Birmingham Speedway

[Petecc]

13 hours ago, stevebrum said:

Although of course Kings Lynn have form for riders picking riding for them as well. 

It absolutely is correct. I volunteered for 6 seasons there. Apparently that counts for nothing. 
Quite a few were locked out with entry refused because it was ‘sold out’.

My neighbour came over after the match to say there was room.

more incompetency from the club.

If only speedway had that problem of actually having full crowds. Buts that’s rarely been the case for any league meeting in many a year.

Apparently fans came from all over the UK to visit and no doubt lots of lost fans or last chance viewers came to give it the send off it deserved.

 

Absolutely correct, counts for nothing. 

Where have you been for the last 6 seasons?

[marko]

I feel sorry for the fans but the track is rubbish because it’s prepared that way and the promoter shouldn’t be allowed to have anything to do with the sport ever again.

[stevebrum]

50 minutes ago, Petecc said:

Absolutely correct, counts for nothing. 

Where have you been for the last 6 seasons?

Attending when I can due to work commitments on a Monday. At least I still follow and support the sport unlike the many who just gave up on the sport/club.

[YeOldPitGate]

14 hours ago, stevebrum said:

Although of course Kings Lynn have form for riders picking riding for them as well. 

It absolutely is correct. I volunteered for 6 seasons there. Apparently that counts for nothing. 
Quite a few were locked out with entry refused because it was ‘sold out’.

My neighbour came over after the match to say there was room.

more incompetency from the club.

If only speedway had that problem of actually having full crowds. Buts that’s rarely been the case for any league meeting in many a year.

Apparently fans came from all over the UK to visit and no doubt lots of lost fans or last chance viewers came to give it the send off it deserved.

 

How many would you estimate were there last night the stadium looks like it could hold three thousand easily given they have only been getting 500 odd per match it seems a stretch to think multi thousands turned up ?

[noaksey]

1 hour ago, YeOldPitGate said:

How many would you estimate were there last night the stadium looks like it could hold three thousand easily given they have only been getting 500 odd per match it seems a stretch to think multi thousands turned up ?

Id say 1500 maybe a bit more

 

Possibly though the reduced "covid" capacity is still in place as indeed it was at Monmore 

[The H Man]

Just to clarify about people being turned away last night, the stadium has a capacity that is set by the local authority and has to be adhered to by the stadium manager and the appointed safety officer.   

The club widely advertised advanced tickets which were available at 4 previous Brum meetings and online via Try Bookings and almost 600 were purchased ahead of last night.   Everyone with a pre-paid ticket was accommodated AFAIK.  

Unfortunately, at just before 7.25 pm the legislated stadium capacity was reached.     So the perimeter gates were closed, no one in the entry queue at that time was denied access to the stadium and the decision at all times was that of the safety officer and stadium manager, who have to ensure they legally follow protocol.    

I understand a small number of fans couldn't gain access to the stadium grounds and that of course is disappointing for them and I understand their frustrations/anger, but unfortunately the club couldn't overrule the decision.   The promotion have got many things wrong over the 4 years with which I have been involved with the club and I can't disagree with most of what has been said on this forum, but in this instance it was out of the club's control.   

It was a fantastic turn out to say goodbye to Perry Barr.   

 

 

 

[happy potter]

20 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

Agree. Unfortunately not a winning night for the Brummies and a sad night for UK speedway. Where does it go from here, who knows but Birmingham, thank you for your contribution to speedway in the UK over the years and the memories with the likes of Arthur Browning etc and many a good meeting at Rayleigh pre 73. Let’s hope someone somewhere can revive the sport in the Midlands.

It's a shame somehwere centralish couldn't be found so Wolves, Brum and Stoke could use it collectively with each team running in the 3 seperate leagues. Maybe a complete BS idea but worth a reply, lol

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

10 minutes ago, happy potter said:

It's a shame somehwere centralish couldn't be found so Wolves, Brum and Stoke could use it collectively with each team running in the 3 seperate leagues. Maybe a complete BS idea but worth a reply, lol

To be honest I don’t understand why stoke never run out of Buxton, most of the Buxton fans were stoke ones 

[mikebv]

7 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

To be honest I don’t understand why stoke never run out of Buxton, most of the Buxton fans were stoke ones 

And lots of Aces fans too....

Perfect for a Sunday afternoon in the countryside at NDL level, so no issues with missing riders being elsewhere...

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

6 minutes ago, mikebv said:

And lots of Aces fans too....

Perfect for a Sunday afternoon in the countryside at NDL level, so no issues with missing riders being elsewhere...

As I always remember Buxton on a Sunday afternoon  😂 https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Drx3Jhkod/?mibextid=wwXIfr

[mikebv]

28 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

As I always remember Buxton on a Sunday afternoon  😂 https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Drx3Jhkod/?mibextid=wwXIfr

My car is in front of the stand....

[Teromaafan]

On 8/23/2025 at 12:18 PM, 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...

I visited Perry Barr earlier in the season to watch the Lions and paid by card for me and the missus at the entrance. I say ‘paid’, but to this day no money has left my account. This  could be a blip, but may have happened to others (who are hardly going to shout up are they?…..although they can now!). Whilst this isn’t the straw that breaks the camel’s back, it does imply sloppiness of a club needing to seemingly count every penny.

[Hawk127]

2 hours ago, happy potter said:

It's a shame somehwere centralish couldn't be found so Wolves, Brum and Stoke could use it collectively with each team running in the 3 seperate leagues. Maybe a complete BS idea but worth a reply, lol

It should be a way forward and it might take some investment but hell, give it a go and with that set up, you would have weekly speedway throughout the season. It really needs something different and if you are a speedway fan and not just a team supporter you would not object to a track share on this basis. Not a BS idea at all. The sport needs riders competing at all levels to re establish itself and start out on that journey of getting to the level that the Poles aspire to and U K riders should be aiming for and eventually becoming a force in the international stage at every level.

[BrumFan]

7 hours ago, marko said:

I feel sorry for the fans but the track is rubbish because it’s prepared that way and the promoter shouldn’t be allowed to have anything to do with the sport ever again.

Tell me how many times have you been to Perry Barr to form this opinion.

[Neila]

7 hours ago, marko said:

I feel sorry for the fans but the track is rubbish because it’s prepared that way and the promoter shouldn’t be allowed to have anything to do with the sport ever again.

But rumours are he is going north next year ?

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

7 hours ago, marko said:

I feel sorry for the fans but the track is rubbish because it’s prepared that way and the promoter shouldn’t be allowed to have anything to do with the sport ever again.

I firmly believe that Birmingham’s track has been poor this year because every Monday it has been baked by the hot weather, last Monday the racing was better and the outside line worked a bit better, why ? Because it rained half way through the meeting, not a lot but enough to keep the moisture in the surface, last night it was baked again and racing was poor, nothing wrong with the shape either but it does have an adverse camber from half way out on corners 

[Petecc]

7 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I firmly believe that Birmingham’s track has been poor this year because every Monday it has been baked by the hot weather, last Monday the racing was better and the outside line worked a bit better, why ? Because it rained half way through the meeting, not a lot but enough to keep the moisture in the surface, last night it was baked again and racing was poor, nothing wrong with the shape either but it does have an adverse camber from half way out on corners 

Perry barr track always came to life after it had rained. 

[kitten2502]

3 hours ago, Petecc said:

Perry barr track always came to life after it had rained. 

A pity most of the riders didn't follow suit!

[stevebrum]

11 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said:

How many would you estimate were there last night the stadium looks like it could hold three thousand easily given they have only been getting 500 odd per match it seems a stretch to think multi thousands turned up ?

I’ve no idea as could only see a small section of inside the stadium from the fence outside the car park. I’ve no idea what the capacity is but I’m someone said 1500.

8 hours ago, The H Man said:

Just to clarify about people being turned away last night, the stadium has a capacity that is set by the local authority and has to be adhered to by the stadium manager and the appointed safety officer.   

The club widely advertised advanced tickets which were available at 4 previous Brum meetings and online via Try Bookings and almost 600 were purchased ahead of last night.   Everyone with a pre-paid ticket was accommodated AFAIK.  

Unfortunately, at just before 7.25 pm the legislated stadium capacity was reached.     So the perimeter gates were closed, no one in the entry queue at that time was denied access to the stadium and the decision at all times was that of the safety officer and stadium manager, who have to ensure they legally follow protocol.    

I understand a small number of fans couldn't gain access to the stadium grounds and that of course is disappointing for them and I understand their frustrations/anger, but unfortunately the club couldn't overrule the decision.   The promotion have got many things wrong over the 4 years with which I have been involved with the club and I can't disagree with most of what has been said on this forum, but in this instance it was out of the club's control.   

It was a fantastic turn out to say goodbye to Perry Barr.   

 

 

 

I’m assuming then that numbers were being accurately monitored via bookings and sales to know that capacity was reached?

Friends inside said that there was room to move about. 
obviously it explains a little more why people were turned away.

I just hope ticket sales confirmed the capacity limit because it’s one last chance for Tolley and Co to make maximum amount of return which he absolutely deserves. 

[GiveusaB]

17 hours ago, marko said:

I feel sorry for the fans but the track is rubbish because it’s prepared that way and the promoter shouldn’t be allowed to have anything to do with the sport ever again.

Tolley is fine....he's just clueless but has money to burn....Rogers is the problem...clueless and doesn't put any money in...but he will expect you to stroke his over inflated ego and compliment him on all his hard work behind the scenes, whilst he plays Roy of the Rovers with the NDL set-up!