therefused Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 2 minutes ago, IainB said: Crowds will probably return for the pay offs (the effort matches)... and who can blame them? Where's the jeopardy in the rest of the league meetings when the top 4 in a league of 6 qualify🤷♂️ It's truly laughable! Although, perversely, the injury to Jack Holder has probably made Sheffield's season a bit more interesting with King's Lynn on their heels for the final pay off slot. exactly this, last year the top four were decided by May what was the point in waiting months for the play offs, it turned 75% of the season into dead rubber meetings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 3 hours ago, therefused said: then in 2027 we can hope everyone limps through to 2028 and repeat Tell me who has shown you the 2027 plan??? This was marked "Top Secret"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biffa Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago All these reasons that are being said are truly valid and obviously costing speedway a lot. I go to Redcar regularly, but it is becoming a luxury. The working man’s wage just hasn’t risen with inflation over the past X number of years. In 2024 I went to Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Worky, Scunny, Oxford, Cardiff and more. Never been to an away match since May 25 so far. Moneys tight, fuels expensive, admission high but not excessive. All reasons the fan has to contend with. Missed 4 home matches early this year so I could go on holiday, extra £200 to spend in the sun. All coming down to priorities now I’m afraid🤷♂️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noaksey Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 3 things can happen Sheffield can either get sponsorship.and investment externally, they can accept that Speedway in 2026 has to be owner funded or they can pack up No doubt they've done their best to arrange the first one and are still trying, the second one is ongoing which leaves..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 5 minutes ago, Aries said: It’s a combination of all of those where Ipswich is concerned. Doyle and Sayfutdinov were incredibly popular at Foxhall. To lose not just one but BOTH in one hit, and promoting your third heatleader to number 1, is a really hard sell I’m afraid. The new stream has compounded the issue. £15 to watch with your feet up at home, or £25 to travel to the outskirts of Ipswich after a day at work? 🥴 Ultimately though, it all goes back to the lack of any major prestige, publicity and financial rewards for winning any of the competitions... If the "size of the prize" was massive, so would the crowds be... If winning really meant something, people would attend... The crowd numbers reflect the apathy that UK Speedway engenders by being so (almost), irrelevant within a sporting context... How do they get that major financial backing?.. With such poor "optics" across a breadth of issues, when looking into the sport from the outside, I am sure it must be truly difficult, if not maybe impossible, to deliver that game changing, fundamental to success, major backing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 18 minutes ago, mikebv said: Tell me who has shown you the 2027 plan??? This was marked "Top Secret"... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noaksey Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 8 minutes ago, mikebv said: Ultimately though, it all goes back to the lack of any major prestige, publicity and financial rewards for winning any of the competitions... If the "size of the prize" was massive, so would the crowds be... If winning really meant something, people would attend... The crowd numbers reflect the apathy that UK Speedway engenders by being so (almost), irrelevant within a sporting context... How do they get that major financial backing?.. With such poor "optics" across a breadth of issues, when looking into the sport from the outside, I am sure it must be truly difficult, if not maybe impossible, to deliver that game changing, fundamental to success, major backing... It'll be interesting to see how the Wroclaw "partnership" with Ipswich goes, maybe other Polish teams will be interested in something similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk127 Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago Is it a reality that the sport in this country can no longer afford to run at the top level because the lack of major broadcaster airing the sport to a wider audience, the falling level of income from punters, owners and sponsors meaning financially it is simply not enough to cover the outgoings. A new business model needs to be adopted that allows clubs, after financial scrutiny, to run at a level which is affordable. I am sure most people would rather see tracks remaining open and providing a level of team racing given that the alternative could be that the venue closes with little chance that the relevant club will ever make a comeback. At this stage we have journeymen using the top league to top up incomes whilst plying a far more lucrative trade in the likes of Poland. Good luck to those riders who can afford to do that as no doubt the investment required in terms of machinery etc is far higher giving the demands imposed by the Polish clubs. The UK scene does not currently have the right finances in place to compete or even offer like for like terms and the sport needs a measured adjustment in order that it has a future and one day can offer/attract the calibre of riders that compete solely in mainland Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin Jason 72 Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 18 minutes ago, mikebv said: Ultimately though, it all goes back to the lack of any major prestige, publicity and financial rewards for winning any of the competitions... If the "size of the prize" was massive, so would the crowds be... If winning really meant something, people would attend... The crowd numbers reflect the apathy that UK Speedway engenders by being so (almost), irrelevant within a sporting context... How do they get that major financial backing?.. With such poor "optics" across a breadth of issues, when looking into the sport from the outside, I am sure it must be truly difficult, if not maybe impossible, to deliver that game changing, fundamental to success, major backing... Until speedway has a credible product it will be difficult to get the tv coverage it needs. You won’t attract a decent sponsor until the tv deal is in place. we need two equal sized leagues with promotion and relegation so all meetings are relevant. Champions of the league decided by who tops the league and play offs for promotion and relegation. for this to truly work it must be run by a independent board with financial backing for the teams getting promoted to not only survive but to actually compete with the others 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 3 minutes ago, Hawk127 said: Is it a reality that the sport in this country can no longer afford to run at the top level because the lack of major broadcaster airing the sport to a wider audience, the falling level of income from punters, owners and sponsors meaning financially it is simply not enough to cover the outgoings. A new business model needs to be adopted that allows clubs, after financial scrutiny, to run at a level which is affordable. I am sure most people would rather see tracks remaining open and providing a level of team racing given that the alternative could be that the venue closes with little chance that the relevant club will ever make a comeback. At this stage we have journeymen using the top league to top up incomes whilst plying a far more lucrative trade in the likes of Poland. Good luck to those riders who can afford to do that as no doubt the investment required in terms of machinery etc is far higher giving the demands imposed by the Polish clubs. The UK scene does not currently have the right finances in place to compete or even offer like for like terms and the sport needs a measured adjustment in order that it has a future and one day can offer/attract the calibre of riders that compete solely in mainland Europe. All 100%, however, the same has been glaringly obvious for well over a decade yet "zilch" has been done about it... Literally millions and millions and millions have been spent using TV money, sponsorship, and crowd admission money over the past two decades or so... And all for what exactly??... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 7 minutes ago, Racin Jason 72 said: Until speedway has a credible product it will be difficult to get the tv coverage it needs. You won’t attract a decent sponsor until the tv deal is in place. we need two equal sized leagues with promotion and relegation so all meetings are relevant. Champions of the league decided by who tops the league and play offs for promotion and relegation. for this to truly work it must be run by a independent board with financial backing for the teams getting promoted to not only survive but to actually compete with the others It is, and has been for a long time, a "chicken and egg" scenario... To gain major investment from outside the Speedway Bubble, they need to ensure they deliver a credible sport, with each meeting actually meaning something, and an ultimate prize which generates interest... To deliver a credible sport, with each meeting actually meaning something, and an ultimate prize which generates interest, it needs major investment from outside the Speedway Bubble already in place to achieve it... Basically. Neither can be achieved without one or the other already being in place.... And that is a huge challenge for them... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldPitGate Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago, Aries said: It’s a combination of all of those where Ipswich is concerned. Doyle and Sayfutdinov were incredibly popular at Foxhall. To lose not just one but BOTH in one hit, and promoting your third heatleader to number 1, is a really hard sell I’m afraid. The new stream has compounded the issue. £15 to watch with your feet up at home, or £25 to travel to the outskirts of Ipswich after a day at work? 🥴 Agreed absolutely as you said trail out after a hard days graft, try and find a parking space, assuming there's three in the family attending £75 odd to get in plus food and drink on top or flop in the armchair cold beer on one side, trusty remote in the other and the mrs cooking a nice steak sandwich in the kitchen and £15 laid out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 59 minutes ago Report Share Posted 59 minutes ago 2 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said: Agreed absolutely as you said trail out after a hard days graft, try and find a parking space, assuming there's three in the family attending £75 odd to get in plus food and drink on top or flop in the armchair cold beer on one side, trusty remote in the other and the mrs cooking a nice steak sandwich in the kitchen and £15 laid out. Where do live mate?.. I'll be around about seven tomorrow... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted 31 minutes ago Report Share Posted 31 minutes ago 3 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said: Have the crowds been so much worse than 2025 as they are claiming ? They don't seem much different for Belle Vue and Leicester,however the Kings Lynn attendance was lower, possibly because of the heat as there was several 'familiar faces' who stand near me missing.The silence over Jack isn't helping matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldPitGate Posted 18 minutes ago Report Share Posted 18 minutes ago 38 minutes ago, mikebv said: Where do live mate?.. I'll be around about seven tomorrow... Very good Mike, if only mind it was thus, mind you i'm doing some investment mentoring to my youngest son and his best friend for their A levels tomorrow. The drill for his friend is turn up tomorrow at 10 am in t shirt and shorts on we will do a couple of hours on asset allocation start the bbq at midday crack open a couple of beers and you will be home by 2pm. Before they both head off I will shatter the illusion that unless you get lucky and have a great idea your looking at 40 years of graft so enjoy today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youhave2minutes Posted 16 minutes ago Report Share Posted 16 minutes ago 45 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said: Agreed absolutely as you said trail out after a hard days graft, try and find a parking space, assuming there's three in the family attending £75 odd to get in plus food and drink on top or flop in the armchair cold beer on one side, trusty remote in the other and the mrs cooking a nice steak sandwich in the kitchen and £15 laid out. I will pop over with that sort of service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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