2026 and beyond

[mikebv]

47 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

While all your points are valid, they are under the current system of running the sport, which doesn’t work anymore,if things were to change within the current financial structure of the sport and from what I believe they are changing (I hope they are )then the changes needed may work, I understand it’s not going to be popular and I can see some kicking and screaming but what’s the alternative? The alternative is the end and that suits nobody, I had a long chat with someone at Birmingham last night (not connected to Bham)about finances and although I sort of already knew but it was quite staggering to hear just how far from the point which imo we should be operating at we have gone as a sport and it goes right from top to bottom and it’s unsustainable 

When the sport was "successful" it had only the top riders as fully pro...

The rest rode part time for very, very decent money when compared to their other job...

With second strings earning more in one night than they earned in a week in their "main job"...

Now we have pro juniors....

But we also have crowds one tenth of the days of when the sport was successful...

And we also have promoters quite happy to indulge Poland and have their leagues lack credibility due to playing second fiddle to them..

We also have promoters happy to indulge riders when it comes to their own individual ambitions by simply running a meeting anyway and borrowing from elsewhere when these riders are unavailable...

They even sign riders from Denmark who cannot race on Wednesdays.....

For me, all the things many of us have regularly said as being ridiculous on here, have been allowed to actually become part of the fabric of the operating model, so I truly cannot see a way out in all honesty...

It has been a slow inexorable death by a thousand (self inflicted) cuts...

Three times major radical changes should have been made...

1. When the GP's started to impact domestic Speedway...

2. When Poland started to impact domestic Speedway...

The sport should have built its own destiny, instead it fudged and appeased other organisations and riders, meaning the fans got pi$$ed off watching guestfesf after guestfest and voted with their feet...

And the third time? 

Covid...

What a chance for a reset, thousands of die hards and thousands of even more lapsed fans eager for the sport to start up again...

And what did we get? 

Well, the current situation  clearly shows the answer ..

[Ray Stadia]

17 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

But you haven’t offered examples of how to reduce the costs for riders promoters and fans, saying standardising engines isn’t really a workable solution which is a common theme and what does that even mean ? there are things that can be done to reduce costs to engines but there is no will to do it, I (blowing my own trumpet here ) have suggested more than most in the sport about ways to reduce bike costs but nobody listens and I also get stick for it from the current clique in the sport which is fine,I speak to tuners, riders,ex riders and put my thoughts to them, some agree some don’t but nothing changes, bigger ex riders than me know you face a brick wall to get change and don’t bother .promoters just cutting the wages again isn’t going to wash,there has to be a trade off, we have all been saying it for years but nobody ever really comes up with a workable solution, me included 

I have in the past, but been shot down in flames. I'm certainly not going to waste my time regurgitating what I've said in the past, just to be shot down again by the 'all is fine and rosy in speedway brigade'! 

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

28 minutes ago, mikebv said:

When the sport was "successful" it had only the top riders as fully pro...

The rest rode part time for very, very decent money when compared to their other job...

With second strings earning more in one night than they earned in a week in their "main job"...

Now we have pro juniors....

But we also have crowds one tenth of the days of when the sport was successful...

And we also have promoters quite happy to indulge Poland and have their leagues lack credibility due to playing second fiddle to them..

We also have promoters happy to indulge riders when it comes to their own individual ambitions by simply running a meeting anyway and borrowing from elsewhere when these riders are unavailable...

They even sign riders from Denmark who cannot race on Wednesdays.....

For me, all the things many of us have regularly said as being ridiculous on here, have been allowed to actually become part of the fabric of the operating model, so I truly cannot see a way out in all honesty...

It has been a slow inexorable death by a thousand (self inflicted) cuts...

Three times major radical changes should have been made...

1. When the GP's started to impact domestic Speedway...

2. When Poland started to impact domestic Speedway...

The sport should have built its own destiny, instead it fudged and appeased other organisations and riders, meaning the fans got pi$$ed off watching guestfesf after guestfest and voted with their feet...

And the third time? 

Covid...

What a chance for a reset, thousands of die hards and thousands of even more lapsed fans eager for the sport to start up again...

And what did we get? 

Well, the current situation  clearly shows the answer ..

Obviously time has moved on a few years and things are more expensive but I was told yesterday a rider was asking for a substantial guarantee and nearly 3 times the point money I was getting in the premier league to race in the amateur meetings on the Isle of Wight this year but this is nothing new,  I just didn’t think it had decended down to amateur level, they didn’t pay it by the way 

[Fromafar]

One of the things I find hard to get my head round is Admission prices v Club Streaming.I realise Streaming was brought in to get some Revenue essentially from away supporters who would pay to see their Team when they could not attend.Which is fair enough, but why would you charge less for fans too watch the stream and more for Home fans to watch the same match .eg £11.99 for stream and £20 for Admission.The surely encourages home fans just to stay at home (especially if  a family).I am assuming the Promotions are happy with the outcome of streaming though.Too me Streaming and Admission should be the same price.(just a personal opinion though).Should they be charging Home fans more is what I’m saying.

[HGould]

My gut reaction to 2026 is that it will still be a 3 tier structure.

Specifically Chris Louis will cling on to the TV Money and GP stars like King Canute trying to stop the rising tide, he'll be supported by KIngs Lynn / Belle Vue and Sheffield, and enough pressure will be put on Leicester to remain in a "top tier" and if they have to, they'll go 5 team League with even more of the TV slice.

I can't see Glasgow playing that silly game, the Facenna brothers have a clear goal and aim in terms of the GP / GP2 / International Fixture status of their venue and like Poole, frankly don't want nor need to play silly buggars with the egotists.

I suspect Oxford will run Championship as their main team with the existing teams remaining in that leagu and no one going up nor down.

Belle Vue / Edinburgh / Leicester / Redcar / Oxford / Kings Lynn / Plymouth and the standalone Kent Eagles will form a competitive NDL League if enough Riders can be found to service 8 Teams. I suspect that would be the max number for 1 league and don't think Scunthorpe / Sheffield will be back

(If Workington / Mildenhall or any other side wanted to play NDL level, a geographical split may be x 2 x 5 yeam leagues with a top 2 in each playing off?)

Hardly ideal but I think prizing the TV Money and GP stars away from those PL Clubs will only happen when there are 4 or less left to continue the folly!

 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by HGould
spelling

[IainB]

3 minutes ago, HGould said:

My gut reaction to 2026 is that it will still be a 3 tier structure.

Specifically Chris Louis will cling on to the TV Money and GP stars like King Canute trying to stop the rising tide, he'll be supported by KIngs Lynn / Belle Vue and Sheffield, and enough pressure will be put on Leicester to remain in a "top tier" and if they have to, they'll go 5 team League with even more of the TV slice.

I can't see Glasgow playing that silly game, the Facenna brothers have a clear goal and aim in terms of the GP / GP2 / International Fixture status of their venue and like Poole, frankly don't want nor need to play silly buggars with the egotists.

I suspect Oxford will run Championship as their main team with the existing teams remaining in that leagu and no one going up nor down.

Belle Vue / Edinburgh / Leicester / Redcar / Oxford / Kings Lynn / Plymouth and the standalone Kent Eagles will form a competitive NDL League if enough Riders can be found to service 8 Teams. I suspect that would be the max number for 1 league and don't think Scunthorpe / Sheffield will be back

(If Workington / Mildenhall or any other side wanted to play NDL level, a geographical split may be x 2 x 5 yeam leagues with a top 2 in each playing off?)

Hardly ideal but I think prizing the TV Money and GP stars away from those PL Clubs will only happen when there are 4 or less left to continue the folly!

 

 

 

I can't see there being a TV contract with 6 teams and especially not 5 and it's questionable if there will be one with 7 as the TV companies haven't been queuing up to cover Speedway over the last few years.

[Fromafar]

36 minutes ago, HGould said:

My gut reaction to 2026 is that it will still be a 3 tier structure.

Specifically Chris Louis will cling on to the TV Money and GP stars like King Canute trying to stop the rising tide, he'll be supported by KIngs Lynn / Belle Vue and Sheffield, and enough pressure will be put on Leicester to remain in a "top tier" and if they have to, they'll go 5 team League with even more of the TV slice.

I can't see Glasgow playing that silly game, the Facenna brothers have a clear goal and aim in terms of the GP / GP2 / International Fixture status of their venue and like Poole, frankly don't want nor need to play silly buggars with the egotists.

I suspect Oxford will run Championship as their main team with the existing teams remaining in that leagu and no one going up nor down.

Belle Vue / Edinburgh / Leicester / Redcar / Oxford / Kings Lynn / Plymouth and the standalone Kent Eagles will form a competitive NDL League if enough Riders can be found to service 8 Teams. I suspect that would be the max number for 1 league and don't think Scunthorpe / Sheffield will be back

(If Workington / Mildenhall or any other side wanted to play NDL level, a geographical split may be x 2 x 5 yeam leagues with a top 2 in each playing off?)

Hardly ideal but I think prizing the TV Money and GP stars away from those PL Clubs will only happen when there are 4 or less left to continue the folly!

 

 

 

Did Oxford not indicate earlier in the season that the were going to run in the Premiership and not in the Championship.?(might have that wrong though).

 

[ShanoXtra]

14 hours ago, mikebv said:

Spot on comment about there being an appetite for Speedway...

At the NSS there have been two good crowds this year, yesterday and the PCMM...

One being ran on a BHM and the other being ran early in the season with a top class field..

If those who attended, me included, saw enough in the product to attend more regularly then 2000 plus crowds would be the norm...

Running on a normal Monday simply restricts crowds, weekend is "leisure time"..

Running several meetings as "meaningless", as the play off positions are set in stone from May, simply restricts crowds...

And running meetings when you know (well in advance) that riders will be missing, but happily replacing them with competitor's employees, simply restricts crowds..

It costs me over fifty quid for me and my lad as he works PT and has much better things to spend his money on, meaning we attend three, maybe four times a season..

Get it down to thirty quid for us both and it would easily be double figure attendance for us both...

Personally, given the Mickey Mouse operating model, neither of us care who wins (like many others who sporadically attend), as the credibility of the competitions is almost zero, but we do love watching the racing at the NSS as it can be breathtaking... 

As you say, that disconnect needs to be sorted...

They could start by running meetings on the best night for the fans to attend in the highest numbers..

Run with less riders per team to make supply exceed demand for adhoc and longer term replacements, which then brings credibility....

And set an admission fee that reflects the standing of the sport in the UK, and the 15 mins or so of entertainment that is actually on offer...

The core product is still very watchable, the nonsense surrounding it doesn't do it any favours...

I totally understand where you are trying to go with this statement and it's good that you are passionate enough to write it all out!

I have a couple of comments on points you made with I think need clarification.

1. Is there an appetite for speedway, yes from people on this forum but a lot of people moan that people on the street do not even know what speedway is? This is due to poor promotion.

2. You comment about 2 big crowds, because of a BH meeting which I concur with as Ipswich had the same vs Lynn, but you comment about PCMM was a full stadium because of the top class field, so you are opening admitting top class riders brought in fans and also mention if this was a more common theme then more people, including yourself, would come to watch, yet you are still proposing removing top class riders and watering down the product to favour 1 league?

3. Running on a week night restricts crowds you speak of, but I've seen you previously mention speedway has a lot of competition in Manchester due to other leisurely activities, so now you are saying run it on a weekend where there will be even more competition? and when that fails you would probably use that same argument as to why its small crowds on a weekend plus speedway then having to fight against football on a weekend.

4. Running several pointless meeting as play offs are set it stone early could very well happen with one league as well so where does that improve the sport?

5. I totally get the guest fest issue and that is the main gripe for people I personally believe, but nobody has yet to mention that in one league what happens if you get two of your riders injured? Does this mean you can't guest? One league would need multiple riders signed who don't even ride weekly, like Poland, just in case people get injured so you have a full squad which is your team, otherwise you haven't moved the sport forward at all.

5. You say it costs you £50 for two people, which I agree is a lot, and you go to 3 or 4 meetings equalling £150-200, and if it is down to £30 you would 'easily' go to minimum 10 which equals £300+ so why don't you go to more matches this season and spend the same money? Also, are you watching every stream BVTV runs out of curiosity?

6. Your last throw away comment about 15mins of entertainment is typical dip in and out of speedway fan, in football, the ball isn't in play for 90 mins for entertainment, 40 mins are players time wasting and rolling on the floor or trying to play for time, in boxing people spend £60-£1000 to watch potentially 30 secs of the fight they want. Comments about the 15 min of entertainment shows more of that persons dedication to the sport than it does the sports itself.

[ShanoXtra]

2026 one league will (high potentially) remove the following riders from British Speedway:

Doyle

Emil

Brennan

Magic

Tungate

Bewley

Kurtz

Lidsey

Fricke

J. Holder

Kvech

B. Cook

C.Holder - Potential

K. Rew - Potential

T. Musielak- Potential

People in favour of one league need to start writing how to make this product work instead of naming problems of the current structure, everyone can moan about things but it takes a different type of person to come up with solutions instead of problems.

One league - 

What nights are ridden for teams?

How many riders in teams?

Are teams still allowed to guest?

How many teams make up the play offs?

What is the play off format?

Is the league split between regions?

How much is a ticket?

How do you promote a watered down league and keep the fans who only come to watch the best?

 

Edited 5 hours ago by ShanoXtra
.

[KevtheRev]

I think the answer is to create an Anglo Saxon league.

5 teams for the UK

5 from Denmark

5 from Sweden

No Poland.

Meet every team one, that's 14 matches.

Could add the KO Cup for local teams and maybe even a test match series.

[ShanoXtra]

3 minutes ago, KevtheRev said:

I think the answer is to create an Anglo Saxon league.

5 teams for the UK

5 from Denmark

5 from Sweden

No Poland.

Meet every team one, that's 14 matches.

Could add the KO Cup for local teams and maybe even a test match series.

So now we are suggesting we water our league down only to lose every match against Denmark and Sweden teams because they will have GP riders and we wont? Come on guys someone needs to have concrete answers or this is more farcical by the day.

[IainB]

18 minutes ago, ShanoXtra said:

I totally understand where you are trying to go with this statement and it's good that you are passionate enough to write it all out!

I have a couple of comments on points you made with I think need clarification.

1. Is there an appetite for speedway, yes from people on this forum but a lot of people moan that people on the street do not even know what speedway is? This is due to poor promotion.

2. You comment about 2 big crowds, because of a BH meeting which I concur with as Ipswich had the same vs Lynn, but you comment about PCMM was a full stadium because of the top class field, so you are opening admitting top class riders brought in fans and also mention if this was a more common theme then more people, including yourself, would come to watch, yet you are still proposing removing top class riders and watering down the product to favour 1 league?

3. Running on a week night restricts crowds you speak of, but I've seen you previously mention speedway has a lot of competition in Manchester due to other leisurely activities, so now you are saying run it on a weekend where there will be even more competition? and when that fails you would probably use that same argument as to why its small crowds on a weekend plus speedway then having to fight against football on a weekend.

4. Running several pointless meeting as play offs are set it stone early could very well happen with one league as well so where does that improve the sport?

5. I totally get the guest fest issue and that is the main gripe for people I personally believe, but nobody has yet to mention that in one league what happens if you get two of your riders injured? Does this mean you can't guest? One league would need multiple riders signed who don't even ride weekly, like Poland, just in case people get injured so you have a full squad which is your team, otherwise you haven't moved the sport forward at all.

5. You say it costs you £50 for two people, which I agree is a lot, and you go to 3 or 4 meetings equalling £150-200, and if it is down to £30 you would 'easily' go to minimum 10 which equals £300+ so why don't you go to more matches this season and spend the same money? Also, are you watching every stream BVTV runs out of curiosity?

6. Your last throw away comment about 15mins of entertainment is typical dip in and out of speedway fan, in football, the ball isn't in play for 90 mins for entertainment, 40 mins are players time wasting and rolling on the floor or trying to play for time, in boxing people spend £60-£1000 to watch potentially 30 secs of the fight they want. Comments about the 15 min of entertainment shows more of that persons dedication to the sport than it does the sports itself.

I know that this reply wasn't for me but you ask some valid questions, so I'll chip in my two penneth anyway 😂

2) The PCMT gets a big crowd at the beginning of the season, partly due to the line up but also partly because the Speedway public has been starved of Speedway for the previous 5 months and the appetite is high, whether it would attract such a large crowd on a Monday night in the summer is questionable.

3) If a family has an "entertainment" budget to use for a weekly outing do you choose a Monday night when the kids have school the next day or save it for a weekend activity when they don't? If it's the latter, that budget has gone and Speedway has lost out. There is no competition there and the weekend attraction generally wins.

4) The lack of promotion and relegation in British Speedway means many more meaningless matches, you're always going to get them, but they need to be minimised. Imagine this dreadful season with promotion and relegation the top 4 jostling for pay off spots and the bottom 3 against relegation. Now the 2 leagues run under one banner there should be no excuse for not having promotion and relegation.

6) The 15 minute argument is valid(ish), comparing it to Football, the "stars" are in full view of the public for 90 minutes, so it doesn't really matter if they're stood there picking their nose, that's what you've paid to go and watch. Speedway you'll see them for 15 minutes of racing, maybe a minute before a race gardening (picking their nose) and if you're really really lucky one of them may come round and acknowledge the crowd after winning a race. At Leicester they're marched out after the match for a quick interview in front of the crowd on the main straight, it's been a bit hit and miss this season but is well worth hanging around for after the match and I don't know why all clubs don't do this as part of the match day experience. As the riders spend the majority of their time during a meeting in the pits I've always advocated that the pits should be on the infield in full view of the paying public.

 

[mikebv]

48 minutes ago, IainB said:

I can't see there being a TV contract with 6 teams and especially not 5 and it's questionable if there will be one with 7 as the TV companies haven't been queuing up to cover Speedway over the last few years.

And it has done zero to to deliver an extra discernable level of punters in..

Like in the Sky years, the money pays for the top riders rather than help subsidise lower admission costs...

Brum were quoted as having to fork out £15k from a home meeting to pay for BZ, which they clearly were not going to do/afford, however, if they did then that would have just brought more inflation to the overall costs of the rest, as the second and third HL's would have demanded more, with the SS's then also knocking on the door...

TV has delivered very little as Promoters havent used that two hour free advert to paint a positive picture of their business...

Instead we have cameras panning around "one man and his dog" crowd levels which does nothing to build a positive brand, and nothing to bring some FOMO to those watching at home..

Ironically, no TV would bring in bigger crowds given so many currently give TV matches a miss when they are meaningless play off matches, or when the weather is a bit dodgy....

 

 

[ShanoXtra]

17 minutes ago, IainB said:

I know that this reply wasn't for me but you ask some valid questions, so I'll chip in my two penneth anyway 😂

2) The PCMT gets a big crowd at the beginning of the season, partly due to the line up but also partly because the Speedway public has been starved of Speedway for the previous 5 months and the appetite is high, whether it would attract such a large crowd on a Monday night in the summer is questionable.

3) If a family has an "entertainment" budget to use for a weekly outing do you choose a Monday night when the kids have school the next day or save it for a weekend activity when they don't? If it's the latter, that budget has gone and Speedway has lost out. There is no competition there and the weekend attraction generally wins.

4) The lack of promotion and relegation in British Speedway means many more meaningless matches, you're always going to get them, but they need to be minimised. Imagine this dreadful season with promotion and relegation the top 4 jostling for pay off spots and the bottom 3 against relegation. Now the 2 leagues run under one banner there should be no excuse for not having promotion and relegation.

6) The 15 minute argument is valid(ish), comparing it to Football, the "stars" are in full view of the public for 90 minutes, so it doesn't really matter if they're stood there picking their nose, that's what you've paid to go and watch. Speedway you'll see them for 15 minutes of racing, maybe a minute before a race gardening (picking their nose) and if you're really really lucky one of them may come round and acknowledge the crowd after winning a race. At Leicester they're marched out after the match for a quick interview in front of the crowd on the main straight, it's been a bit hit and miss this season but is well worth hanging around for after the match and I don't know why all clubs don't do this as part of the match day experience. As the riders spend the majority of their time during a meeting in the pits I've always advocated that the pits should be on the infield in full view of the paying public.

 

Appreciate the response IainB! Clearly MikeBV didn't want to stand on any of his initial comments and reply  glad someone did!

[mikebv]

48 minutes ago, ShanoXtra said:

Appreciate the response IainB! Clearly MikeBV didn't want to stand on any of his initial comments and reply  glad someone did!

Had the dog at the vets....

But not interested in replying anyway.....

 

[YeOldPitGate]

As we all know there aren't any good/ easy immediate answers it won't happen but I have mulled if maybe there were six in the main league next year keep the superstars but just have one home and away then straight into the play off's if you wanted to see Emil,Jack Holder, Fricke you might have just the one chance rather than 4-5 opportunities now.

The top six clubs could then run a second team like Oxford have done at Championship level assuming say the current remaining 9 championship teams run it could be once/home and away with maybe 5 man teams with riders who are committed to being available for at least 90% of the fixtures.

This would give more variety and we would have to keep double down as a necessary evil for the near term but the likes of the Cooks, Harris, Lawson, Masters, (maybe Douglas) could still compete in both leagues to earn a decent living.

If the third tier continues to run maybe allow each team to have a couple of aussies Jordy Loftus is a good example struggled when he got here but is now finding his feet and chipping in with a few points each meeting hopefully he should develop into a decent riders who would commit to UK next 5-10 years.

I realise people will say the model hasn't worked for Oxford this year but I get the impression the problems are more down to the health of the main backer than the operating model.

Getting away from Mondays is a must the worst night of the week to put anything on as people have had the low of going back to work after the weekend high and just don't want to go out that night, Thurs and Fridays the weekend feeling is starting to get back in peoples head and they are more inclined to do things.

[ouch]

I’d utilise bank holidays and school holidays to attract families.

The first meeting of the season is always well attended for speedway starved fans, so I’d run a Sheffield meeting then and put the PCMT on a Saturday later in the season. I’d do the same with the British Final if no other club wanted it. That first night plus bank and school holidays would account for 12 meetings, all being well attended hopefully.

The league title should go to the top of the table team with the top four competing for the KO Cup as this would make for more meaningful meetings. Run a wooden spoon cup for the other two, if it’s a six team league again like four years ago. 

I’d offer more special deals (endless options to try) and freebies to bump up the crowd as we saw on Monday that a big crowd can elevate an ordinary meeting. 

All this should be done if we stick with Dan & Brady types or not. If we throw them out then we restructure completely with rules making equipment cheaper to run  and admission reflecting what’s on offer. 

 

[Biffa]

If the 3 leagues stay and the Prem needs an extra team, could it be possible that Plymouth could move up & fill the void ? I remember they wanted to go straight into the top league when they restarted but we’re not allowed. Don’t know if they would want to now but they are the only club I can remember saying they would like to be in that league 🤷‍♂️

[mikebv]

When Poland decide Mondays and Thursdays are the best nights to run their Speedway on every week, then I think we will be ahead of the curve....

As Plymouth has shown, and I believe Leicester has shown in the past, running weekend Speedway delivers bigger crowds, even if riders are missing or of a lesser standard...

Clubs need to target kids aged 4 - 11, like McDonald's do, as they know that the loss leader "Happy Meal" will get sold alongside the Adults getting profit making meals too...

They also know that on Monday morning the kids who attended little Williams birthday party at McD's on the Friday evening, Saturday or Sunday, will be talking about it, and those who attended will be mithering their parents to have their parties there...

And those who just heard about the party, but didn't attend, will be mithering their parents as well!!

Flood local infant schools with free tickets for kids and reduced price tickets for their parents or guardians..

There may be some who attend now, but not many, so what you may lose is nothing compared to what could be gained...

And just charge a tenner for the Adults, as the vast majority of tenners will be new money, not regulars getting in cheap...

But. And this where "grand gestures" never work in isolation....

"Build it and they will come" doesn't work...

You then need to keep these people coming at a scaled reduced price, until they get hooked and are prepared to pay full price...

And you do that through constant communication via email and phone...

Lets be clear though, running on a Monday or Thursday during school terms won't encourage those parents to attend, regardless of whether VFM or not...

As for those older kids? Sponsor local football, cricket, rugby etc etc leagues...

Attend the games with bikes, and marketing gazebo. Some places have ten games being played at once, meaning hundreds of kids and hundreds of parents..

The beauty for Speedway is you don't need thousands more to attend at each track, just hundreds...

Even a very, very basic local  marketing campaign will deliver that, for not much outlay, if the right market is targeted, and you keep in communication with them..

Or, alternatively, carry on doing exactly the same thing but expect it all to come good..

[frigbo]

Lots of deckchair shuffling on here.

If the BSPL don't change the fundamental approach to where and how meetings are staged plenty more tracks will eventually fall victim to the land value, greedy developer disease.