Is Speedway still a "working class" spectator sport?

[ouch]

10 hours ago, IainB said:

... if I want to go and watch a T20 Cricket match at my local ground on FRIDAY the 30th of May at 18:30, look at the ticket options available to me:

https://www.tixr.com/groups/leicestershire-ccc/events/leicestershire-foxes-v-derbyshire-falcons-123326

A group ticket of 5 for £18 each... the way Cricket sees it, a group of (working class) mates coming for a night out and a few beers, they've seen it on Tv, it's colourful, musical, the crowd are involved with prizes and stuff being given away there's dancing girls. They've also seen speedway and see a load of pensioners sat in camping chairs filling their home made programmes in watching a tractor go endlessly round a track and its on a school night. The way a Speedway promoter sees it, 5 strangers grouping up outside the turnstile to get some money off... and while this attitude remains crowds will continue to dwindle. 

... I remember a few years back at Leicester they wouldn't even let a couple of mentally handicapped people in at a concessionary rate!

I still think £28 for 2 adults to sit in the grandstand at Belle Vue with an unlimited number of 11’s or under in tow and 12-17’s at just £6 each offers good value. 

The Colts take half a second longer per lap so it’s hardly noticeable yet not only do newbies not attend, the local speedway fans that visit Belle Vue  week after week and know full well it’s happening choose not to attend as they don’t want to. 

[Sir Sidney]

9 hours ago, IainB said:

Sir Sidney Snob of Snobbyshire 😜😂

I've pulled up my drawbridge and asked the guards to patrol the moat 

[Sir Sidney]

9 hours ago, IainB said:

It's how us great unwashed eat Sir Sidney, in fact the kids would prefer a maccies rather than a bar meal. 

I agree. 

British Speedway just needs to decide what it is trying to be and who it is trying to attract, and then create and implement a plan to achieve that ( in fact, I'd almost guarantee that people with the skills to do so exist within the fan base and on this forum and would willingly help out). 

Now, as we know, the risk is that it alienates it's existing fan base in trying to attract and keep a new fan base - but those of us who have been watching since the 60s, 70s and 80s are drifting away or dying in any event. 

[mikebv]

47 minutes ago, ouch said:

I still think £28 for 2 adults to sit in the grandstand at Belle Vue with an unlimited number of 11’s or under in tow and 12-17’s at just £6 each offers good value. 

The Colts take half a second longer per lap so it’s hardly noticeable yet not only do newbies not attend, the local speedway fans that visit Belle Vue  week after week and know full well it’s happening choose not to attend as they don’t want to. 

If the Colts were "the only ticket in town" then their crowds would be up around 1000, and maybe more, I would suggest ..

It is indeed good family value but, for many, that is on top of already paying out for watching the Aces, either the week prior or the week after...

As for newbies? The "World Famous Belle Vue Aces" would hardly get a recognition nod door to door in Gorton, Longsight, Levenshulme, and City Centre Manchester, therefore not much chance of the Colts being known in areas "on the doorstep"...

You only need to see the response when fans get asked to pay just six quid more to watch a double header after the main event featuring their NDL team to see how little regard and interest so many with a team in tier 1 and 2 have in "junior speedway"..

As I said, maybe if that was the only speedway they had, many would attend...?

[Wembleyfan]

Not wanting to harp back to "The Good Old Days" too much, but responding to the question , is it still a working class sport? My answer is No. Not because of price, although it's a valid argument,  but one reason is a disconnect between the fans and the riders. Riders were, mostly, semi-professional and had day jobs, mostly working class jobs, or at least jobs that people could associate with. The very top riders were full time professionals, the Maugers, the Briggs, of this world, but even people like Peter Collins had a day job in his early career while riding speedway.

[SPEEDY69]

Yes it is still a 'working class', same as football always has been.  Have you tried eating out these days, £20 for a burger and chips - what about live gigs/theatre, approx. £90 a ticket.

[arnieg]

It is totally unrealistic to expect bigger attendances for NDL matches. The equivalent competitions in Denmark, Sweden often pull in double figure crowds and Poland isn't much better.

 

Other sports have very little fan interest in reserve and youth teams. Why should speedway be so different?

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 hour ago, Wembleyfan said:

Not wanting to harp back to "The Good Old Days" too much, but responding to the question , is it still a working class sport? My answer is No. Not because of price, although it's a valid argument,  but one reason is a disconnect between the fans and the riders. Riders were, mostly, semi-professional and had day jobs, mostly working class jobs, or at least jobs that people could associate with. The very top riders were full time professionals, the Maugers, the Briggs, of this world, but even people like Peter Collins had a day job in his early career while riding speedway.

This is the point I am getting at, we have to see them as one of us or we don’t form a connection and without that connection you don’t get a following and it goes for teams too, we have to feel they are our club otherwise our loyalty is fractured, football and even polish speedway understand the concept but British speedway doesn’t, my Mrs is a season ticket holder at stoke city FC because it’s her home city and she has a bond with that city, she doesn’t follow any other teams or even watch any other tv games or even follow England when they play and I’m not sure she even likes the game of football but she loves stoke city, it’s the bond without it you don’t have a following 

Edited 2 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[DJC]

9 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

This is the point I am getting at, we have to see them as one of us or we don’t form a connection and without that connection you don’t get a following and it goes for teams too, we have to feel they are our club otherwise our loyalty is fractured 

Completely agree.

At Newport almost the full 7 would be in the bar for at least an hour after the meeting, usually joined by some away riders for a drink and chat with the fans of both sides. Somerset also did this quite well with interviews and stuff after the meeting. 

The few years after Newport closed we went to Swindon a lot and there was barely one rider in the bar after the meeting. That's when the disconnect started for me. Riders are out of the pits before paying public are allowed in like they used too. All the 'pro athlete' stuff doesn't mean anything without fans and fan interaction

[SJA]

20 hours ago, JamesHarris said:

I've created this topic as I'm quite interested to know peoples views. If we go back 60 years to the creation of the British League, Speedway could be defined as a true working class spectator sport. Along with Greyhound racing are we seeing the general decline of the sport as people have different interests in the 2020's? I am fortunate enough to be able to access Polish TV channels and even the crowds there look a lot less now compared to ten years ago and if I'm honest I find the racing a bit boring. I've not been to Speedway for a few years but I assume it's £18 minimum to get it?

No its a retired sport. Look at the average age of people attending meeting.