Speedway 2026 ??

[1 valve]

30 minutes ago, SteveLyric2 said:

Surely that was back in the day when the British league and National league were separately managed and administered. Many would say now that the Championship should be separately managed!! Mr Morris was brought in as Chief Exec of the Premiership only - nothing to do with Championship or NDL/NDT!!

You are correct, he was and he doesn’t.

As it is today, UK speedway is already teetering on oblivion being well short of any concise growth plan as promoters focus on self serving survival, which as things stand will ultimately be the death knell for UK professional speedway. 
Being mindful of the existing structure of the sports governing bodies from the FIM down, the last thing needed is to have separate groups of promoters in collectively further working against each other and the greater good of the sport.  

Truth of the matter is.
There are too few riders available for the number of promotions.
Most of the stadiums in use are outdated and provide poor spectator facilities.  
There is an over dependence on doubling up to keep promotions active. 
The guest system is overused. 
The sporting media by and large steer wide of covering speedway because of its self serving and contrived organisation.

The current crop of promoters do not have the wherewithal to steer the sport to better times, only to tread water until they eventually “go under”

Fans think a few changes (if any) are all that is required whereas a great number of factors impact on one another to make the solution complicated and in itself is the very reason why promoters do not wish to bite the bullet and so things remain the same. 
 

[shippy22]

9 hours ago, 1 valve said:

Except they didnt all ride in the top league at the same time and thus remained a minority

The first division in 1970 had 19 teams.  Of those 7 teams, Belle Vue, Coventry, Halifax, King's Lynn, Wembley, Cradley and Swindon raced on Saturdays, so hardly a minority !!

[arnieg]

36 minutes ago, shippy22 said:

The first division in 1970 had 19 teams.  Of those 7 teams, Belle Vue, Coventry, Halifax, King's Lynn, Wembley, Cradley and Swindon raced on Saturdays, so hardly a minority !!

< 50% => minority

But

It is certainly not a 'small minority'

[SteelShoe]

13 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

You are correct, he was and he doesn’t.

As it is today, UK speedway is already teetering on oblivion being well short of any concise growth plan as promoters focus on self serving survival, which as things stand will ultimately be the death knell for UK professional speedway. 
Being mindful of the existing structure of the sports governing bodies from the FIM down, the last thing needed is to have separate groups of promoters in collectively further working against each other and the greater good of the sport.  

Truth of the matter is.
There are too few riders available for the number of promotions.
Most of the stadiums in use are outdated and provide poor spectator facilities.  
There is an over dependence on doubling up to keep promotions active. 
The guest system is overused. 
The sporting media by and large steer wide of covering speedway because of its self serving and contrived organisation.

The current crop of promoters do not have the wherewithal to steer the sport to better times, only to tread water until they eventually “go under”

Fans think a few changes (if any) are all that is required whereas a great number of factors impact on one another to make the solution complicated and in itself is the very reason why promoters do not wish to bite the bullet and so things remain the same. 
 

Good post.

I agree that the BSPL with only 4 current active members does not indeed have the wherewithal to steer the sport to better times. It definitely needs the help of professional business, marketing and PR consultants to develop strategies for sponsorship, fan engagement, improved media coverage and the attraction of investment. However this costs money and the BSPL don't have much. 

Promotions need to urgently think about improving facilities and introducing activities that make Speedway more family oriented and not just about the racing. It also in the shorter term needs to be serious about realigning the costs of running the sport based on current attendances.