Current Issues Part 3

In this article we'll be looking at Track Conditions and Admission Prices. This is Part 3 of 4. 

The Tracks 

Tracks have changed over the years, but the bikes have changed as well. Four-valve laydown engines have led to more power distribution to the back wheel. Lightened flywheels have made bikes more unpredictable, and tracks gradually become slicker to cope with the more powerful machinery. I've watched plenty of older matches on video and online to see tracks have always been inconsistent in Speedway. There's been plenty of times the golden greats of Maugers, Briggs, Fundin, Gunderson, and Nielson rode on total bogs under the guise of 'speedway tracks'.  

There's often a perception that longer, wider high-speed tracks create more entertaining racing. You can see where this opinion comes from as most internationals and GP events are on these style tracks. I'd be interested to know how the likes of Bartosz Zmarslik, Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov would navigate Eastbourne, Plymouth or Edinburgh. I do know that Jason Crump, Tony Rickardsson, Leigh Adams, and Nicki Pedersen could ride these tracks just as aggressively and dominantly as the sweeping European circuits. The small circuits can produce stunning racing without question, but the bigger tracks tend to create more consistent overtaking opportunities. Large tracks alone won't bring fans back, tracks in Sweden are like Poland, but they're also facing challenges with dropping attendances. 

Nobody wants to see washing line speedway, but, indeed, British tracks are too often producing substandard surfaces for riders. Too often, we see reports of delays in matches with perfect weather conditions due to the track's state. Too often, we see crashes caused by an issue which can be easy circumvented with the right knowledge and experience. 

The 2021 premiership playoffs showed us that if you produce a good racing surface, the riders will perform, lets make matches like this the norm, not the exception. 

Admission Prices

Admission Costs are often a central part of the debate around the success of Speedway. Is it too expensive? Have the admission prices spiralled out of control; will people choose Speedway over other offerings? We've done a detailed analysis of the figures which, can be found on the website, but here's the introductory overview. 

Inflation is on average 2.8% per year. Using the Bank of England's model for inflation, we've calculated that £1 from the year 2000 is worth £1.72 in 2021. This means £10 from 2000 has a value equivalent of £17.21 in today's market. 

The average cost of a speedway match in the year 2000 was £10. In 2021 it's £18.50.

After inflation is considered, you're paying around 16% more for Division 1 or 'Premiership' speedway match compared to the year 2000, Division 2 or 'Championship' has risen by '4%'.

The cost of your matchday programme is better value. It's risen from an average of £1.80 to £3. Even if your programme cost £2 in 2000, you would expect to pay £3.44 in 2021 based on inflation. 

One other thing worth mentioning is we haven't included the Isle of WIghts Dirt Track offering in the price model as we're looking at the British League specificaly. The Isle of Wight is fantastic value at £12 per adult, if you haven't been before go check it out, it's fab!

This is all well and good, but it doesn't account for how much people make in 2021 compared to 2000. The median annual earnings for full-time employees in 2000 was £ 18'848. In 2021, it's £ 31'461. People's income on average, has gone up by 67% across the UK since 2000. I'm looking at the median and not average salaries because the figure isn't affected by high or low wages. 

People earn 67% more than they used to in 2000, the price of Speedway has gone up by 85% on average. People are paying about 18% more to watch Speedway than they did in 2000 when considering their earnings. 

This is hugely oversimplifying the data as it doesn't account for many variables such as the financial crash, housing markets accelerated growth rate, and demographical factors like age, gender, location, occupation, etc. But it still paints an interesting picture.

How does Speedway compare to other forms of entertainment?

Now I've compared a few different entertainment types to Speedway to see how the cost compares. For the sake of consistency, I've taken prices from 3 areas of the country, Poole, Glasgow and Peterborough. 

Poole 

You'll be paying £9.99 for your adult cinema ticket at Cineworld Poole, £7.99 for students and seniors and £5.99 for children. Hollywood Bowl at Tower Park charges £15.80 for 2 adult games and £12.90 for juniors. The Coastal Comedy club in Poole tickets range from £15 to £19 if you pay in advance or £20 to £25 on the door. Poole Town FC who play in the Southern League Premier Division South or the 7th tier in football, charge £12 for adults, £8 concessions and £5 for U18's and £1 for Under 13. You could drive to Weymouth for so National League football who charge £16-£18 for Adults, £11-13 fo Concessions, Under 19 are £7, Under 16 £4, Under 7's for a £1. Poole Speedway is £17 for Adults; Concessions are £14, Students are £10, Under 16's cost £6 and Under 11 go for free. 

Glasgow 

Cineworld Glasgow has the same prices structure as Poole. Springfield Quay Bowling Alley you pay £14.40 for 2 games and £11.90 for the kids, the prices at Coatbridge are about the same. The Stand Comedy Club ranges from £10 to £15. Glasgow's 'Old Firm Derby' averages at about £52 per ticket. You can drive down the road to Motherwell, but no Scottish premiership game will cost you less than £20, you can get £5 tickets for kids with a full paying adult at Ross County. Glasgow tigers you'll pay £17 for adults, £10 for Students and Children under 17, Under 12's go free. Glasgow does offer a family ticket at £44, but I couldn't find further details on what's included. 

Peterborough 

Showcase Cinema in Peterborough is £11.80 for Adults, Students and Seniors get in for £9.30, Children cost £7.75. Hollywood Bowl charges £14.80 for 2 adult games and £11.90 for juniors. The Cresset's Comedy club will set you back £14.50 per person. If you fancy watching Peterborough United or 'The Posh' in the Championship you'll be paying between £22 and £28 for adults, Seniors are £17 to £23, Under 22's are £13 to £17, Under 18 £9 to £11 and Under 12's go for free. Peterborough Speedway charges £20 for adults, Concessions £18, Children under 16 are £5, and under 5's go free. According to the website, Children under 16 are £8, but I've paid £5 for my daughter every time, so I'll use this figure. 

One of the keys issues that depicts the picture of spiralling admissions costs is that other entertainment mediums haven't increased in line with inflation. The Cinema for example, has risen by 53% since 2000, Ten Pin Bowling by 55%, Comedy Shows by 61%, all below the inflation rate of 67%. The exception is topflight football which, has increased by 137% since 2000. 

One last thing worth looking at is the cost of Polish Speedway. 

People often compare the price of British Speedway to Polish Speedway, but they often don't account for the Polish Economy which, is different to the British one. 

At the time of recording £1 is worth 5.42 Polish Zloty. 

Tickets range from 25 to 75 at Polish Speedway, depending on where you attend, so for comparison sake, we'll say the average is £9.22 per ticket or 50 Zloty. 

The Polish Median Salary for full-time employment is £15729.02 in pounds sterling. A Polish Speedway ticket costs 0.058% per cent of your annual Salary. 

The Median Salary in the UK is £ 31'461, so a speedway ticket costs 0.058% of an annual salary. We are paying about the same as Poland's fans are, but the Polish get to see the best riders in the world in the most substantial speedway league structure. 

Again, this oversimplifies the calculations as it doesn't account for economic flux, disposable income models, etc. Still, it gives you a ballpark idea of how the British model stacks up.  

In reality, any product is worth what someone will pay for it. British Speedway needs to understand its target demographic, then price it accordingly.