year at KL (MK Testamonial). Clearly he is a very experienced an proficient announcer / broadcaster, and in most ways far better than most. However its fair to say that there was more than a whiff of Alan Partridge about it all..........................

Was gonna talk about the new presenter but that crash was as bad as you ever see in this sport.

I would love to see an SEC event in the UK too, I imagine it would be well attended given the strong line up. However given the BSPA stance on this competition, I doubt it would ever happen.

The SEC once again offers something completely different (and I mean that in a positive way). The track is rather unique and the racing it's producing is decent too. Also great to see such a large crowd compared to some GPs and SEC pairs events. I actually think the SEC offers a perfect accompaniment to the SGP and to be fair to the promoters, they are offering a good product/package.