My brother-in-law took my niece and nephew this afternoon. He just messaged me this:
"So they have 3 staff (bar, tote, kitchen). 4 security guards. 6 people who walk the dogs to the traps. 2 people driving tractors. The guy who waves the flag. The two people who operate the trap. Then four people sat in uniform in the bar area ( not sure what they are doing)
That's at least 22 staff. And there are 20 customers.
No wonder it is closing."
Those afternoon cards are just to provide the bookies with off course punting opportunities. When I went on a Saturday evening a couple of years ago the restaurant was very busy but, overall, it wasn't as packed as years gone by. Then Ladbrokes decided to stop those meetings possibly because they wanted a real excuse to close the place.
They’ve made no obvious effort to attract crowds to Crayford. We used to drive all the way to Wimbledon dogs on various Groupon deals (cheap entry/food & beer deals etc) which drew in a great turnout. I’d have gone to Crayford often if they’d offered the same but they didn’t. Definitely a missed opportunity as Groupon deals still exist for Romford so no excuse really for not trying.
Edit: so, I searched for deals at Crayford dogs and found that they do a superb £10pp deal that includes entry, beer and food which I had no idea about. Definitely needs marketing as I’m sure there’s demand out there for a good value night out. Probably too little, too late now though. Shame.
Thing is everyone wants to go on a Saturday night as a family night out or drinks with mates and taking that meeting away has killed it
Makes you wonder if it was deliberate.
Ultimately Ladbrokes (Entain) could have just announced the closure without any justification.
Obviously you are right but I was commenting on the transfer of Saturday morning and evening meetings to other tracks. For what it's worth I would have thought Crayford was the perfect bookmakers track with it's smack ups at the first bend creating unforeseen results. However it suits only a small minority of dogs and owners removing their dogs has resulted in meetings with reduced numbers of runners which is no good from a betting point of view.
Thing is everyone wants to go on a Saturday night as a family night out or drinks with mates and taking that meeting away has killed it
Makes you wonder if it was deliberate.
Ultimately Ladbrokes (Entain) could have just announced the closure without any justification.
Obviously you are right but I was commenting on the transfer of morning and evening meetings to other tracks. For what it's worth I would have thought Crayford was the perfect bookmakers track with it's smack ups at the first bend creating unforeseen results. However it suits only a small minority of dogs and owners removing their dogs has resulted in meetings with reduced numbers of runners which is no good from a betting point of view.
Just fodder for the shops/online and it's probably the lack of dogs as you say that has lead to closure. Yes, a very bookmaker friendly track.
Always had good times there and my youngest had his 10th birthday party there (his request and no surprise that both my boys work in the industry!) - tour of the kennels, race named after him and he presented the trophy. In a previous life I was the Management Development Manager for Ladbrokes and spent a lot of time at Crayford - Barry Stanton was the General Manager then - a great guy and a much respected man in the greyhound racing industry.
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Edit: so, I searched for deals at Crayford dogs and found that they do a superb £10pp deal that includes entry, beer and food which I had no idea about. Definitely needs marketing as I’m sure there’s demand out there for a good value night out. Probably too little, too late now though. Shame.
Ultimately Ladbrokes (Entain) could have just announced the closure without any justification.
For what it's worth I would have thought Crayford was the perfect bookmakers track with it's smack ups at the first bend creating unforeseen results. However it suits only a small minority of dogs and owners removing their dogs has resulted in meetings with reduced numbers of runners which is no good from a betting point of view.
the council on subsequent redevelopment if they show it as an unused resource / amenity?