marko

Purely guessing here but I suspect the issue is not one of can speedway use the stadium but simply when and at what price, if AJ is not in the Grand Prix next season it's makes wanting to retain a Friday race night even more attractive but then if Kent run on a Friday it muddies the water further, if it is a question of race night, we cannot expect any promotion to take one which they feel will cost them thousands in debt to run because once your bankrupted, stadium or no stadium it makes no difference. I recall Jon saying at the last home meeting if the wind does blow in the wrong direction or words to that effect they would run a special farewell meeting, whether that's 2015 or sometime in 2016 i don't know but I hope it does not come to that just yet but it's clear that whatever happens that venue in its present form is only temporary.

Birmingham was the classic example of buyer beware, go back a decade and you could say almost the same thing about Arena Essex, doing quite nicely in the second tier, big Ron gets the invite to take the club up with promises of help which never came, what followed was the worst few seasons the club has ever had in its history.

If Kent do go Elite then I think that will be that for Lakeside as the cross area catchment area cannot support two EL clubs especially racing on the same night, it's why Lakeside and Rye have never shared the same race night despite for much of their existsnce being in different divisions besides there is probably not enough riders around to support 9 EL teams? But I would not be surprised to see things turn full circle and see a repeat of 1996 where Hammers run solely as a NL team racing at least for one season.

Matt is very capable modern day promoter who has built up a business model that year on year is successful both on the track and i imagine off it, to be a great though would mean he standing among the likes of Johnnie Hoskins, i think with respect he has some way to go to match that and i am not implying anything to do with the way Poole are seen by other fans, the club are fortunate to be in a area where there is not an awful lot of things competing for peoples money though. But you cannot take away the fact there is probably quite a gap in total club value between Poole and next solvent club whoever that maybe.

Whilst true that will not go anyway near to making up for the fact the previous six months were about watching select teams in almost empty stadiums, well done to Pirates and Aces for an entertaining final but lets not kid ourselves, our sport is in a shocking state and no matter how good the play off finals were it won't bring back the thousands in lost revenue the majority of tracks have suffered during the season because fans stopped going.

Everyone knows the sky deal (which is the be all and end all) is dependent on at least 8 clubs in the EL, whether its by hook or by crook, there will be 8 clubs next year, regardless of whether Lakeside, Coventry or Swindon run or not, purely my opinion.

Not trying to be funny but we have all spent the last six months watching select team vs select team in a bid to see which clubs select team makes the top four, somehow i do not think it matters one bit if the play offs happen to contain the odd guest regardless of the reason after what has gone on before.

IMO the risk is unacceptable but it has become accepted, too many horror crashes too many injuries, enough is enough, something has to be done.

I know there was Poole fans there but the size of the crowd must give the promotion some positive vibes that there is a crowd base there if they can secure the venues short term future at least. As i have already said it had been some time since i have visited the track and despite some of the unfortunate and unavoidable delays i really enjoyed the evening. I never report to be a big fan of Jon Cook but his words last night were that of in my opinion an honest man, i really hope that speedway can continue at this venue for at least another season.

Actually when i really think about this, there is really only one important thing that is required! And that is for the BSPA to actually admit to themselves there is a big problem in the first place, no more burying heads in the sand thinking what a great product it is and only minor tweaks are needed, if the racing was out of this world people would still be going, the whole f'n show "as they say" needs looking at. I know a lot of us fans talk a lot of BS but use your eyes, people are not going anymore in numbers you require to stay solvent! Think carefully now! this could be your last chance to save the patient and indeed your business.

Let you into a little secret here, I have not actually attended a live meeting at Lakeside or indeed anywhere since May 2014 (this is down to multiple things but primarily the state the sport has sank too) however as this could well be the final time racing of any kind takes place at this venue i do intend to attend regardless of what team make ups are on the night. Once more for old time sake, shall we say.

Just to clarify my reference to costs in my previous post was not geared towards lowering gate charges, what i think needs to happen is to address the costs incurred by the riders, talk in the star this week that we need more training tracks and that is true but once a kid has got so far on a 150cc they will eventually need to buy there own bike etc and that costs a lot more money than most parents can afford. Your modern speedway bike costs too much to buy and too much to run, plus they are more unstable, its one area which has never been addressed, we have air fences but they are reactive to the problem, not proactive in solving the underlying cause which is the bikes. A large part of a promoters outgoings are in wages to riders and the wages are high because the riders need to earn more to offset the costs of the bikes and tuning. Bring those costs down and then your typical promoter will have more chance to make a profit which hopefully will then be put back into the club either via advertising or improving facilities. Makes British Leagues a more standardized form of racing, get the youth coming through and give them places in teams instead of going for some unknown foreign import, the PL is terrible for this, i have lost count of the number of riders in that division i have never heard of before they came here to ride.

Before they even think about heat formats or points limits they need to address the issue of costs, does not matter how good the sport looks if its does not pay then its only a matter of time before it goes away. My main concerns are: Bikes are too quick and too expensive Not enough riders around and what riders we have get injured all too frequently sometimes seriously, more must be done to enhance safety.

A loss at home to Poole in 3 weeks and the Hammers will have only won half of all their home meetings, that is even worse than the Hammers performance from 2006 when they finished bottom of 11 and Big Ron was in charge!

Sorry but the old "riders don't earn if they don't score" has been completely shot down once it was exposed that many of them are on contracts where they get a set amount of points money below a certain threshold, especially when guesting. It was why PK was sacked from Lakeside last season because he was seldom scoring the points they were actually paying him for as a minimum rate!

I always enjoy meetings where the track rewards riders who are prepared to attack it, it completely exposed the likes of KK and Batchelor for type of riders they are but i am not saying they are the only riders in the world like that, there are plenty outside of the grand prix series who are the same and wet themselves every time there is a little moisture in the track.

Batch showing his usual liking for heavy tracks, KK will be just as bad i am sure

Very surprised to read the comments in the speedway star this week which seems to paint a very dark cloud hanging over the future of speedway at Arena Essex, I knew plans were in the pipeline but all of a sudden it seems to have taken a more menacing angle, if the site is not going to have room for the speedway then the four wheeled motorsport must also be in jeopardy, though frankly from what I have heard down the years I would be amazed if the Woodrolf family were to sell up out of choice, I also know someone who frequents the car track quite a lot just to have a burn up and he has never said anything about that being in danger of ending, is this threat real or is it simply another speedway promoter crying wolf because large amounts of their fan base have walked because the state the sport is in?

Absolutely right Gambo but Coventry choose to go the honest approach and are now getting fined for it which frankly i find pathetic, would they have been fined if what you suggested had happened? would they have been fined if Chris and Joonas has gone out then both retired from the race before the first turn?

I tell you what would be really good is if another part of the stadium could be used and a slightly more rounded track installed with a smaller track inside which could be used for the Hagon Shocks academy.

I think Starke for Birks makes Hammers stronger and Watty for Nilsson is neither a loss or a gain, on paper Hammers look like a team that should be able to go to a small track and be competitive but the age old problem of being poor travelers seems to continually haunt us, at this point i have no idea on how many Aces will win by but they will certainly win and more than likely by more than 8, as a neutral best we can hope for is Hammers gate and the entertainment is provided by Zager and Co working their way through.

I blame Bryn, he's jinxed it by saying it's not going to rain Kim was foolish their sticking to the inside, if meeting keeps going, track will be a leveller.

Would not be a sky night without some rain, and looking at the radar its very much on its way

Why not just have a meeting format then of just 10 heats? costs in wages will be less, they can charge the fans less and the fans will not have to stand around for so long. The BSPA and Sky have engineered the whole situation and i for one do not feel sorry for them if they loose money over it. I do feel sorry for the fans though, but its a clear message to all though, if there is any doubt about rain, do not attend!

Only just got in from work so missed all this evenings entertainment, however knowing how the cricket was affected today i had a feeling something like this was on the cards, Sky have an awful lot to answer for, they have done absolutely nothing for the sport, in fact they have done more harm than good but equally i blame the promoters who let them get away with it and possibly even brought the whole scenario on themselves. If the sport can't even get the tracks right on the biggest stage of all, what chance is there for the minnows that the British Elite League.