Ipswich Witches 2027

[R87]

16 hours ago, ouch said:

Richard made a point about the tribal nature of the Polish fans and it was something to work on over here. He’s also touch on the fact social media should be improved,  both frequency and content. I know how he feels when dealing with the BSPL cartel as I get the very same with the many cartelesq members on here. We will push on though. 

No thank you.  Last thing people want when going to speedway is for fans to start intimidating each other.

Good luck Ipswich with this guy in charge if this is his big idea for speedway- you'll certainly need it.

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, R87 said:

No thank you.  Last thing people want when going to speedway is for fans to start intimidating each other.

Good luck Ipswich with this guy in charge if this is his big idea for speedway- you'll certainly need it.

I attend few domestic meetings, but do attend the play off finals that the Aces are in..

Why?..

Not because I see the winning of a UK Team Speedway title has any major relevance in its current guise, but the finals do provide some atmosphere which you associate with a team sport...

In short, they are something worth attending if you like live sport...

400 or so Aces fans at Sheffield, stood on turns three and four, a few years ago, meant a superb night of watching sport, with the racing only being "OK" at best...

Standing with 200 or so at Leicester a couple of years ago on the first turn also made the evening a great spectacle...

Plenty of banter between rival fans, plenty of pee taking of the opposition managers, and riders, and no malice in sight...

If UK Speedway had that many away fans at EVERY meeting then it would be in a hugely more successful position.....

Your Team. Your Riders...

Win, lose or draw, that is how a team sport should be if you want people to emotionally engage with it...

Glad the Aces got Sheffield as several hundred will descend on Owlerton next week...

Should be a great atmosphere...

[Aries]

On 10/1/2026 at 12:30 PM, SteveLyric2 said:

Its been well documented that in their final Premiership/Elite seasons - having won the titles several times - Poole took a big hit financially. Crowds dipped on Thursdays, sponsors changed. stadium rental/costs increased (and Matt was moving temporarily to France). Fans were asked what level of racing and what race night they preferred - the answer was Championship on Wednesdays. So be it!

At the time MF stated it was 30% cheaper to run in the Championship than the Prem. A greater variety of fixtures/opponents also appealed to the fans who continued to attend in good numbers - especially as Poole continued to track successful, winning teams, all built within the same points limit as everyone else - no rules broken, no super wages paid!.

In the background was - and still very much is - the long term future of Poole Stadium, Council owned and until recently leased to Clarke Osborne's Gaming International company. (CO passed away in August leaving his widow as the sole Director of Poole Stadium Ltd) Its understood they still have 14 years left on the lease.

With all Councils under pressure to generate more house building, everyone is waiting for some clarification as to the stadium's future....  No club no matter how successful or otherwise, will take a major step into something that is going to cost significantly more when its traditional home maybe under threat - or at the very least requiring firm clarification.

Thank you for the detailed reply.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

10 hours ago, R87 said:

No thank you.  Last thing people want when going to speedway is for fans to start intimidating each other.

Good luck Ipswich with this guy in charge if this is his big idea for speedway- you'll certainly need it.

I’d suggest that you do need some form of  needle to get the atmosphere going. Currently there is little atmosphere at any uk speedway stadium unless you get a large crowd in for the big meetings.

I’m very happy to have Coleman leading Ipswich & hopefully he’ll turn the fortunes of uk speedway around.

[R87]

49 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

I’d suggest that you do need some form of  needle to get the atmosphere going. Currently there is little atmosphere at any uk speedway stadium unless you get a large crowd in for the big meetings.

I’m very happy to have Coleman leading Ipswich & hopefully he’ll turn the fortunes of uk speedway around.

Nobody who goes to speedway could care less about the atmosphere.  They go for the racing.

As for Coleman, don't say you haven't been warned.....

[PersonalResponsibility]

37 minutes ago, R87 said:

Nobody who goes to speedway could care less about the atmosphere.  They go for the racing.

As for Coleman, don't say you haven't been warned.....

I would've said similar...until my club shut down. Watching a very good meeting as a neutral is good, but watching an average meeting in a stadium with 20k people and an electric atmosphere is miles better. People absolutely care about it.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

54 minutes ago, R87 said:

Nobody who goes to speedway could care less about the atmosphere.  They go for the racing.

As for Coleman, don't say you haven't been warned.....

That doesn’t really make sense given the failing attendances year on year. Not enough people go to speedway for the racing these days.

[ShanoXtra]

5 hours ago, R87 said:

Nobody who goes to speedway could care less about the atmosphere.  They go for the racing.

As for Coleman, don't say you haven't been warned.....

You might be on your own with that one, sorry to be harsh, but your response and attitude is the reason speedway is dying. Speedway needs more atmosphere and more passion. Not a nice little family night out. Go to the cinema if you want that. Sports has always been about atmosphere, look at darts and how it changed completely. I think you have a very closed attitude and mind and would be good working for the upper echelons of British Speedway. 
This is going to sound super harsh but speedway could afford to lose people with your mindset to gain a lot more people with real change. 

[PhilTheAce]

8 hours ago, ShanoXtra said:

You might be on your own with that one, sorry to be harsh, but your response and attitude is the reason speedway is dying. Speedway needs more atmosphere and more passion. Not a nice little family night out. Go to the cinema if you want that. Sports has always been about atmosphere, look at darts and how it changed completely. I think you have a very closed attitude and mind and would be good working for the upper echelons of British Speedway. 
This is going to sound super harsh but speedway could afford to lose people with your mindset to gain a lot more people with real change. 

When we beat you in the semi final at your place, the cameras shown alot of your fans leaving the stadium at heat 14. 

 

I out on my belle vue Facebook group that you seen the aces now f off home. A little joke, and the response from people was wild saying this is not football. That that attitude elsewhere we dont need this in speedway. 

 

Well yes, yes we do need this. It needs to become tribal. 

 

Ive always said get rid of the family sport image because end of the day its bikes with no brakes, with riders risking there life every single heat. Thats extreme. And should be sold as an extreme sport. 

 

I said to one speedway club owner. I wont name sorry, we need to bring in betting firms on race nights. More people will come if you can bet on races at the track. And his response was we dont want that type of people at speedway. Crazy

 

Bring tribalism back

[TTT]

29 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

When we beat you in the semi final at your place, the cameras shown alot of your fans leaving the stadium at heat 14. 

 

I out on my belle vue Facebook group that you seen the aces now f off home. A little joke, and the response from people was wild saying this is not football. That that attitude elsewhere we dont need this in speedway. 

 

Well yes, yes we do need this. It needs to become tribal. 

 

Ive always said get rid of the family sport image because end of the day its bikes with no brakes, with riders risking there life every single heat. Thats extreme. And should be sold as an extreme sport. 

 

I said to one speedway club owner. I wont name sorry, we need to bring in betting firms on race nights. More people will come if you can bet on races at the track. And his response was we dont want that type of people at speedway. Crazy

 

Bring tribalism back

LOL! As if people are going to start hurling abuse at pensioners.

If we did morph into Football fans then you'd only end up copping the lot at every Aces meeting as you'd stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[1 valve]

14 hours ago, R87 said:

Nobody who goes to speedway could care less about the atmosphere.  They go for the racing.

As for Coleman, don't say you haven't been warned.....

Back in the 70’s, a time in history when football hooliganism at matches was rife and speedway was the “family sport” (a phrase coined because of the nature of the fans behaviour which meant folk could attend meetings without fear) on track rivalry was fierce and indeed fans were tribal. Lots of chanting, massive amounts of loud cheering for both individual riders and respective teams. Rivalry was fierce and the anticipation of respective number ones going against each other raised both the tension and the noise in the stadium. And yes the racing was every bit a good as today. 
Coleman is absolutely right, rivalry & tribalism should absolutely be part of the experience, something that will add to the means of attracting returning or new supporters. Something the current sterile  situation evidentially fails to do. 
 

[False dawn]

33 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

Back in the 70’s, a time in history when football hooliganism at matches was rife and speedway was the “family sport” (a phrase coined because of the nature of the fans behaviour which meant folk could attend meetings without fear) on track rivalry was fierce and indeed fans were tribal. Lots of chanting, massive amounts of loud cheering for both individual riders and respective teams. Rivalry was fierce and the anticipation of respective number ones going against each other raised both the tension and the noise in the stadium. And yes the racing was every bit a good as today. 
Coleman is absolutely right, rivalry & tribalism should absolutely be part of the experience, something that will add to the means of attracting returning or new supporters. Something the current sterile  situation evidentially fails to do. 
 

Back in the 70's I can, as a Bees supporter, remember having many heated arguments on the terraces with rival fans, especially Leicester folk. In later years it was Cradley and then Poole. But never did I or any of my family feel threatened and I took my kids into the standing areas from a few days old.
There's nothing wrong with rivalry. I'm not sure I like the term tribalism but having some emotional attachment to your club is natural and good for the sport. I know we've talked it to death but the lack of a consistent team of riders from week to week let alone from year to year does not foster this sense of attachment. 

[mikebv]

I still remember "The War Of The Roses" meetings against Sheffield as kid..

Brilliant racing? No idea, can't remember, but what I do remember is the several hundred Tiger fans in attendance making for a tremendous atmosphere..

Wolves in the early 90's too always brought many away fans to Kirky Lane, and we the same to Monmore... 

Was the racing brilliant? Again, don't remember, but the events themselves were... 

The lower number of  tracks, and the constant sharing of riders, has diluted rivalries to almost nothing these days, with a decent away fan following now being a rare thing at most meetings..

The Scottish Derby is often mentioned as being "fierce"..

So "fierce" in fact that Edinburgh's best rider guested for Glasgow a few weeks ago..

That  cannot do the sport any good if you want to build up some rivalries that actually engage fans..

I've said before, let away fans in for free, or a very nominal fee, and provide them with a section of their own for them to sit or stand in..

Travel costs are high these days, streaming is available too, so let then in for nothing and, hopefully, some atmosphere can get generated that ensures more regular visits from more of the home fans going forward, and, who knows, word may get round that a night at the Speedway is "a good night out"...

 

[SPEEDY69]

16 hours ago, R87 said:

Nobody who goes to speedway could care less about the atmosphere.  They go for the racing.

As for Coleman, don't say you haven't been warned.....

Nope, not true. I energy to Torun for the Son or whatever it's called, racing was reasonable but very poor crowd. For a team match it's packed. Belle Vue crowds are no bigger than those at Poole but which has the best racing. The feeling and experience of being there is the most important factor. Quality of racing comes will behind that. That's why F1 remains well supported. 

[SPEEDY69]

On 10/1/2026 at 6:59 PM, MajorMauger said:

With the great Foxhall Stadium holding next years British GP, in order to maximise the potential attendance of the event is there any chance that the 3rd and 4th bend terracing will be reopened and available for spectators?

Yes. As far as I'm aware the only reason they are closed for speedway is the requirement for stewards. They are open when car racing is on. 

[Bagpuss]

Pretty alarming that some folk can't distinguish tribalism from abuse and violence.

[TTT]

51 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

Pretty alarming that some folk can't distinguish tribalism from abuse and violence.

I out on my belle vue Facebook group that you seen the aces now f off home. A little joke, and the response from people was wild saying this is not football. That that attitude elsewhere we dont need this in speedway. 

 

Well yes, yes we do need this. It needs to become tribal. 

 

Tribal Football Fan Mentality means showing hostility to others associated with the opposition and as we all know when it comes to Tribalism in Football it results in Abuse and Violence hence why they've been give the name Hooligans.

 

Another example of the Football fan mentality is what we've seen at the Darts recently where Luke Littler has recieved bundles of verbal abuse from Football Fans to a point where it's affected him.

Edited 3 hours ago by TTT

[Hawk127]

As an aside to all the tribal discussion, just seen the World Championship banger meeting starting today at 4pm at Ipswich is sold out and the only way to watch the meeting is on Spedeworth TV. I guess the stadium holds circa 10k and if Spedeworth can organise an event like this then no reason why Mayfield cannot fill the stadium for the GP.