Seriously

[IainB]

51 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

As I said I would I took notice of the amount of team clothing worn by fans last night, we parked the car right near turnstiles and the que ‘s were fairly big, I would say probably 3% had Ipswich branding and about 2% of that was clothing from the 1990s-2000s, quite a few of the old Wulfsport jackets, not many modern team shirts on show, it was cold and people had jackets on so that could of factored in to it, also I know it’s the case in most British speedway but Ipswich crowd seems to be 50+ age bracket and I don’t think I’ve seen so many dogs at a speedway meeting (except in the bar at hull  years back)😉

tbf the Ippo merch is pretty uninspiring... I've never got on with their black and day glo yellow colours

[GeneralMelchett]

21 hours ago, bellevueace said:

I know people who were going to attend then found the price increase and stayed at home to watch on tv, i wonder how many others did? It appears the increase in price actually cost them money.

That's a basic page 1 lesson on price and demand elasticity!

[mikebv]

4 minutes ago, GeneralMelchett said:

That's a basic page 1 lesson on price and demand elasticity!

Dynamic pricing usually comes down when demand is much, much lower than supply...

It seems the Aces' leadership had a different idea...

[SPEEDY69]

1 hour ago, DaveWayne said:

Not entirely true. The lesser formulas that don't attract much of a crowd pay to race, but the bigger formulas don't. They also receive prize money for placings, some formulas get 'start money', and also the F1s get free admissions for 3 mechanics.

Thanks for the insight.  I still don't think it's a valid comparison to speedway though regarding admission cost.  The stock car meetings at Foxhall always seem packed, they charge for parking as well plus they get the catering/bar income.  Profits for these meetings I think will be way in excess of what speedway could make. 

Do you know if the admission cost for meetings with lower formulas is significantly lower?  For speedway I'd estimate outgoings for each meeting to be around 25-26k, not adding in any profit margin.  They have to recoup this of course but I'd expect stock car outgoings to be lower.

Overall, I think the entry price for speedway is ok in the Premiership.  Blimey, I paid £19 for a fish and chips meal at a pub last week plus £7 for a glass of wine - I'd have rather been at the speedway!

Edited Friday at 03:33 PM by SPEEDY69

[DaveWayne]

30 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Thanks for the insight.  I still don't think it's a valid comparison to speedway though regarding admission cost.  The stock car meetings at Foxhall always seem packed, they charge for parking as well plus they get the catering/bar income.  Profits for these meetings I think will be way in excess of what speedway could make. 

Do you know if the admission cost for meetings with lower formulas is significantly lower?  For speedway I'd estimate outgoings for each meeting to be around 25-26k, not adding in any profit margin.  They have to recoup this of course but I'd expect stock car outgoings to be lower.

Overall, I think the entry price for speedway is ok in the Premiership.  Blimey, I paid £19 for a fish and chips meal at a pub last week plus £7 for a glass of wine - I'd have rather been at the speedway!

The lowest I have paid anywhere this year is £18, but most tracks you are looking at a minimum of £20.

Buxton promoter once told me that at his 'domestic' meetings he rubs 6/7 lesser formulas as he knows their 'pay to race' fees will cover his outgoings, so any paying spectators are profit.

F1 meetings would have 'payouts' of around £4-5k in start and prize money on top of the other costs. Crowd sizes vary wildly depending on the formula with literally just a few hundred at some non-F1 meetings, up to several thousand at bigger meetings. 

The fact that you think speedway has higher outgoings surely suggests that the prices should be higher, so the fact that admission to both is similar is a positive for speedway.

[SPEEDY69]

2 minutes ago, DaveWayne said:

The lowest I have paid anywhere this year is £18, but most tracks you are looking at a minimum of £20.

Buxton promoter once told me that at his 'domestic' meetings he rubs 6/7 lesser formulas as he knows their 'pay to race' fees will cover his outgoings, so any paying spectators are profit.

F1 meetings would have 'payouts' of around £4-5k in start and prize money on top of the other costs. Crowd sizes vary wildly depending on the formula with literally just a few hundred at some non-F1 meetings, up to several thousand at bigger meetings. 

The fact that you think speedway has higher outgoings surely suggests that the prices should be higher, so the fact that admission to both is similar is a positive for speedway.

Exactly the point I'm trying to make to counter the comparison argument from others for speedway admission to be lower.  

[GeneralMelchett]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

Dynamic pricing usually comes down when demand is much, much lower than supply...

It seems the Aces' leadership had a different idea...

you would have thought they would have done all they could to get a full as possible stadium

[mikebv]

12 minutes ago, GeneralMelchett said:

you would have thought they would have done all they could to get a full as possible stadium

Indeed...

Tracks lose income throughout the year during the qualifiers, especially on those nights that the weather may be a bit iffy, or the opposition is poor, or the team is already a shoe in for the PO's..

(Or a track hosts a double GP!)...

Therefore, you would think that they would want to deliver a full house to recoup some of that lost revenue...

And, as you say, do everything to facilitate it...

A strange business plan..

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

Indeed...

Tracks lose income throughout the year during the qualifiers, especially on those nights that the weather may be a bit iffy, or the opposition is poor, or the team is already a shoe in for the PO's..

(Or a track hosts a double GP!)...

Therefore, you would think that they would want to deliver a full house to recoup some of that lost revenue...

And, as you say, do everything to facilitate it...

A strange business plan..

Does BV speedway club get the bar and restaurant takings or is it the council ?

Edited Friday at 06:03 PM by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Hawk127]

2 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Thanks for the insight.  I still don't think it's a valid comparison to speedway though regarding admission cost.  The stock car meetings at Foxhall always seem packed, they charge for parking as well plus they get the catering/bar income.  Profits for these meetings I think will be way in excess of what speedway could make. 

Do you know if the admission cost for meetings with lower formulas is significantly lower?  For speedway I'd estimate outgoings for each meeting to be around 25-26k, not adding in any profit margin.  They have to recoup this of course but I'd expect stock car outgoings to be lower.

Overall, I think the entry price for speedway is ok in the Premiership.  Blimey, I paid £19 for a fish and chips meal at a pub last week plus £7 for a glass of wine - I'd have rather been at the speedway!

The stock cars and bangers are always well supported at Foxhall and the speed weekend and the bonfire bonanza are sell outs and have the stadia packed with crowds that speedway can only dream of these days. Speedway and Spedeworth seem to get on well. In both sports the participants are approachable and many a banger driver or stock car driver is happy to talk with kids and let them look over the cars. Speedway riders are also generally good value when meeting Joe public and that is a credit to them. Apart from entry fees and who gets what from the catering etc is probably the main difference when looking at revenue streams. However the banger meetings are well oiled events and last a lot longer than a speedway meeting so followers probably feel it is better value from an entertainment perspective. I am happy to watch both.

[mikebv]

25 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Does the speedway club get the bar and restaurant takings or is it the council ?

Not sure... 

BV did when the track opened, and it was a key part of the business plan that they submitted to the council...

We always use the food wagon on Kirky Lane so don't know if its still "in house" or now just paying concessions...

 

[Hawk127]

2 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Thanks for the insight.  I still don't think it's a valid comparison to speedway though regarding admission cost.  The stock car meetings at Foxhall always seem packed, they charge for parking as well plus they get the catering/bar income.  Profits for these meetings I think will be way in excess of what speedway could make. 

Do you know if the admission cost for meetings with lower formulas is significantly lower?  For speedway I'd estimate outgoings for each meeting to be around 25-26k, not adding in any profit margin.  They have to recoup this of course but I'd expect stock car outgoings to be lower.

Overall, I think the entry price for speedway is ok in the Premiership.  Blimey, I paid £19 for a fish and chips meal at a pub last week plus £7 for a glass of wine - I'd have rather been at the speedway!

The stock cars and bangers are always well supported at Foxhall and the speed weekend and the bonfire bonanza are sell outs and have the stadia packed with crowds that speedway can only dream of these days. Speedway and Spedeworth seem to get on well. In both sports the participants are approachable and many a banger driver or stock car driver is happy to talk with kids and let them look over the cars. Speedway riders are also generally good value when meeting Joe public and that is a credit to them. Apart from entry fees and who gets what from the catering etc is probably the main difference when looking at revenue streams. However the banger meetings are well oiled events and last a lot longer than a speedway meeting so followers probably feel it is better value from an entertainment perspective. I am happy to watch both.

[ouch]

On 9/11/2025 at 2:23 PM, secsy1 said:

When Belle Vue moved to the National Speedway Stadium many incentives to buy a season ticket were on offer.

Year on year since then no incentives whatsoever, only a continual purge on the aging fans purse strings.

Every club that offers season tickets should show how much the fans are appreciated by giving them a shirt/scarf.

Why is everyone moaning about how so few fans wear team merchandise, when the reality is they cannot afford them.

It was unjustifiable to raise the price for Mondays meeting and really what has club merchandise got to do with it?

I was given an Aces scarf as part of my season ticket package the other season. Very nice it was too. I agree with you that other clubs should follow suit. 

[SteveLyric2]

On 9/12/2025 at 7:59 PM, Hawk127 said:

The stock cars and bangers are always well supported at Foxhall and the speed weekend and the bonfire bonanza are sell outs and have the stadia packed with crowds that speedway can only dream of these days. Speedway and Spedeworth seem to get on well. In both sports the participants are approachable and many a banger driver or stock car driver is happy to talk with kids and let them look over the cars. Speedway riders are also generally good value when meeting Joe public and that is a credit to them. Apart from entry fees and who gets what from the catering etc is probably the main difference when looking at revenue streams. However the banger meetings are well oiled events and last a lot longer than a speedway meeting so followers probably feel it is better value from an entertainment perspective. I am happy to watch both.

I presume banger racing and stocks are always at weekends or occasional Bank Holidays?

[Hawk127]

4 hours ago, SteveLyric2 said:

I presume banger racing and stocks are always at weekends or occasional Bank Holidays?

Yes normally weekends and bank holidays with the two biggest being (crowd wise) Speed weekend and the bonfire bonanza. If only more speedway teams raced at weekends.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

1 hour ago, Hawk127 said:

Yes normally weekends and bank holidays with the two biggest being (crowd wise) Speed weekend and the bonfire bonanza. If only more speedway teams raced at weekends.

I don’t get all this if there was more speedway at weekends more would attend.

If you make the product & the competition’s something that appeals to the public then they would attend whatever night it was on. 

Ipswich have always ran on Thursday nights & have always historically & currently attract some if not the best uk crowds for speedway.

The product & value for money is the biggest driver. 

[SPEEDY69]

2 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

I don’t get all this if there was more speedway at weekends more would attend.

If you make the product & the competition’s something that appeals to the public then they would attend whatever night it was on. 

Ipswich have always ran on Thursday nights & have always historically & currently attract some if not the best uk crowds for speedway.

The product & value for money is the biggest driver. 

That may be true but it's also true that the speedway generates far less income for the promoters than stocks. When you have less money it's much more difficult to spend on increasing the entertainment. I don't think better racing is the answer at all. 

Edited 2 hours ago by SPEEDY69

[Hawk127]

1 hour ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

I don’t get all this if there was more speedway at weekends more would attend.

If you make the product & the competition’s something that appeals to the public then they would attend whatever night it was on. 

Ipswich have always ran on Thursday nights & have always historically & currently attract some if not the best uk crowds for speedway.

The product & value for money is the biggest driver. 

I was thinking of more travelling fans who might be tempted to travel to an away track on a weekend race night. I know Ipswich get very good support and I use to go regularly and would normally go to Mildenhall because they ran on a Sunday.
When it was a different set up in years gone by, it was Hackney on Friday, Rayleigh on Saturday and Eastbourne on a Sunday and the occasional trip to Canterbury and whenever Rayleigh were away from home at another weekend track I would normally go. It is all different now with fewer teams spread across the country making supporters think hard before bothering to travel to an away match. Stocks and bangers probably get more support for many reasons and it  just does not compare from a business model perspective. Anyway each to their own.

[orion]

4 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

Yes normally weekends and bank holidays with the two biggest being (crowd wise) Speed weekend and the bonfire bonanza. If only more speedway teams raced at weekends.

Like Eastbourne and Rye House and Workington or Maybe Sundays like Newcastle.