Only 970 paying attendance on Sunday against Poole

Eagle1971 · Only 970 paying attendance on Sunday against Poole

Argus says..............
Eagles new boy under the spotlight
10:00am Tuesday 24th March 2009

By Brian Owen »

New Eastbourne Eagles reserve Ricky Kling is facing a week under scrutiny.
The 21-year-old Swede scored paid-three from three rides at home to Poole on Sunday before being replaced for his final heat.
Eagles go to Poole for the Elite Shield second leg tomorrow (WEDS), then face Lakeside on Friday and Saturday in the KO Cup.
Promoter Bob Dugard enjoyed Sunday’s 49-41 win but said: “Ricky is a worry, although he says he will get it sorted.
“I’ve been told the best track to judge him on is Poole so I’m more than interested to see how he does there.”

Dugard admits he was disappointed by Sunday’s paying attendance of 970.

..........If we do strengthen the team, especially if the excellent Simon Gustafsson is going to miss several meetings, then I feel we should strengthen the top end of the team and not bring in a new number seven.
I wonder if we could bring back Scott Nicholls if a deal could be agreed. I think that losing Scott, Lee and Ed is the main reason for the low attendance.
It's worrying and why I raise this subject.

sussexbulldog

This story is on our front page.

The reason why attendance was low was because it was on Sunday and not on our regular Saturday race night. Lots of people simply cannot attend on a Sunday, myself included.

ray

presumably this included season ticket holders . as we know already non-season ticket holders [ some for the first time this year ] will be selective of meetings . be intrested to know how season ticket numbers have been for the last 3 seasons , seem to recall it was a record for BB's one and only season . Cool

parker

sussexbulldog

zena

There didnt seem to be many Poole fans present.

parker

MrB

Or maybe people will no longer pay top prices to watch the weakest EL in history! Who wants to see 1 rider trailed off at the back in 7 races? Get used to it because with the standard of reserves this year I think we'll be seeing it again.

Kevin54

Probably lots of reasons why it was a low turnout;

A/ It was on a Sunday, no longer a popular race day, and Mothering Sunday to boot Exclamation

B/ The dreaded "credit Crunch", people are going to be selective.
C/ We will see Poole again at least twice.
B/ If "Management" had used their brain and offered some form of incentive, Letting all Mums', accompanied by their kids!!, in for half price or free, they possibly may have got a bigger crowd.

Anyway, did'nt BD say he was budgeting for crowds of 1000 earlier on this year?
He was not that far off that figure.

ray

any chance of you joining the management kevin , they and we need you Cool

Kevin54

parker

parker

Kevin54

Anny

I have seen Paul Hurry in the pits of late with our Lads, would be nice to see Him again in the Eagles Race jacket.

emjay

So Mr BD is moaning about the attendance last Sunday. He should be glad he got so many:

It was not the normal raceday.
It was afternoon.
It was mothering Sunday. We enjoyed a meal at my son's place. Whatever Mr BD may think, Arlington is a very unlikely venue if you are thinking of treating your mother.
Its a cold windy place at this time of year.
Anyway we can see Poole again in a few weeks, when it might be warmer.
Money is tight- so many of us are more selective now, and will continue to be so.
And I think many people are disappointed at the make up of the Elite League teams. Elite it certainly is not. Marginally better than the league below it, maybe. But frankly, who wants to see the same old teams again and again.

So Mr BD, stop moaning. Be happy with your 970. Sadly, I think you will have to make do with less than that as the season grinds on.

Kevin54

Just as a point of interest, on the Poole live updates a few have commented that the crowd is low there, so it aint just us BD Exclamation

ray

emjay's comments on why a sunday , mothering sunday , would have a low attendance are totally correct . lack of thought picking that day . Sad

parker

Tweagle

pirate nick

parker

Kevin54

pirate nick

Kevin54

Interesting, if worrying, point coming out of last nights televisual extraveganza compared by the "Muppetts".

The crowd.

By the looks of the stadium it was half full, the stand by the start gate showed an awful lot of empty seats, and the bends where sparsely populated.

Granted it was a cold evening and on Sky.
But, televised meetings from Poole have always attracted a healthy audience, and if they, arguably the best supported team in the league, can only attract a half full stadium for an attractive local derby, then is that a sign of the times?

parker

ray

will always affect eagles , for a start it is on a week day . so for the longer distance travellers , most coming home from work first , to drive the usual distance but having to leave home later coz of this , then all the other traffic travelling home too , gonna take longer and not like cruising down on a saturday at all . the alternative is to save money , time and trouble , feet up having dinner and watch on tv . no contest . realised this the season before last . another reason for not buying a season ticket also , if two televised matches at eastbourne then the £ 17 announced saving on buying a gold card is lost anyway .obviously the home club needs some form of guarantee not to lose money . pointless otherwise , and what about the monday tracks , they could lose fans to tv as well . it has not been thought out properly --------
---- STILL Sad

-

MrB

Its these meetings where the clubs should get out and promote with an offer on the admission prices. I haven't been to a sky fixture for a couple of years now for those reasons above. If the club was to offer say half price admission though I would go as no doubt would many other regulars and newbies Idea

citrus

lakeside showed how this should be done last season sky was a free entry

sussexbulldog

ray

i remember that . was that the time all the yobs took over the grandstand and bar and screwed the evening and the speedway spectating completely , or was that another time . i wasn't there but aussie2 and other friends were . too much or too little , never seem to get it right do they Sad

parker

ray

y'mean there will be no more cuddles !? i enjoyed wiping my hands on that shaggy beard of yours .if you don't behave you may not get your copy match card , or have we discussed this enough too ?! so now you are posting about people in glass houses , careful , you know what happens to them Smile

whyat am i supposed to do with blanket--- send you smoke signals ?!! Idea

MD

So the crowd figure for last Saturday went down by almost 200 to just 800 paying people, thats shocking....

sussexbulldog

ray

last season hagon would text us , that had sent him our moblie number , about the weather and chances , if it looked at all dodgy . but that was about 5.30 , and many of us , including me , had set out earlier than that . but the decision to call it off was usually not taken before 7-8 o'clock after track inspection . we had arrived and paid our car park fee before that time . often we were kept hanging around while the referee decided . so it was not much use unless you lived locally . after a while i would phone aussie2 , who lives only minutes away , before i left and decide then . often noticed other matches , particularly rye house , were called off much earlier . i will contact aussie2 this season , the same , if it appears doubtful . remember the first match at home to swindon many of us , when it was finally called off , had to get our cars out of the morass of a car park [ this happened several other times too ] and the match was restaged on a monday night which many of us could not attend . that was when i decided i would never buy an annual season ticket again . i would have saved money not buying it , what with holidays and other times i could not make it either . what is the point of a re-entry ticket if you have a season ticket , then cannot make matches on a weekday . Confused

MrB

Well aparently Bob was on BBC Radio Sussex today saying that at the moment things are looking bleak and unless crowds improve the sport in Sussex will fizzle out with little chance of it returning!

Well how about the management actually do something about it instead of just moaning after a poor turnout in these troubled times and stop charging the hardcore support more for luxuries like a seat!

Lets have some offers, a loyalty card maybe with discounts after 5 or 10 meetings (could be done by saving rain off tickets), how about the half season ticket booklet thats been talked about before, while the free entry ticket in 1 programme is a start its only going to benefit 1 supporter! Come on management get your management skills out and do something positive to bring back the fans Idea

ray

well time to be constructive , but BD must do such as MrB suggests . no point in sulking and lashing out at all and sundry .he got it together before the cup final last year , must do that again . it is as if it is everbody's fault but his . sounds like a certain one-eyed scotsman , or the shred not getting into a certain golf club . hope martin can talk some common sense into his father . so it is our fault , so why are crowds dropping , why are they not there for their beloved eagles . for a start they are feeling alienated and fleeced for every penny . why are there such a lack of club sponsors, some we know have been alienated too . hagon , meridian , maskell are no longer there for the club . even bob brimson only sponsors individual riders now . that seems the main problem financially , and whatever he does it cannot be put right by trying to extract further finances from the fans . it is not just the attendance levels , how much is being lost in the grandstand income , especially the bar , and as we know the programme sales are down for at least two reasons .there needs to be understanding and co-operation between all parties and with a united club new and more ways of increasing funds can be investigated and worked on , bringing new money into the club coffers . many of these have been posted over the last two seasons . still don't really know why the quid for a kid , that could bring the family in , was dispensed with . Sad

but throwing stones will help nobody , we have a team well worth supporting , again new and outside finances must be found Surprised

sussexbulldog

If we want the club to continue I think we must get behind it and support it 100%

Time to stop criticising but instead do all we can to encourage fans to attend.

Just my thoughts and not aimed at anyone.

We have a recession and even benevelent millionnaires are feeling the pinch.

Bazra

Heard a rumour that Bob was on a Radio station this morning saying that if we did not get more people through the gate, that we would close. Don't know what station it was and know no more details then that.
Lets hope for more people on Sat. Back to the regular race night can only help.

ray

will be most intrested to see the attendance . hope it is a good one Razz

MrB

Aussie2

Kevin54

Well I've listened to it via BBC radio Sussex, go to the bit that lets you listen to Friday April 3rd, the breakfast show, it was broadcast at 7.25, just after the trailer for the Paul Ross show.

It was not that clear due to the kids and Hannah Montana on the box Rolling Eyes

The gist of it is fairly simple;
BD is basically bankrolling the club, his buisiness has been hit hard by the recession, they have had to let staff go and are on a 4 day week.
The crowds are down.
The club is losing money.
The money to run the club comes from BD via his buisiness.

Simple choice; what comes first, his buisiness and livelihood, or the club?
The implication was fairly stark, unless the attendances improve, 2009 may well be the last season for the club.

To widen the picture, Poole have noticed a heavy drop in their attendance numbers, one would imagine that by and large this is a scenario duplicated across the country. Supporters on forums have stated that due to a combination of, primarily, the economic situation, and disenchantment with the make up of the league, they are going to be selective in the meetings they go to.

If BD, a promoter who owns his own stadium finds himself in this position, then what does that say about those who have the additional burden of paying the rent for their stadiums?
Not a very good omen for the season, methinks.

ray

so parker what was attendance agaist aces , see thread on that match iro the granstand situation . Cool

Tweagle

So the attendance on Saturday wasn't far off what Bob needs to keep the Eagles going. Smile

If all of us with cars that are not full, could bring just 1 more person to meetings that would probably do it. We took a lady on Saturday who had hardly been to speedway in the last 30 years but was a regular as a kid, and she loved it. The smell, the racing, and the family fun was all still there.
C'mon everyone we can help Bob with or without his encouragement.
Do we know of people who would attend but don't, through lack of transport.
Maybe some of us could do some pick ups on our routes ?. Question

sussexbulldog

sussexbulldog

I have moved lift offers to a new topic in the Welcome section.