R87 Posted yesterday at 05:54 AM Report Share Posted yesterday at 05:54 AM 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted yesterday at 07:23 AM Report Share Posted yesterday at 07:23 AM 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... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries Posted 18 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 18 hours ago 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy cookie returns? Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago 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. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R87 Posted 17 hours ago Report Share Posted 17 hours ago 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..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PersonalResponsibility Posted 16 hours ago Report Share Posted 16 hours ago 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. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy cookie returns? Posted 16 hours ago Report Share Posted 16 hours ago 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShanoXtra Posted 11 hours ago Report Share Posted 11 hours ago 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilTheAce Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTT Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
False dawn Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 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"... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted 44 minutes ago Report Share Posted 44 minutes ago 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted 42 minutes ago Report Share Posted 42 minutes ago 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted 15 minutes ago Report Share Posted 15 minutes ago Pretty alarming that some folk can't distinguish tribalism from abuse and violence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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