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Ipswich Witches 2026


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On 3/7/2026 at 7:44 PM, mikebv said:

Just had an email to renew my season ticket at United for £35 a match...

Hmmmm..

£35 to watch around 65 mins of Premier League football, which is authentic, has jeapordy, has consequence, prizes worth winning, and no Mickey Mouse operating model, or £30, (or "just" £25 in the pauper seats), to watch 15 mins of Premiership Speedway without any of the attributes a team sport requires...

Decisions, Decisions...

:D

 

Are any clubs offering a "young adult" ticket? I heard on the radio the other night that Nottingham Forest FC are reintroducing their young adult ticket,  other football clubs seem to do similar scheme offering 25% discount for 18-24 year olds 🤔 

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7 hours ago, IainB said:

Are any clubs offering a "young adult" ticket? I heard on the radio the other night that Nottingham Forest FC are reintroducing their young adult ticket,  other football clubs seem to do similar scheme offering 25% discount for 18-24 year olds 🤔 

United do...

U16 - £190 (a tenner a match)

16/17 - £275 (under £15 a match)

18/20 - £413  (under £22 a match)...

21 and over pay adult prices, cheapest is £29 a match..

And that has risen with "Glazernomics"..

Still good value though fo encourage the younger sections of society to attend...

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9 hours ago, IainB said:

Are any clubs offering a "young adult" ticket? I heard on the radio the other night that Nottingham Forest FC are reintroducing their young adult ticket,  other football clubs seem to do similar scheme offering 25% discount for 18-24 year olds 🤔 

Ipswich Town have under 19 and under 23 prices

Season tickets work out approx £9 and £13 per match respectively 

My adult season ticket is cheaper per match than the speedway!!

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4 minutes ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

Ipswich Town have under 19 and under 23 prices

Season tickets work out approx £9 and £13 per match respectively 

My adult season ticket is cheaper per match than the speedway!!

Can't really compare though as they have so much more budget/disposable income.

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2 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Can't really compare though as they have so much more budget/disposable income.

Easy to compare £45 with £75 when you are the father and his two sons with the choice to make.....

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1 hour ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

Easy to compare £45 with £75 when you are the father and his two sons with the choice to make.....

Not the cost for us, the wealth of the club!  I'm sure speedway clubs would love to be in the position to offer admission at £10 but they're not.  Nor are the majority council subsidised.

Edited by SPEEDY69
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29 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Not the cost for us, the wealth of the club!  I'm sure speedway clubs would love to be in the position to offer admission at £10 but they're not.  Nor are the majority council subsidised.

The thing is surely it's better to have a bunch of 18-24 year olds in for £15-£18... + maybe burger, chips and a pint (I know some tracks don't receive catering money) rather than none at £25.

Speedway's pricing structure is so rigid, you go from next to nothing as a non adult to a massive £25 minimum as an adult whatever your age. 

As a sport with such an aging supporter base there doesn't seem to be any middle ground for the next generation of supporter.

Edited by IainB
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44 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Not the cost for us, the wealth of the club!  I'm sure speedway clubs would love to be in the position to offer admission at £10 but they're not.  Nor are the majority council subsidised.

They could afford cheaper admission if they didn't pay around £200k for three heat leaders...

Maybe have only two of them, run six rider teams, and use the money saved to have a budget of £75k or so, to target some "special offers" prices, on certain nights...

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1 hour ago, ouch said:

Better still, don’t use any of them and offer £15 entry with any number of kids free. Watching a Belle Vue team around the NSS at that pricing and we’d eventually see a big resurgence in the sport wouldn’t we?

I think you were being tongue-in-cheek?  I don't think pricing is the issue at all regarding regular attendance. Promoters should be looking to make a nice profit. It's the evening itself and the marketing.  So many people go once or twice and never again.  The evening itself is not that entertaining/gripping, often out in the cold/wind/rain doing nothing but waiting for something to happen.

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2 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Not the cost for us, the wealth of the club!  I'm sure speedway clubs would love to be in the position to offer admission at £10 but they're not.  Nor are the majority council subsidised.

I can see where you ate coming from but saying they can't afford to make it less just means they ultimately get less - eg £0

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2 minutes ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

I can see where you ate coming from but saying they can't afford to make it less just means they ultimately get less - eg £0

Exactly and that's a major reason why the sport in the UK is shrinking.

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1 hour ago, dontforgetthefueltapsbruv said:

I can see where you ate coming from but saying they can't afford to make it less just means they ultimately get less - eg £0

100%...

The Aces are a perfect example where money could be saved and reinvested in price...

My old company had a name for it...

"Save to Invest"...

Basically remove all non profit making sections of the business, and then use that money to lower the price points of products..... 

The Aces have two genuine world class riders, if neither were there, crowds "may" dip, but certainly not by much, if the standard was around tier two level...

If one of the world class riders was there, crowds, would, I suggest, be the same as if both were...

No rider has an "aura" like yesteryear where world class talent turning up was an "event", hence several hundred extra would rock up to watch...

Therefore, one world class rider per team should be the target, (if they want to maintain the current level)

(Which clearly isn't working, but I digress)...

Two HL's, two SS"s, and two reserves being the set up of each team...

That would free up several hundred thousand across the top league to invest in promoting the clubs and sport...

 

Edited by mikebv
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14 hours ago, mikebv said:

 

No rider has an "aura" like yesteryear where world class talent turning up was an "event", hence several hundred extra would rock up to watch...

Therefore, one world class rider per team should be the target, (if they want to maintain the current level)

(Which clearly isn't working, but I digress)...

Two HL's, two SS"s, and two reserves being the set up of each team...

That would free up several hundred thousand across the top league to invest in promoting the clubs and sport...

 

The season Emil came over he certainly brought that, it was noted by promoters that everyone had their biggest crowds that season on his visits, people turned up to see him for sure. 

I think that probably subsided a bit over year 2 & 3 though, hard to say really how to make that draw more sustainable with the quantity of teams and top riders we now have riding here.

“back in the good old days” when you had a much bigger league and only rode home and away once against everyone and some ko cup matches people would want to be there for the one chance too see say Jason crump visit Foxhall with belle vue, I love watching bewley and Kurtz visit the heath but last season they visited 4 times which reduces that excitement to get to see them for less die hard fans.

so in a way I agree with the one top star per team to be the target but I think ultimately the goal should be to have say 10-12 teams with that one top star and drive that draw of “this is your chance to see “top rider X” at your home track this season” but that just seems to so far away from reality with the current state of affairs in uk speedway doesn’t it

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15 hours ago, mikebv said:

100%...

The Aces are a perfect example where money could be saved and reinvested in price...

My old company had a name for it...

"Save to Invest"...

Basically remove all non profit making sections of the business, and then use that money to lower the price points of products..... 

The Aces have two genuine world class riders, if neither were there, crowds "may" dip, but certainly not by much, if the standard was around tier two level...

If one of the world class riders was there, crowds, would, I suggest, be the same as if both were...

No rider has an "aura" like yesteryear where world class talent turning up was an "event", hence several hundred extra would rock up to watch...

Therefore, one world class rider per team should be the target, (if they want to maintain the current level)

(Which clearly isn't working, but I digress)...

Two HL's, two SS"s, and two reserves being the set up of each team...

That would free up several hundred thousand across the top league to invest in promoting the clubs and sport...

 

 

The Brady/Dan partnership is something that doesn’t come along very often, not unless you attract a couple of off the peg superstars by waving a cheque book. Dan has come through the ranks at the club and to see Brady go from the 7.50 bunch to one point off being world champion has been phenomenal. I can understand The Aces keeping them together whilst they can but it’s inevitable that one of them will join our No1 club and line up at the top of another of our competitors. 

The issue with releasing one to raise funds to promote the club is all well and good but it’s this insular thinking that holds the sport back. We need to be thinking nationally on this topic and not just club to club. Should Brady move on then it releases no money nationally as the burden falls on another club in our collective and probably at an increase cost. Think us not me. 

When air fences came out clubs ran individual meetings to help pay for the initial cost, maybe something along those lines could be done to fund a national advertising pot?

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1 hour ago, 89buttons said:

The season Emil came over he certainly brought that, it was noted by promoters that everyone had their biggest crowds that season on his visits, people turned up to see him for sure. 

I think that probably subsided a bit over year 2 & 3 though, hard to say really how to make that draw more sustainable with the quantity of teams and top riders we now have riding here.

“back in the good old days” when you had a much bigger league and only rode home and away once against everyone and some ko cup matches people would want to be there for the one chance too see say Jason crump visit Foxhall with belle vue, I love watching bewley and Kurtz visit the heath but last season they visited 4 times which reduces that excitement to get to see them for less die hard fans.

so in a way I agree with the one top star per team to be the target but I think ultimately the goal should be to have say 10-12 teams with that one top star and drive that draw of “this is your chance to see “top rider X” at your home track this season” but that just seems to so far away from reality with the current state of affairs in uk speedway doesn’t it

100% Emil had an impact...

In his first season..

However, like anytime a rider absent for several years comes back, eg Tai, after a while, the novelty simply wears off....

The sport crucified itself over here in two specific areas when pretty much all the big names rode in the UK..

Financially, by pretty much giving them all the TV money...

And, running many, many, guestfest meetings, due to these lads missing, down to their ever growing, individual commitments...

Which, ultimately went a long way to destroying the credibility of what was on offer, which then, naturally, disillusioned thousands of fans who still haven't come back, but still follow the sport....

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