New tracks ?

[singy13]

Sadly speedway keeps losing tracks and it's possibly the final countdown for the great sport.

What occurs to me, rightly or otherwise, is that speedway is short of top promoters - guys with funds and ideas to introduce new parties to the ranks.

I see there are over 400 non league soccer grounds in existence. Plus more rugby stadiums. So can't a wealthy promoter (if they exist of course) find at least 5/6 stadiums capable of joining the speedway world? Ok it would need soccer's permission to build a track around a pitch but why not? I mean for approx 30 years I enjoyed seeing the Comets race 398 yards around Derwent Park's rugby pitch with minimal problems and great speedway. Surely down South or in the Midlands some stadia exist awaiting a promoters call?

[W9 Lion]

Because times have changes to such a degree that my Tier 9 local football club have just spent £1,000,000 on a new pitch. They are not going to want to contaminate it with shale when they have specific rules on what type of studs can be used. 

[singy13]

12 minutes ago, W9 Lion said:

Because times have changes to such a degree that my Tier 9 local football club have just spent £1,000,000 on a new pitch. They are not going to want to contaminate it with shale when they have specific rules on what type of studs can be used. 

Okay 1 down....400+ to go.

[poole keith]

Think the FA would stop it

[singy13]

58 minutes ago, poole keith said:

Think the FA would stop it

Yeah suppose....but the shale is automatically thrown away from any pitch i.e. left to right.....then of course fans get hit, so programme boards at the ready....why is speedway so difficult to maintain.

[W9 Lion]

1 hour ago, singy13 said:

Yeah suppose....but the shale is automatically thrown away from any pitch i.e. left to right.....then of course fans get hit, so programme boards at the ready....why is speedway so difficult to maintain.

But the rain runs off the track taking shale with it and then contaminating the playing surface on the inside. 

Multi Sport stadiums will not entertain speedway as it makes a mess, leads to moise complaints, and a large amount of the stadium footprint is only used for a monority sport.

The way to develop new facilities is find brownfield sites where you can develop a number of motorsport activities in a model not disimiliar to the Redcar facility.  However the larger the town/city tend to have the most valueable land so perhaps Speedway future is more aligned to smaller towns like Kings Lynn or Workington with between 20-50,000 locals.

[mikebv]

Where would riders come from for any new tracks? 

Six teams seems to the maximum to be even semi competitive in the top tier...

Andt seven, maybe eight, in the 2nd tier...

All the tracks lost over the past few years, and still doubling up is fundamental to the sport...

[singy13]

2 hours ago, mikebv said:

Where would riders come from for any new tracks? 

Six teams seems to the maximum to be even semi competitive in the top tier...

Andt seven, maybe eight, in the 2nd tier...

All the tracks lost over the past few years, and still doubling up is fundamental to the sport...

That's a good question.  No supply but plenty of rider demand if new tracks did appear (and doubling up would probably prosper). There are training tracks ongoing I believe. So maybe a couple of years as now until expansions? I just think that 6 and 7 team leagues are not exciting the evermore dwindling support. And while I confess to not helping any positive outcome I like to post here to see if anyone can help the dying sport. 

So in my early years of becoming a speedway fan, 1970 and the rest of that decade, how was it that new tracks were sprouting like mushrooms and doubling up was not a feature. Yes guests and rider replacement for injury cover. So how did all the 'mushrooms' manage 7 riders - granted some were as wooffy would say "wobblers" but certainly in Division 2 they were mostly acceptable. Ian Thomas used to advertise someone in a Comets squad as 'the king of crash' - I'll not name him but the crowd eventually got fed up of his poor returns. Yet all of this kept us talking speedway, it was thrills, spills, and excitement.

Edited 2 hours ago by singy13
updated

[OGT]

Any room on the Apex Motorcross facility by M5 J6? 

[SJA]

59 minutes ago, singy13 said:

That's a good question.  No supply but plenty of rider demand if new tracks did appear (and doubling up would probably prosper). There are training tracks ongoing I believe. So maybe a couple of years as now until expansions? I just think that 6 and 7 team leagues are not exciting the evermore dwindling support. And while I confess to not helping any positive outcome I like to post here to see if anyone can help the dying sport. 

So "6 and 7 team leagues are not exciting" yet the Polish top league only has 8 teams & is the best in the World.

That extra team or two makes all the difference then.

Or maybe its the quality of product, and I don't means the riders but the match day experience in terms of opportunity to interact with riders, fanzone etc....

[singy13]

33 minutes ago, SJA said:

So "6 and 7 team leagues are not exciting" 

You missed off the remainder of that sentence!

[Chadster]

One of the problems now is the increasing lack of ready made stadiums to move into. When Division 2 was formed 6 of the 10 teams were able to move into existing dog tracks, 4 of which had staged speedway previously. Belle Vue Colts used their existing facilities and Berwick, Canterbury and Nelson rode around football tracks. How many stadiums are there today ready and waiting to stage speedway? Sunderland might be one, especially given the demise of Newcastle, but the sport has never been a success there. I read a facebook post recently from Brafield, announcing the opening of a new stand. There was talk a year or so ago that a promoter was looking there.

[chunky]

2 hours ago, singy13 said:

1970 and the rest of that decade, how was it that new tracks were sprouting like mushrooms and doubling up was not a feature. 

I don't know why people still claim that. Doubling up WAS a feature in the 70's and 80's - actually from the time the Second Division started.

Many BL teams adopted a second-tier team to provide riders. Riders like Eric Broadbelt, Ken Eyre, and Steve Waplington rode for both Belle Vue teams, and Gary Peterson appeared for Nelson and Newcastle. Terry Shearer turned out for Doncaster and Newport, while Peter Murray featured for Canterbury and Wimbledon. Geoff Ambrose was at Crayford and Wolverhampton.

Later on, Hull and Newcastle were linked (same promotion, I know). Colin Richardson was a staple at both Plough Lane and Arlington, as was Andy Grahame at Birmingham and Milton Keynes. No, it wasn't called "doubling up", but it certainly wasn't uncommon.

[OGT]

12 minutes ago, chunky said:

I don't know why people still claim that. Doubling up WAS a feature in the 70's and 80's - actually from the time the Second Division started.

Many BL teams adopted a second-tier team to provide riders. Riders like Eric Broadbelt, Ken Eyre, and Steve Waplington rode for both Belle Vue teams, and Gary Peterson appeared for Nelson and Newcastle. Terry Shearer turned out for Doncaster and Newport, while Peter Murray featured for Canterbury and Wimbledon. Geoff Ambrose was at Crayford and Wolverhampton.

Later on, Hull and Newcastle were linked (same promotion, I know). Colin Richardson was a staple at both Plough Lane and Arlington, as was Andy Grahame at Birmingham and Milton Keynes. No, it wasn't called "doubling up", but it certainly wasn't uncommon.

I think back then though it was used more to help young riders gain experience and develop rather than make up the numbers because there was a rider shortage.