The problem is that when teams don't own there stadiums your racing with the knowledge that the team can be kicked out of the stadium and alot of teams have folded because of this eg Newport wasps
Never understood team speedway. Every other form of motor sport is every man for himself. Never understood what all this league nonsense had to do with a form of motorcycle racing. My parents, aunts and uncles, were all huge New Cross fans in its heyday, but their enthusiasm for speedway racing never rubbed off on me. Instead occasional visits to the old Crystal Palace race track fired a passion for motor racing and 'proper' motorcycle racing in me.
That's a good shift as a fan but indicates that you, like me, are of a certain vintage and the ageing spectator base is yet another issue which Speedway didn't address in 80's & 90s
Good point, I thought Wimbledon packed up in the 90s but you were right, the club was reborn in the 00s. Looking at the 3rd tier table for 2003 is quite depressing, not too many of these tracks remain; table (top down) was Mildenhall / Rye House / Oxford / Boston / Swindon / Buxton / Newcastle / Sheffield / Wimbledon / Wolverhampton / Carmarthen / Peterborough / Newport
As a schoolboy, I attended Edinburgh in the early 60s and had the thrill of getting autographs of Briggs, Mauger and others. I had a sub for Speedway Star magazine.
That indicates you are of a similar vintage to me!! Sadly, one of this issues Speedway didn't handle well in 80s & 90s when the decline started was to keep sufficient younger supporters engaged
The lack of free-to-air TV coverage is in no small part of this. I remember when the domestic results were read out on BBC Radio and now they don't even mention the World GP results. This is not unique to Motor Sport however. I am a die-hard sports fan and the dumbed down BBC choose to concentrate on just a few sports and neglect to cover a whole range of sports that should be at least mentioned. ITV are partly to blame as well. They used to cover the World Championships but not a mention now. The loss of BBC Grandstand and ITV World of Sport is highly regrettable and was utterly misguided. These programmes should be brought back. I appreciate that satellite TV pays big bucks but the governing bodies of a plethora of sports should realise that terrestrial TV is important for publicity. A hybrid policy of terrestrial and satellite TV would seem to be the right policy. Cricket is an example of this as the England Cricket Board has finally come to realise the need for terrestrial coverage as well as chasing bid money. Also the domination of Football of the airwaves to a ridiculous degree has been detrimental to a whole range of sports.
Some reasonable points here. It is depressing how Speedway has gone from the second largest spectator sport to a minority sport that most general media ignores which in a viscous cycle just makes the decline greater especially as older spectators pack up and there aren't sufficient younger spectators being introduced to the sport
I used to go to watch my loval team Stoke Potters at Loomer Road when I lived there. It's such a shame that speedway doesn't get things like TV coverage which would be so easy to do. With a bit of exposure I'm sure more people would spectate.
I never made it to Loomer Road but saw Stoke ride many times at other tracks. I fear that the time for action to arrest the decline should have been in the 80s and 90s, now Speedway is a minority sport and unlikely to be seen on free to air TV like it used to in heyday times.
@@speedwayuk Yes, very sad. I do watch it on TV now, highlights programmes on ITV 4 but there's nothing like the atmosphere of a speedway meeting, the noise, the smell of the engines and the excitement of close racing. Sorry, I'm getting all nostalgic for the smell of Castrol R!
True, I have ignored situations where a club moved stadium without much of a gap in riding. Workington is a notable exception as Speedway was lost for a number of seasons before being reborn. That's my thinking anyway!
The first UK Speedway track was at High Beech in Epping Forest on the edge of London There has been a bikers tea hut there for as long as I can remember, still there today and bikers still frequent the place
That's your opinion David but in it's heyday it was the second biggest spectator sport in UK which says that quite a few disagreed with you. I agree that you can have (what I consider as) bad meetings where each race is clearly decided by bends 1 & 2 but then again, I've been to some quite dull football matches and F1 has never interested me, surely as a spectator you want to see all the action??
I saw racing at Isle of Wight once. It was the first and only time I have seen sidecar Speedway racing. What a bonkers sight, but really entertaining and immense fun. Great little circuit. I also went to Arena Essex a couple of times. It was really well attended and a great stadium for Speedway. Sad what has happened. I used to regularly go to Wimbledon as well. What happened there is even sadder :-(
Yes, I have enjoyed meetings on IoW and at Arena Essex. The track at Arena Essex was a bit too small for me but made a different challenge for riders than other tracks!
I remember the "golden" years of watching it on tv as a kid back in the day and in the late 90's finally got to go and watch my local team at Wimbledon for a few years. Attendances were always poor, with a hard core turning up every week. Saw some great racing and a couple of youngsters coming through. However, as with many others the stadium got sold to developers and as no new venue could be found it finished. The saddest thing of all was on the last night of Speedway the stadium was FULL. I mean totally packed and not a spare seat or standing spot to be had!! Which proved that there was still an audience, if it were marketed correctly. Other motor sports still thrive so why not Speedway. So sad to see the decline
How I hate the word Greyhounds our housing developments or financial. Once you go, it's in your blood. I first went as a young child to the Reading Racers in Tilehurst. Then they moved to Tilehurst. I used to go with my wife & then when we had a son. On the day it's the greatest motorcycle sport ever. Oh, how I miss it at 62 years old. Oh to be a multi millionaire & bring Reading back. Use it or lose it fans. You will regret it when it's gone. God bless Denny Pyatt. Per Jonsson. My hero Jan Anderson, Boogaloo Bobby Swartz, and my all time Number 7 & super trier Tim Hunt. God bless you all.
Never made it to Tilehurst but went to Smallmead many many times. Yes, the stadium was tired but when you see the site now from the air, just demolished without any redevelopment, it makes me so sad that Speedway could have maybe continued although crowds were getting thinner
Lovely to hear from a youthful Speedway supporter, a rarity these days. Looks like you get down to Oxford which is my "local" track (although too many miles away). It is madness that I watched them recently versus Ipswich and that could be viewed as a local derby!!!
I wish the Oxford promoter the best of luck, he has been very bold. Having been to a few meetings at Oxford now and in the pre closure years, I think the improvements to the track have made the racing more exciting
I raced at most of those stadiums but not Trelawney or Isle of Wight, i started racing as an 8 year old in 1968, o raced for alot of clubs including the Sunderland Saints and Stars,although i lived in Essex a huge trek from Cranham to Sunderland every Friday night i was a Wizard, Hawk, Kestrel, Diamond, Hammer, Bomber and guested for many other clubs during my long career, i was never a fantastic racer but could hold my own, my claim to fame was racing as a no. 7 and beating the great Ivan Mauger for Hackney away at Hull
Mark, agreed on date of 1997 for Speedway at this site but the video is concerned with Professional rather than Amateur racing and that started in 2001 as Trelawny Tigers; up to that point it was Amateur with the name St Austell Gulls
My analysis for the video is based on review of league tables of each season but considering only professional leagues which have had several different names over the years but have typically been the top 2 tiers only and some years only 1 tier (a state I think will eventually return). A quick google has indicated racing stopped after 1985 (and that season was amateur I think).
Great vid. I visited many of the mentioned tracks in the 70s and 80s. Cant believe this has happened in england to a great motor sport event. I was swindon supporter from the 60s to the end. We had great crowds and sometimes more than the local football team! I wish someone from the local councils would wake up and realise that there are thousands of speedway fans out there who have been sold down the river by politicans and house builders wanting more land! Sheer greed!
Yes, with land being so valuable in many locations where there are / have been Speedway tracks the councils have a vital role to resist the desire to redevelop sites, just like Oxford did.
A quick search reveals that racing at Boston Sports Stadium stopped part way through the season in 1987. Have you subsequently gone to Speedway at any other location such as Scunthorpe or have you been lost to the sport as so many spectators have?
@speedwayuk lost touch really i went to Wembley with my dad and grandad. When a scooter pass me and I smell the Castrol R oil always reminds me of Boston speedway I frist went 1970s
My understanding is that while there may be some payment to cover some costs in the NDL, the riders aren't earning an income as such, as in the main two leagues. Even here, some of the riders may now be semi-professional i.e. not earning all their income from Speedway but due to the dearth of riders of sufficient quality, many are doubling up between the two leagues and thus probably can just earn enough certainly in the season. May be wrong as I don't have inside information, but that is my understanding.
No mention of 'Cradley Heathens' who I believe had at least 5 world champions on their team at various times 😢 Stadium sold and replaced by a housing development at the Dudley wood stadium
I was thinking about maybe doing a video on closures 1980 through to 2000 but it might be depressing seeing a load of redevelopment? Anyone interested? At least in producing this video, I was surprised how many of the sites still do or could support Speedway in the future, even if many are now non-professional
ive been a massive fi stock car fan since mid 1970s altho i did go and watch cov bees when ole olson rode for them ,to me it dont matter if we have 4 wheels or 2 we have the same problems ,we need tracks and people to put bums on seats , compared to the 60s 70 s and even 80s there to much other entertainment for people to spend there cash on , £20 per adult maybe £10 per child so 50 for a familay without fuel to get there then theres food and drinks your talking a days wage gone in 1 night for some people ,this is going to set some people but i think its time stock and speedway promoters shud get together and work together im not saying run on same night but we used to share alot of tracks in the past ( in some places still do ) maybe if the promoters had double income maybe we can save some tracks and even possably have new ones . lets face it we all need shale turn left at the bend some clean loos and food and drink and we have a track it doesnt have to be the worlds best but we need something to keep both our sports ALIVE
I agree, better usage of stadiums by combining more sports would help. Classically in city locations Speedway was paired with Greyhound racing but that has been in decline too since the 80s (just like Speedway) and having two declining sports in a stadium is going to lead to what has happened in those city centres, especially with the pressure on land for other usages. Now we large urban populations with no speedway track within 60+ miles, certainly in London and I think Birmingham is following that trend. As for costs, certainly Speedway isn't cheap but professional sport is expensive, Speedway is broadly comparable with Division 1 & 2 football and much cheaper than Championship / Premier League or taking a motorsport comparison, F1. Personally, I think our focus now should be on managing (slowing) the decline, I think the idea that there is a business case to build new locations (certainly near centres of large population) is a pipe dream. So bringing professional Speedway back to locations still with tracks such as Coventry, Eastbourne, IOW, Sittingbourne would be lovely but whether feasible financially is another matter. Oxford has been one of the only bright lights I can think of where a track with a large population catchment has been reborn and I worry that this promotion may be overstretched things by running 3 teams this season, 2 of them professional. Let us hope not!
@speedwayuk the music festivals seem to create more of attraction than ever all over the world The Glastonbury is now a massive business event for the 📺 & entertainment purposes All music festivals were free in the early stages, now the Landing Places are kicking off the animals for music There is probably more green space available for Speedway in other countries now, where they don't have success in making records The music venues in England are closing down,but it's the musicians who need to play in front of 💯 thousands of people Just needs a few new stadiums built for all 🏁 sports & 🎯
My data came from official league tables at the end of each season. Wikipedia seems to indicate that league racing stopped in 1953? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cross_Rangers
So do I but I believe the time for more radical action was in the 90s when the decline gathered pace, I think it is now too late to stop the sinking ship, there is a loss of critical mass whether that be locations, supporters etc. I predict it will at some point go to one professional league and eventually it will become an amateur sport at a number of locations where land isn't too valuable. There are a number of locations where professional racing has stopped but there is still speedway e.g. IOW, Kent
It is on Eurosport but Sky and BT Sport dropped out when they had the rights which says something to me!! In terms of profile, some free to air TV would be much better, remember the days when shows like World of Sport would show it.
@@speedwayuk Yes, I remember watchimg speedway on ITV. I remember flicking through some channels last year and finding a UK match. But I cannot remember the channel.
That was very interesting. I remember when speedway was one of the sporting events to attend in the UK. At the height of the sport Wimbledon was my local team. I now live in the L B of Lewisham and I was amazed to find out that there was a track in New Cross. I only discovered this because my dad's friend, Ken Vale used to ride for the New Cross team. Wembley would host the Speedwat World Chapionship where Kenny Carter and Bruce Penhall were the stars of speedway when I was growing up. Why has speedway lost so much interest in the UK? I would love to see it flourish again, as it is still very popular in other parts of the world.
The situation is complex as I covered in the Rise and Decline video but in my opinion, the time for radical action was the 90s. I know it is a totally different sport but Snooker was in serious decline but Barry Hearn was radical and this sport has recovered.
@@speedwayuk I understand what you are saying, but with owners of stadiums wanting to sell up, unless speedway can find their multiples of Barry Hearns, I have no idea how speedway can rise again.
went to Coventry with my uncle for a good few years, gave up when the owner raised the prices too much, it's great spectator sport, that the youngsters of now will never get to experiance, so few motorsports can boast that you can see all the action from where-ever you stand to watch, also all the riders where so approachable, looking into the pit area, they'd always have a chat with you if they had time.
I agree, I think it beats F1 in terms of excitement for spectators and approachability of riders. I still don't think it is that expensive, the top tier is probably comparable with Division 1 or 2 football and considerably cheaper than Premier League football or indeed F1 both or which are flourishing.
I had the experience of visiting Exeter a couple of times while on holiday, those steel fences were scary. A difficult track to overtake on so I doubt if I would have enjoyed going every week though, I do like tracks where there is the possibility of overtaking past lap 1 bends 1 & 2. The modern Belle Vue track is excellent in this regard.
Such a sad state of affairs. See more gp riders coming back to England. Just don’t see many youngster’s attending. I’m probably 100miles plus from my nearest track. Seems also the sport is moving more north. Suppose time’s change. It’s very sad as a family could go see Racing and not a hint of trouble. Very sad this is my 50th year of watching speedway. Old hackney fan would love to here from any speedway fans
When Oxford is the location closest to London & SE, that says something, vast populations can no longer be tempted to attend. Yes in the main, Speedway is remaining in locations away from population centres where land is cheaper. While this reduces the threat of the classic "redevelopment loss" it isn't great for getting people to attend! Yes, I've been down to Hackney a few times especially once West Ham packed up.
My Dad used to take me to watch the Robins ride for many years I can't believe how the local councils are so boring, they don't care about having any Speedway, or music venue in Swindon We are supposed to be living in a growing Town, but less entertainment It seems they are more interested in seeing new homes being built on site It seems they won't listen to the local people what we say, because they have no clue about the Speedway fans, it needs more local people to press on and support the future of Speedway in the UK, just finding the right location for a proper track that brings fans in to watch the greyhounds and other sporting events that brings in real joy & money to our community I was very surprised to hear about Oxford being able to start up again after 15 years of no racing 🏁 Let's hope Swindon can generate a positive response from Croatia & Latvian,capital of Riga built a stadium in 2014 to keep the dreams come true in maitland travel
I think the greatest sadness is that I don't think that the Robins had poor crowds, certainly they looked reasonably healthy on the occasions I have visited. But in urban locations, the stadium owners will often be looking to play the redevelopment card and earn a lot more money by selling for redevelopment. You need a really strong council to resist this, Oxford is the perfect example and Coventry is another example although without the right outcome.
@speedwayuk I totally agree 👍 It seems that way with the councils I believe that it is pressure from the whole economy with lack of housing, but they could of had built around the outskirts of the Town The national sport is ⚽ in the UK, many lower league clubs seem to be survived on a low attendance, then you look at the cost of tickets for sale and membership would be a real benefit for some people. Back in the late 1980s Swindon was very much a growing Town with Honda & Motorola. Our Population as really doubled. Most of the shops & pubs have closed down since the lockdown, I have noticed more flats have been built on industrial land. The culture of Swindon is always changing with more Brazilian and Portuguese people who don't know anything about Speedway. Times change.
I often passed the solemn faces of Tadpole Farm or Garden Village or whatever they call it now, queuing miserably every morning past the stadium, trying to escape their half million pound prison cells.
I went to Coventry Bees 🐝!! Land owner wanted to build houses. Still no houses & No speedway but owner has destroyed the stadium ripped out all the seats and torn the track up😱🏴🏴🏍️
and allowed arson and vandalism. The cost to get a working Speedway stadium would be huge even if the owner would be prepared to give up the fight to earn a huge payday with housing and sell the site to someone who is happy to accept the lower returns from sport
I'm an ice hockey fan, another very marginal and expensive sport in the UK and I can see the national game going the same way. I used to be a regular at the Glasgow Tigers. I feel like the rise of Sky Sports and their laser focus on football is killing every sport in the UK. Even traditionally strong sports like rugby and cricket. I grew up in the 90s, when Speedway was already in decline and we had Grandstand which would show and promote all sorts of sports... even ice hockey, basketball and rallycross. Now it's hard to survive as a marginal sport and when the costs are so high such as in speedway and hockey it's hard to carve a niche. I was down in Workington thos weekend and managed to see the Comets against the Cheetahs and the racing in Workington was superb, really good track, lots of lines and passing. One thing I noticed at Glasgow was the racing was quite poor. 90% of races were done in the first corner. I've not been back since before covid so I'm not sure if they've made the track more competitive. The concern speedway has is the crowd tends to be old. I'm 39 now and i often feel like one of the youngest at the track. The sports management seems to have done a really poor job promoting the sport and pushing it in the cultural zeitgeist and getting young people involved. I find sports like speedway and hockey are very slow to react to things like social media promotion. One thing British basketball has done well is increased engagement, they offer a free game on RU-vid weekly and that increases the games awareness in the uk. Maybe speedway should consider this.
Some very good and interesting points. I agree 100% about the negative impact of "gaters tracks" and that if you can't attract youngsters your fanbase will literally die out!! Once you are a marginal sport and aren't covered by regular media it is an uphill battle. But Speedway was once the number 2 spectator sport in England after football (not so sure about Scotland) and sadly, in my opinion, there was insufficient done to arrest the decline which started in the 80s
Fantastic exciting sport ,but not kept up with the times at bv says meal is pie n chips crap at over a tenner .Not a cheap night out .But a fab sport .
Certainly not cheap but competitive against the cost of many lower league football grounds, for example Oxford Speedway v Oxford United football in Division 1. Entertainment wise, I think a good Speedway meeting trumps many Division 1 football matches on "exciting moments" quota!
