Lakeside Shrimper

Correct theory Andy....the key here is that you tend to attract the 'current day' spectator (i.e. Mum, Dad and 2.4 children etc...) with good quality, comfortable facilities, backed up by good quality entertainment. Whilst the stadium stock in the UK continues to crumble, with Promoters having no ability to change the situation, due to their ownership status, these types of spectator cannot be targeted....we have data here at work which even hints at that fact. I am a traditional football and speedway spectator, and I, like a number of those similar to myself, prefer the feel of an archaic stadium with the associated history, feel, smell and atmosphere, but out-of-town mixed-use bowls with no soul are the future...I am afraid that is just fact. IMHO, once you start improving the facilities to this point, you can better attract the next generation of fan, bulk up the attendance figures and filter the increased revenue to improve the facilities further, and expand the offer to different user groups. I do however feel that the sport could benefit from running on one or two fixed days per week only, reduced admission fees, and better promotion from the BSPA as a whole.

I've commented on this in various articles in Speedway Star and on my personal blog, but I remain convinced that the way for Speedway to survive, build, and once more thrive, is not necessarily to re-invent itself, but to look at what is fundamentally wrong and thus holding back Clubs all over the land...this always points back to the ownership of facilities, and the subsequent inability to control their own desitny. Through much more careful consideration of planning applications (a la Beaumont Leys, Leicester), new, much improved Speedway 'mixed-use' facilities can be built and possibly owned by their promotions, and only by doing this, can they make the necessary revenue to improve the way the Club performs on and off the track. I cannot underestimate the importance of Leicester formalising their planning permission at BL, as this will pave the way for other promotions to be brave enough to follow suit and make the move. Sherif

Hi Tony...thanks for the comments. In brief, I should state that 90% of football clubs do not run at a profit, and likewise, most stadiums these days are being funded principally by the Council under the guise of a mixed-use community venue. The Football Club then typically become tenants under a Council appointed 'Stadium Management Company' who then try to make a profit out of the anicilliary facilities such as conference suites, 5-a-side pitches etc... You are correct in saying that the Football Foundation offer Stadia Improvement Funds and grants, but they are only a very small part of the build cost. There is nothing stopping speedway promotions from obtaining funding from bodies such as Sport England, as long as the facility has a greater benefit on the community leisure provision. This is why Speedway promotions will not get away with merely building speedway-only tracks. Mixed-use is the way forward imho, and this is both how a business plan can be put forward to obtain the funding in the first instance, and also how a profit can be made over the life of the building.

Evening all, Thank you for the feedback. The points you make have been taken on board, but you must understand that the article mentions the GRA as a point of concern because of their recent involvement in high profile evictions such as Oxford and Wimbledon. I appreciate they are not responsible for the generally poor standard of facilities in UK Speedway and the even poorer crowds. With regard to funding new facilities, the parallel drawn with the FA is not the best, because the BSPA are not a wealthy governing body, and the article does not suggest this as the way forward. The only way to obtain funding imho, is, in brief, for Speedway promotions to approach the Local Authority, identify any outstanding needs accross the local community and propose the construction of a mixed-use facility which can incorporate speedway, but also attract the funding necessary from both private and public partners. I have to say, the feedback received from the profession thus far has been very positive, and I remain hopeful that we can help even one club to make this leap of faith and show the rest that it can be done. Sherif

Evening all, Just a quick note to let anybody who is interested know that I have had an article published in today's Star discussing the merits of new/improved facilities and how this could actually be a core problem with the current set-up of British Speedway. This is a topic which has been touched before on here, and one which I am keen to receive feedback on and if positively accepted amongst fans and professionals alike, develop further. If anybody happened to come across the article today, your thoughts/opinions would be very much appreciated. Best wishes Sherif

This is a great idea in theory...essentially an FA cup of Speedway. This sport could do worse than follow some of the sporting format adopted by football.

For what its worth I do not think this is as much of an issue as you may think. 90% of new football stadia are located on out of town sites, and some, like Coventry's Ricoh Arena are a fair distance from major forms of public transport. This does not stop people from visiting...far from it. Working in this field, I am aware that the so called 'new stadium effect' typically generates improvements in gates of 20% on average for the first couple of seasons, post construction. A massive factor in this is the improvements of facilities from the previous stadium. New facilities will encourage more women, children and new fans in general to attend a sports stadium. Draw a parallel with the condition of the vast majority of today's speedway venues and the drop in crowds appears to tie in with the fact that over time (particularly post Taylor Report), potential new support will vote with their feet if facilities are not upgraded accordingly. Speedway has the distinct advantage over football for instance that home and away fans are able to mingle freely and appreciate one another's riders with a hint of friendly banter thrown into the mix. It does not suffer from the still-existant problems that football has struggled to shake off...for this, we should be thankful, but it is clear to me, that until speedway teams (particularly at the top level) are in a position to own their own stadia, the improvements I have mentioned are far from a priority, and speedway will be unable to shake off its frankly insular image.

It should be noted aswell that if the speedway club in question owned their own facility, or the freeholder were keen on the idea, then creating a training track next to the existing facility could generate much needed supplementary income for said club.