THE possibility of a round of the Australian V8 Supercars series coming to Newcastle has created a buzz in the city, even among those who don’t identify as motoring enthusiasts.
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A poll of more than 4000 people on the Herald website came out overwhelmingly in favour of the city hosting a Supercars event, with 90 per cent of respondents giving the proposal the thumbs up.
A street circuit exploiting the scenic backdrop of Newcastle’s harbour, beaches and historic east end is the favoured route option, although there are obvious challenges in bringing that vision to fruition, with narrow passages, steep corners and built-up areas to contend with.
However, Newcastle-based Supercars driver Aaren Russell believes an east end circuit is viable and would be one of the best tracks on the national circuit. Failing that, backers of a local event have discussed a route around the Hunter Stadium precinct.
Graeme Boyd, who organised the inaugural Newcastle Supermoto race weekend on the Foreshore last year, pointed to the 30,000 attendance as evidence of the support for motorsport in the area and attractiveness of the inner-city location.
The opportunity to host the Supercars also fits neatly with a push by regional tourism stakeholders to grow the Hunter’s event economy and Newcastle City Council’s stated policy of chasing major sporting and cultural events, for which it has set aside $350,000 in this year’s budget.
Events are an increasingly important part of the tourism market, and it has been estimated the Supercars race could inject more than $40 million a year into the economy, based on other cities’ experience.
Putting the hype aside, the opportunity needs to be approached with some caution as there is a significant, and as yet unstated, buy-in cost for events of this scale, and the contract will lock the city into a multi-year deal, likely to be between three and five years.
If the promised benefits fail to reach expectations, or if the event proves overly disruptive to the city in terms of street closures, noise, crowd control or possible infrastructure damage, then it will not be able to opt out after one race.
Overall, though, the chance to host a major motorsport event of this calibre offers many positives for Newcastle, not least the chance to parade the city’s scenic charms before a large national audience.
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