YeOldPitGate Posted August 21, 2025 Report Share Posted August 21, 2025 2 hours ago, mikebv said: Excellent piece in the Speedway Star about the Brum closure... Nigel Tolley has put in two thirds of a million during his tenure... An incredible amount and he deserves great thanks from everyone who were able to keep attending... Crowds of 500 were the main issue and he said it costs £12-13k a match to run a home meeting... And then had the away costs in top! He said that having more UK based riders was vital for the sport, given the cost of flights, hotels, etc... Exactly what's been written in the letters pages of the Star for about three decades, and on here for 15 years or so...!!! If only promoters had realised that...! BZ wanted £7.5k a meeting so didn't get signed... A good interview with Brian Buck too, another who deserves great thanks for playing a huge part in the resurrection of the sport in Birmingham.. Another excellent publication this week from the Star team... Yes despite some horrible teams you can't fault Tolley's commitment to the cause his other business must make an absolute mint to cover the speedway losses. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 21, 2025 Report Share Posted August 21, 2025 (edited) On 8/21/2025 at 4:44 PM, mikebv said: Nigel Tolley has put in two thirds of a million during his tenure... If he's spaffed well north of half a mill during his tenure to get the results he has then he's either completely mad or has been very poorly advised! Edited August 23, 2025 by IainB 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naffer Posted August 21, 2025 Report Share Posted August 21, 2025 21 minutes ago, IainB said: If he's spaffed well north half a mill during his tenure to get the results he has then he's either completely mad or has been very poorly advised! Or he is altruistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 21, 2025 Report Share Posted August 21, 2025 36 minutes ago, naffer said: Or he is altruistic. I can think of better causes to give to than a bunch of mercenary Speedway riders. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byker Biker Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 14 hours ago, mikebv said: Excellent piece in the Speedway Star about the Brum closure... Nigel Tolley has put in two thirds of a million during his tenure... An incredible amount and he deserves great thanks from everyone who were able to keep attending... Crowds of 500 were the main issue and he said it costs £12-13k a match to run a home meeting... And then had the away costs in top! He said that having more UK based riders was vital for the sport, given the cost of flights, hotels, etc... Exactly what's been written in the letters pages of the Star for about three decades, and on here for 15 years or so...!!! If only promoters had realised that...! BZ wanted £7.5k a meeting so didn't get signed... A good interview with Brian Buck too, another who deserves great thanks for playing a huge part in the resurrection of the sport in Birmingham.. Another excellent publication this week from the Star team... My understanding is he was propping it up by £12k to £13k a meeting - these were his losses after gate receipts. Operating costs for Premiership home meetings begin with a 2 almost a 3 in some cases Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralMelchett Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 12 hours ago, IainB said: I can think of better causes to give to than a bunch of mercenary Speedway riders. yes like Mercenary footballers 😆 Whilst to us and speedway in general these are big losses / donations etc its small fry - the reason so many football clubs are in financial trouble is the old school traditional English / or Scottish cairman is long gone as so many no longer have the fortunes required to keep up! As you suggest mercenary speedway riders have largely been the benefit as are mercenary footballers - but in some respects fans ourselves are part of the issue - certainly in football always wanting bigger teams and to play at a higher level, its all part of the circle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naffer Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 18 hours ago, IainB said: I can think of better causes to give to than a bunch of mercenary Speedway riders. I was rather thinking he was being generous with his money and was doing it for the fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 15 minutes ago, naffer said: I was rather thinking he was being generous with his money and was doing it for the fans. Hasn't he put them through hell? 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sidney Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 16 minutes ago, IainB said: Hasn't he put them through hell? 🤔 Without him it would likely have closed earlier. I don't remember there being a queue of willing buyers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 13 minutes ago, Sir Sidney said: Without him it would likely have closed earlier. I'm not sure whether that was a good thing or not tbh... Is any Speedway, however farcical at times, better than no Speedway? Having witnessed the goings on over (at least) the last 2 years I'm not sure it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noaksey Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 3 hours ago, IainB said: I'm not sure whether that was a good thing or not tbh... Is any Speedway, however farcical at times, better than no Speedway? Having witnessed the goings on over (at least) the last 2 years I'm not sure it is. I think it's no good for him and no good for the sport either. The fact that you can lose these sort of figures is alarming. It'll be interesting to see what happens at the other tracks given some of the rumours around over the last few months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DEAN MACHINE Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 I think one thing that the interview in the star points out which is the same at 90% of tracks, the councils don’t care and are just as much part of the problem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted August 22, 2025 Report Share Posted August 22, 2025 4 hours ago, IainB said: I'm not sure whether that was a good thing or not tbh... Is any Speedway, however farcical at times, better than no Speedway? Having witnessed the goings on over (at least) the last 2 years I'm not sure it is. Another major issue the sport has... In business, being "Brand Damaging" is avoided st all costs... In UK Speedway, it could be argued that to damage its brand isimply isnt possible, given the way it is ran has delivered a very low bar... "Any Speedway is better than no Speedway" appears the only mantra, hence four guests and RR is "perfectly acceptable" in the eyes of those in charge.. With the untold damage done to the sport further down the line, never for a moment considered it appears.... "Saving from themselves" might also be a good mantra to follow, as well meaning amateurs do their level best, but never learn about best practice, and how to deliver it... 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PersonalResponsibility Posted August 23, 2025 Report Share Posted August 23, 2025 On 8/21/2025 at 8:19 PM, naffer said: Or he is altruistic. If he was so altruistic he could've at least given Bartosz his £7.5k a meeting instead of wasting money on Zagar and Rew 😝 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiveusaB Posted August 23, 2025 Report Share Posted August 23, 2025 On 8/21/2025 at 7:57 PM, IainB said: If he's spaffed well north half a mill during his tenure to get the results he has then he's either completely mad or has been very poorly advised! There lies Tolleys biggest mistake...his first signing should've been someone who knows how to run a speedway club....its been the blind leading the blind since he got involved! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted August 23, 2025 Report Share Posted August 23, 2025 1 hour ago, GiveusaB said: There lies Tolleys biggest mistake...his first signing should've been someone who knows how to run a speedway club....its been the blind leading the blind since he got involved! With only 500 attending, even with a winning team, you would still not be hitting a huge 100% increase... And, even if you did, that would still be only 1000.. The bottom line is, the people of Birmingham, like so many other major cities in the UK, are just not that interested in Speedway... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poole keith Posted August 23, 2025 Report Share Posted August 23, 2025 On 8/21/2025 at 7:57 PM, IainB said: If he's spaffed well north of half a mill during his tenure to get the results he has then he's either completely mad or has been very poorly advised! Pretty sure poole would still be for sale,notwithstanding he would have still been buying into a lease problem,must surely have been a better buy?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*JJ Posted August 23, 2025 Report Share Posted August 23, 2025 8 hours ago, PersonalResponsibility said: If he was so altruistic he could've at least given Bartosz his £7.5k a meeting instead of wasting money on Zagar and Rew 😝 They are the ones who have been doing well! Rew has stepped up as the third heat leader; it is the No. 1 who has been the biggest disappointment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralMelchett Posted August 24, 2025 Report Share Posted August 24, 2025 (edited) 23 hours ago, mikebv said: With only 500 attending, even with a winning team, you would still not be hitting a huge 100% increase... And, even if you did, that would still be only 1000.. The bottom line is, the people of Birmingham, like so many other major cities in the UK, are just not that interested in Speedway... Part of his issue would have been the stadium rent, he even considered (for a bit) continuing to be the single leaseholder if i understood what he said correctly. If you take places like Plymouth / Workington / Scunthorpe I can only assume there model is that they are not constrained by large rents to a landlord? ergo they have a bit more budget for riders etc, or it helps stem losses. This goes back to a guy who was a chartered surveryor who many years back wrote on here and in the star about many clubs being hampered by renting - the future he argued was owning your won stadium etc. I caught a bt of the marketing from Plymouth on facebook and they seem to be doing the kids races like up in Glasgow. On that note the Glasgow promotion -have proved that perhaps you can attract a decent (ish) crowd in a large City? In the same star as the Tolley interview there is a decent bit on Glagow and their ambition - they get 1500+ crowds - the type that Tolley would have loved to get! Edited August 24, 2025 by GeneralMelchett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralMelchett Posted August 24, 2025 Report Share Posted August 24, 2025 17 hours ago, *JJ said: They are the ones who have been doing well! Rew has stepped up as the third heat leader; it is the No. 1 who has been the biggest disappointment. You would have thought Lampart, Pawliki and Milik would have taught him not to sign Poles (and Czechs) - I agree Tobi M has been a flop! I had my doubts in the first meeting at Sheffield when he mustered 3 from 4 starts on one of his former home tracks! ATleast he is now attractive to any club for 2026. Of course the real shame was Jensen bailing when he did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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