Workington 2025

[singy13]

6 hours ago, MattB said:

The only promoter I can recall ever publishing attendance figures was Tony Mole when he was at Long Eaton in tbe 1990s, but that didn't last long because the other promoters told him to stop doing it.

Ian Thomas used to tell the local media(Workington) that crowds were holding on at 1200 - and that "the honeymoon isn't over yet". Top promoter was Ian.

[A.N.Other]

I believe the home meeting against Berwick on Saturday is also now cancelled. 

[soupy]

38 minutes ago, A.N.Other said:

I believe the home meeting against Berwick on Saturday is also now cancelled. 

Thought that was the case any way at the start of it all.Next home is supposed to be Poole on the 12th.

[scaramanga]

On 6/29/2025 at 7:55 PM, TTT said:

Paying Tax should be optional and not mandatory. 

if they have not made any money they wont pay tax 

but books need to be kept and submitted 

[KK62]

11 hours ago, JamesHarris said:

Just a couple of questions as I'm trying to work out their business model. Apologies if this has already been answered. 

How much are the promotion paying per point and are the riders on guarantees? What are the going rates for expenses these days? What is the average attendance and what percentage of that attendance is under 16? Finally does th home promotion have to pay the away riders? 

 

Thank you 

Despite the comments made on here by others I am willing to give you an overview of the improbables of answering your questions from an ex promoters point of view.

In 2018 my heat leaders in my championship team were earning less a than a certain rival clubs number seven. I had two riders on a ‘minimum guarantee’, i.e. if they crashed in heat 1 and didnt ride again then they got a minimum wage. One of these was to satisfy a work visa criteria. Some got a bonus if they scored over a previously agreed points score. Heat leaders got more than second strings and they got more than reserves. Travel was paid to all at the going rate of certain pence per mile. 
Now all clubs pay different rates depending on their income which includes turnstyles takings and sponsorship. Some clubs did not pay their riders weekly, I did and I never not paid on the agreed pay day, some clubs paid when they had the cash to do so, some didnt pay for weeks.

The whole of speedways finances are a secret and a mess. No two clubs have the same income or outgoings because of stadium rents, riders wages, staff wages , maintenance costs etc and everything is dependant on regular home fixtures as you pay your own riders home and away so if you have one home fixture and two away, then you have three wage packets to pay but only one income fixture.

So the basic answer to your question is…..

depends on the club, the riders, the scores, the attendance, the sponsorship , the bills etc etc etc.

That is why Im an ex promoter !.

Edited June 30, 2025 by KK62

[YeOldPitGate]

18 minutes ago, KK62 said:

Despite the comments made on here by others I am willing to give you an overview of the improbables of answering your questions from an ex promoters point of view.

In 2018 my heat leaders in my championship team were earning less a than a certain rival clubs number seven. I had two riders on a ‘minimum guarantee’, i.e. if they crashed in heat 1 and didnt ride again then they got a minimum wage. One of these was to satisfy a work visa criteria. Some got a bonus if they scored over a previously agreed points score. Heat leaders got more than second strings and they got more than reserves. Travel was paid to all at the going rate of certain pence per mile. 
Now all clubs pay different rates depending on their income which includes turnstyles takings and sponsorship. Some clubs did not pay their riders weekly, I did and I never not paid on the agreed pay day, some clubs paid when they had the cash to do so, some didnt pay for weeks.

The whole of speedways finances are a secret and a mess. No two clubs have the same income or outgoings because of stadium rents, riders wages, staff wages , maintenance costs etc and everything is dependant on regular home fixtures as you pay your own riders home and away so if you have one home fixture and two away, then you have three wage packets to pay but only one income fixture.

So the basic answer to your question is…..

depends on the club, the riders, the scores, the attendance, the sponsorship , the bills etc etc etc.

That is why Im an ex promoter !.

Very interesting piece, do you mind me asking how long you promoted for and what was the final straw that made you decide to get out of the game ? no probs if you prefer not to disclose.

[Youhave2minutes]

9 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Very interesting piece, do you mind me asking how long you promoted for and what was the final straw that made you decide to get out of the game ? no probs if you prefer not to disclose.

Money. Lack of it

Edited June 30, 2025 by Youhave2minutes

[KK62]

11 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Very interesting piece, do you mind me asking how long you promoted for and what was the final straw that made you decide to get out of the game ? no probs if you prefer not to disclose.

Two years and because the stress of running a business at a loss ( I had reduced the losses by half on previous years ) , combined with the sports some times ludicrous internal politics meant it was one rule for one and different for others. 
Best decision I ever made was to stop being a promoter but I left the club in a far better position than my predecessor and happily the promoters since then have continued to improve the club.

[KK62]

10 minutes ago, Youhave2minutes said:

Money. Lack of it

Not true, more the way the sport was being run . As it wasn't my club , I ran it for the owners, it wasn’t my money I was losing  , and by the way , the owners were very happy the way I was running it.

[A.N.Other]

1 hour ago, soupy said:

Thought that was the case any way at the start of it all.Next home is supposed to be Poole on the 12th.

Just to clarify...its the HOME meeting at Northside that has been cancelled and this was only done today. I would imagine Berwick have had to get the agreement of Workington management in order to do so. I believe the Bandits are now riding against Edinburgh instead. 

[NorthernBee]

On 6/29/2025 at 6:30 PM, 2ndbend123 said:

Go Fund for human error or management being incompetent get a grip!

There has been a go fund for a break in and storm damage.

The fans have paid enough!

The only club that runs cash only system rings alarm bells. Dodged the tax man for too long. Over 50 sponsors board around the track were as that money gone?

From what I have heard Workington are in deep trouble. Not to mention there will be a big fine from the BSPA for this are we setting a go fund up for this? 
 

The club is run by a crook time to wake up

 

Cash only is due to the unreliable signal/lack of phone line to the arena. Say what you will about this but as a business owner myself, I know how much each transactions costs to take a card payment. If the management team are spending time counting cash rather than paying transaction fees on card payments. then I don't think that is unfair or illegal. It just means they are getting every penny that comes through the gate. And most teams will certainly need that right now.

To call the team running the club crooks is completely unfair. They have achieved something spectacular at Workington and they deserve every success and good luck. 

[YeOldPitGate]

51 minutes ago, KK62 said:

Not true, more the way the sport was being run . As it wasn't my club , I ran it for the owners, it wasn’t my money I was losing  , and by the way , the owners were very happy the way I was running it.

I think I have a reasonable idea who you are and yes from memory you were viewed as a progressive during your stint in charge and turned the club around where it is now viewed as one of the better championship sides.

Its a tough gig, being a promoter is pretty much pouring money into a bucket with a huge hole in it, much as I admire the way the Ford's run a club, Matt must be secretly gutted he didn't offload it when Holder and Ward were in their pomp, he had a six figure sponsorship deal at one point that started with a 2.

People put the boot in to the Ford's but it would probably be easier/less costly for them just to shut up shop and walk away but to their credit they are keeping the club going even though like most teams the resale value now is pretty much nil.

[comet49]

2 hours ago, soupy said:

Thought that was the case any way at the start of it all.Next home is supposed to be Poole on the 12th.

They should have been at Berwick Saturday 28/7 then Oxford away 2/7 and Redcar away 4/7, then home to Berwick on Sat 5/7. Those were the fixtures listed in the Plymouth match programme.

[geoff100]

Hope no news is good news !

[Neila]

Maybe the club should put a statement out with some information, maybe can't say too much, but at least say something. at the moment other clubs are saying we have no fixture this Saturday, after the 3 this week been postponed due to the suspension. Surely home fans and sponsors deserve some information even if it's just minimal. This is not a rant more of a plea, the promotion have done a fantastic job getting Northside up and running 

[comet49]

4 minutes ago, Neila said:

Maybe the club should put a statement out with some information, maybe can't say too much, but at least say something. at the moment other clubs are saying we have no fixture this Saturday, after the 3 this week been postponed due to the suspension. Surely home fans and sponsors deserve some information even if it's just minimal. This is not a rant more of a plea, the promotion have done a fantastic job getting Northside up and running 

Been thinking the same, be good if they put a statement out.

Edited July 1, 2025 by comet49
Changed mind

[Woke23]

They definitely need to put something out there. It's ridiculous that we are hearing about Saturday being cancelled through other clubs. 

If it is visa issues, it could take a long while. At what point do they say we haven't got enough weeks in the year to finish the season? There is going to be postponements due to weather at some point over the coming months. 

[HGould]

The fact with "communications" is that (a) if your initial message is wooly and not transparent and (b) you don't try to answer any questions that may be asked with plausible answers up front, then each time you issue further communication it becomes harder and more risky.

Speedway is not known for its transparency at the best of times, it's worse than the worst Masonic Lodge.

Reading between the lines, and that's not always wise, but in this case there are pointers there would seem to be at leat 2 issues

(a) some sort of administrative issue that is relevant to the sort of agencies (Home Office or HMRC) that fill the BSPL / SCB / ACU with dread. I mean by that something not just Workington specific but which may draw attention (I'm thinking visas especially) to other Clubs. Not pointing any fingers but punishments in these areas can be beyond punitive!

 

(b) evidence of past and present late or non payment that causes BSPL / SCB an issue. There is also some anecdotal evidence that the Bond paid by Workington may be NDL level at entry and not ramped up due to the urgent need to get them to step up to CL, not the first Club forced to do that.

Having announced the suspension, and clearly having lost a degree of "trust" that it can be sorted out, it would seem that the BSPL will require a lot of boxes to be ticked, especially for outside agancies but also to cover their backsides and the Sport in general.

Having gone off "half hearted" with the initial statement of suspension, the next one will really need to be clear, very factual and very unambiguous. 

Don't hold your breath on that score.

Geoff may be partially right "no news is good news" for now! It at least indicates a willingness to resolve rather than pull the plug from the Governing Bodies.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2025 by HGould
spellings

[singy13]

17 minutes ago, comet49 said:

Been thinking the same, be good if they put a statement out.

And hopefully any info supplied will stop the 'crooks' accusations?

The sponsors money will have probably helped to build new toilets, refs box, the 3rd and 4th bend spectator viewing, fan club shop and other spectator facilities - all costly projects and certainly good honest care for the fans at Northside.

[2ndbend123]

39 minutes ago, Neila said:

Maybe the club should put a statement out with some information, maybe can't say too much, but at least say something. at the moment other clubs are saying we have no fixture this Saturday, after the 3 this week been postponed due to the suspension. Surely home fans and sponsors deserve some information even if it's just minimal. This is not a rant more of a plea, the promotion have done a fantastic job getting Northside up and running 

100% agree on this 

Week on week the promotion pledge to the fans to keep supporting. But can’t even keep the paying public in the picture instead having to hear from Berwick social media that this weeks fixture has been cancelled.

Poor communication and not fair on the fans.

Whatever the issue is it’s taking longer than the 7 days to rectify or if can even be rectified.

I have also heard that at least 2 riders and looking for new clubs.