Jump to content
British Speedway Forum

Birmingham Speedway


Recommended Posts

19 hours ago, mikebv said:

Agree on every point apart from the 15 mins of entertainment...

There is zero to keep me entertained during the gaps between racing..

1970's music? Really? 

I attended an indoors  MX event in MCR ten years ago and every Speedway promoter should have gone to it...

The on track action was only a part of the evening..

You could win a mini MX bike, (just £5 a text), and 1000's of dads texted in. (Me being one)..

They fired, via air gun, t shirts (all small so kids got them), into the crowd, and my lad got one...

Each rider had a merch stall, with shirts, photos, selfies etc..

And Monster Energy Girls... (Ahem)...

The guy in the middle kept the evening flowing, the music reflected the hi octane, adrenaline fuelled sport...

And I didn't have a clue who anyone was but  paid seventy quid for me and my then 12 year old lad...

And it was worth every penny..

Some on here say that the gaps between races is a chance to talk with those they stand with and haven't seen since the last meeting, which is fine..

But what do those attending for the first time do? Twiddle their thumbs? 

A high octane, adrenaline fuelled sport should have an off track package that reflects it...

UK Speedway's off track entertainment is truly dire...

 

 

Neil plays hardly any 70’s stuff (not that there’s anything wrong in that), if fact on more than one occasion his has had his knuckles wrapped as he often will play tunes taking the Micky out of the opposition or the ref following a heat. 

I’m more than happy with the none racing entertainment but maybe I’m easily pleased. The pre meeting interviews with managers and captains, Chases antics, the rider interviews during grading, Chases white line challenge and the 50/50 (over £8000 paid out each season) during the interval, the replays on the bend 2 big screen and the post meeting press conference where I can meet and chat with the riders is all great. Add in the warm up & cool down lap(s) where heat wins are celebrated are all part of it for me. I’m also sad enough to read the programme if there is any kind of lull in proceedings. 

The MX sounds great, have you got the Manchester fixture list as I’ll give it a go in the next fortnight, even if it is twice the cost of watching The Aces?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, mikebv said:

Agree on every point apart from the 15 mins of entertainment...

There is zero to keep me entertained during the gaps between racing..

1970's music? Really? 

I attended an indoors  MX event in MCR ten years ago and every Speedway promoter should have gone to it...

The on track action was only a part of the evening..

You could win a mini MX bike, (just £5 a text), and 1000's of dads texted in. (Me being one)..

They fired, via air gun, t shirts (all small so kids got them), into the crowd, and my lad got one...

Each rider had a merch stall, with shirts, photos, selfies etc..

And Monster Energy Girls... (Ahem)...

The guy in the middle kept the evening flowing, the music reflected the hi octane, adrenaline fuelled sport...

And I didn't have a clue who anyone was but  paid seventy quid for me and my then 12 year old lad...

And it was worth every penny..

Some on here say that the gaps between races is a chance to talk with those they stand with and haven't seen since the last meeting, which is fine..

But what do those attending for the first time do? Twiddle their thumbs? 

A high octane, adrenaline fuelled sport should have an off track package that reflects it...

UK Speedway's off track entertainment is truly dire...

 

 

On the subject of music played I think that karlito guy is rubbishe, at the German GP god know what music he was playing but nobody engaged with it, young or old, I’ve nothing against they guy personally although he does love himself too much, the conversation overheard on a bus in Germany was hilarious, the lady couldn’t shake him quick enough but he is trying to be woofy and his music taste is well not for the masses let’s put it that way, if you had polish tv you would hear the euro pop garbage that is played non stop on their music channels but you go to polish speedway and it’s rock music blasting out, mainly 80s rock too, you are never going to please all but some “DJs” know how to connect with the audience and clearly sone don’t 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ShanoXtra said:

Yeah that’s due to how poor the club has been run and the fans going against the old president. Next year if they stay up it will go back to normal.

In Poland people say they can’t afford the Extraliga matches… they are equivalent to £12 English money to see the best league in the world!

I was in Wroclaw last week and paid £15 a ticket but some tickets are  £30 by the starting gate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those who get the speedway star, my point about bikes going no faster these days despite the money spent is on page 23 and just to add heat 1 at Sheffield tonight is the same time as Hans Nielsen in 1985 at owlerton 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

On the subject of music played I think that karlito guy is rubbishe, at the German GP god know what music he was playing but nobody engaged with it, young or old, I’ve nothing against they guy personally although he does love himself too much, the conversation overheard on a bus in Germany was hilarious, the lady couldn’t shake him quick enough but he is trying to be woofy and his music taste is well not for the masses let’s put it that way, if you had polish tv you would hear the euro pop garbage that is played non stop on their music channels but you go to polish speedway and it’s rock music blasting out, mainly 80s rock too, you are never going to please all but some “DJs” know how to connect with the audience and clearly sone don’t 

That dj karlito is a whopper of the highest order. The fact they use him shows how clueless the people running the sport really are.

 

i have seen him on twitter arguing with some proper experienced speedway people and making an absolute helmet of himself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Wolfie456 said:

I was in Wroclaw last week and paid £15 a ticket but some tickets are  £30 by the starting gate.

Next match Wroclaw vs Częstochowa, there are tickets available for £7 in the main stand near the starting gate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Pinny said:

That dj karlito is a whopper of the highest order. The fact they use him shows how clueless the people running the sport really are.

 

i have seen him on twitter arguing with some proper experienced speedway people and making an absolute helmet of himself.

Hasn’t he got a YouTube channel as well? I commented one time on it saying “why did you reference every match but Ipswich va Kings Lynn” and he responded with “I try not to mention things that will happen every week” 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/25/2025 at 9:22 PM, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

We know all this but it’s more than speedway itself now,the country is going broke, at this point unless the finance is changed nothing else will make a difference 

I work in financial markets and can give you a ringside idea of where we are (bear in mind the EU and USA are in a worse place than us but I will relate this to UK)

As a country we owe nigh on £3 trillion built up by living beyond our means for decades, this was sustainable when interest rates were near zero but given 10 year government bonds are now nigh on 4.5% roughly 10% of the entire  £1.3 trillion total UK tax  (income tax ,vat etc) take just pays the interest on our debt (not a penny in debt repayment, the debts are just forever rolled over).

Now also bear in mind during covid £400 billion was printed out of thin air to pay for all the furlough etc this money was probably set at 0.5% interest rates or less this also will be due for refinancing soon at north of 4%.

So we are screwed x 10 whoever runs the country knows all choices going forward are bad so it will be more taxation or more money printing out of thin air to add to the £3 trillion which is no free lunch as its what causes inflation and just means the pound in your pocket is worth less so you have to run harder to stand still.

Onto speedway I was really into it when Loram, Screen, Louis, Henka , Rikardson were all starting out in the UK and drifted away in my early 20's as preferred night clubbing and chasing women.

However in the late 80's, Sky was in its infancy, you didn't have Netflix, Xbox/Playstation, multi plex cinemas everywhere, online shopping. mobile phone contracts, broadband contracts and the product although in decline was way better than now so Speedway didn't have to compete so hard for the pound in your pocket.

Who would have thought thirty years ago Blockbusters would crash and burn , hundreds of pubs would close, its a real shame as the world cup last four races a couple of years back where Magic beat Lambert shows what a great spectacle the sport can be but it gets it wrong so often and as Dean says these days 40% are probably just keeping head above water and would rather spend small dispsoable on Nextflix, Amazon etc.

I really think it might be curtains next year as even if you go five man teams assuming all current championship run you will still have to find 10-15 new riders assuming 4-5 drop down from premiership which would have been doable 1980/90's but I'm not so sure now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’d be surprised if Birmingham get through the last two months of the season at this point. There will be around 75 die hard oldies at PB on Monday and that’s being generous. 

Wouldn’t blame Nigel at all if he threw the towel in. Have to feel for him, as bad as he is - he has poured his heart and soul into the club and had no success.

  • Like 2
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, TheSmiler said:

I’d be surprised if Birmingham get through the last two months of the season at this point. There will be around 75 die hard oldies at PB on Monday and that’s being generous. 

Wouldn’t blame Nigel at all if he threw the towel in. Have to feel for him, as bad as he is - he has poured his heart and soul into the club and had no success.

Birmingham will see out the season and it will all end at Perry Barr the last week in august sadly without so much as a whimper or a farewell and tolley will move to either Sheffield or Leicester next season 

Edited by THE DEAN MACHINE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, TheSmiler said:

I’d be surprised if Birmingham get through the last two months of the season at this point. There will be around 75 die hard oldies at PB on Monday and that’s being generous. 

Wouldn’t blame Nigel at all if he threw the towel in. Have to feel for him, as bad as he is - he has poured his heart and soul into the club and had no success.

I wouldn't blame him either however I do think they'll see out the season.....Just not with the current 1-7.

I can't see Zagar lasting much longer as I think payment issues could arrise if only 100 fans turn up at Perry Barr for example.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, TheSmiler said:

I’d be surprised if Birmingham get through the last two months of the season at this point. There will be around 75 die hard oldies at PB on Monday and that’s being generous. 

Wouldn’t blame Nigel at all if he threw the towel in. Have to feel for him, as bad as he is - he has poured his heart and soul into the club and had no success.

Please end it now🙄It's no fun anymore and hasn't been for a few years.How the f**k has it ended up with the Brummies being the biggest laughing stock since Mildenhall in 2008 who's TM at the time thought it was hilarious🙄🤬

  • Like 2
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ShanoXtra said:

Next match Wroclaw vs Częstochowa, there are tickets available for £7 in the main stand near the starting gate.

Average UK salary £3,410

Average Polish salary £1,540

So you can double that £7... still good value though, shows how much we're paying over here to make up for the lack of numbers. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

I work in financial markets and can give you a ringside idea of where we are (bear in mind the EU and USA are in a worse place than us but I will relate this to UK)

As a country we owe nigh on £3 trillion built up by living beyond our means for decades, this was sustainable when interest rates were near zero but given 10 year government bonds are now nigh on 4.5% roughly 10% of the entire  £1.3 trillion total UK tax  (income tax ,vat etc) take just pays the interest on our debt (not a penny in debt repayment, the debts are just forever rolled over).

Now also bear in mind during covid £400 billion was printed out of thin air to pay for all the furlough etc this money was probably set at 0.5% interest rates or less this also will be due for refinancing soon at north of 4%.

So we are screwed x 10 whoever runs the country knows all choices going forward are bad so it will be more taxation or more money printing out of thin air to add to the £3 trillion which is no free lunch as its what causes inflation and just means the pound in your pocket is worth less so you have to run harder to stand still.

Don't forget the £266bn (and counting) student loan book... to pay for folk to go to uni to get a zero hour contract job in an Amazon warehouse, not quite sure who's going to pay that back 🤷‍♂️

Edited by IainB
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I believe BSN pay each clubs a % and as it can be streamed world wide so people in places like Australia or USA are contributing to the clubs and I subscribe and so I’m contributing to teams that I wouldn’t necessarily attend so yes it may discourage people from actually attending it is at least contributing to the clubs 

Do you think what BSN pay out to the clubs cover the loss of revenue due to less footfall into the stadium, i would think many families 2 adults + 2 children would make a good saving watching at home? It would be interesting to see how much tv and streaming costs clubs on race day.

Edited by bellevueace
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, OGT said:

Anyone fancy talking about *checks thread title* Birmingham Speedway? 🤔

BB done better than the number one and number five. All that talk of how he isn’t good enough and he showed them up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bellevueace said:

Do you think what BSN pay out to the clubs cover the loss of revenue due to less footfall into the stadium, i would think many families 2 adults + 2 children would make a good saving watching at home? It would be interesting to see how much tv and streaming costs clubs on race day.

It is a balancing act isn't it? 

If the weather is dodgy then last minute decision streaming means clubs get some money that they wouldn't if that person had stayed indoors..

On the other hand, if you have paid for a BSN package then you are probably more than likely to use that instead of, rather than attending in person, especially given the oultay and the current economic situation..

In house streaming costs the club to produce, but BSN doesnt, and actually provides income..

TNT definitely impacts attendances, but, they again pay for their coverage, and, let's be honest, clubs do very little to promote the TV meetings in a stand alone capacity, so they must be content with the situation..

Speedway is truly one of the very, very few sports that hasn't seen growth, or major sponsorship, via regular, sustained TV coverage over the past 30 years...

Which suggests the issue lies much closer to home than any TV coverage dissuading people to attend..

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, mikebv said:

On the other hand, if you have paid for a BSN package then you are probably more than likely to use that instead of, rather than attending in person, especially given the oultay and the current economic situation..

I subscribe to the full BSN package yet still went to Sheffield last night and to the Lions vs Aces slaughter (that Brady Kurtz skipped, not skippered 😂 the other week)...

As a (part time) Aces fan I think you've forgotten how good it feels to win away 😉

TNT/Eurosport/Sky meetings I've long since stopped attending, purely to how slowly they're run with massive breaks for the ads with no alternative content provided to fill the gaps... all they have to do is pipe the broadcast interviews etc. over the PA system as a bare minimum it would give those that have attended something to listen to.

Edited by IainB
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bellevueace said:

Do you think what BSN pay out to the clubs cover the loss of revenue due to less footfall into the stadium, i would think many families 2 adults + 2 children would make a good saving watching at home? It would be interesting to see how much tv and streaming costs clubs on race day.

I don’t know the percentage that is paid but as I said you do also get revenue from all over the world which are never going to set foot in the stadium and to be honest I don’t think showing on BSN makes a that much of  a difference to the attendance because you have to pay either way, I think it did on Eurosport because it was free, be interesting to see the crowd at belle vue this Monday because from what I’m told last Monday v kings Lynn it was very poor and this week v Ipswich it’s on BSN, will it be bigger crowd or smaller ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy