Gold Coast 600... Gone....???

[D.R.T.]

Potentially another government pulling the pin. Looking at the online poll next in the story, seems the public agree.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/q...-1226405902727

[Tourer]

Will be there this year and next according to the article so not "gone" yet.

Like any good govt should do, they are looking at it and they'll need to assess it's benefits - given how long the event has run, I have no doubt that they'd have good economic impact data from the various years and various versions of the event.

[Razor]

I can tell that if they do get rid of the Gold Coast 600, they'll move it to the Austin Circuit.

[one five five]

Originally Posted by Razor

I can tell that if they do get rid of the Gold Coast 600, they'll move it to the Austin Circuit.

The format won't work if it they run the Austin race in May as was last reported as the likely date

[peckstar]

Gold Coasters Get Behind V8 Supercars

A poll in today’s Gold Coast Bulletin showed that seven out of 10 Gold Coasters want the event to continue to receive Government funding.

[cptkablamo]

To be quite honest, it would be irresponsible for the government to continue with this race - especially considering its very limited international exposure and that they have another V8 race some 90 minutes up the road, AND fund one in Townsville.
They key is, will they also pull funding out of other sports like NRL, AFL, Commonwealth Games like they seem keen to pull funding out of the arts and cuts to government department workers?

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by cptkablamo

To be quite honest, it would be irresponsible for the government to continue with this race - especially considering its very limited international exposure and that they have another V8 race some 90 minutes up the road, AND fund one in Townsville.
They key is, will they also pull funding out of other sports like NRL, AFL, Commonwealth Games like they seem keen to pull funding out of the arts and cuts to government department workers?

how have you come to that conclusion?

surely if it has a benefit in bringing income into the state then it is still worth having.

i would exoect any government to the do the maths on this and not just make a blanket decision.

[cptkablamo]

I don't agree with the scrapping of the event - but you can't put millions of dollars into an event like this if you are pulling money out of everything else.

It just doesn't look good to the average voter.

And is it still bringing money to the state - out of the 55 million TC suggested, how much of that is new money to Queensland?

Don't forget that this is a government that is happy to scrap projects and events that cost as little as $160,000 a year.

[Mixer]

Well its like the Melbourne Grand Prix.

I'm sure the hippies think its no good but ask anybody with a cab, hotel or restaurant whether its a good thing and I'm sure you'll hear a different story.

Funny just as I write this there's an ad for a Gold Coast hotel at the bottom of the page... If the hotels, bars and restaurants are full does it need to be an international event?

At the end of the day Governments SHOULD invest in events, but its too easy to shoot down any event you want if the event itself doesn't break a profit.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Mixer

At the end of the day Governments SHOULD invest in events, but its too easy to shoot down any event you want if the event itself doesn't break a profit.

At what cost though?

There is always the question of which events to invest in as well. This event is not what it used to be across all criteria and with things like commonwealth games etc coming up its easy to see why its on the chopping block.

Archer might have bought in at a good / bad time depending on the eyes of the beholder.

[Mixer]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

At what cost though? There is always the question of which events to invest in as well. This event is not what it used to be across all criteria and with things like commonwealth games etc coming up its easy to see why its on the chopping block.

Well here you have to strike a balance. Is the Melbourne Grand Prix bringing in more than $30m or so in overall economic benefits? I suspect it is but I cannot see those numbers, and you know that anybody can bend and twist those numbers to tell their own story.

I'm not a fan of Golf for example but I could see why the Government might think paying Tiger Woods $3m just to appear would be worth it. As I said above, if people overseas watch it on TV, and if it gets people spending money its a good thing.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Mixer

As I said above, if people overseas watch it on TV, and if it gets people spending money its a good thing.

Who is spending the money though? If its Queenslanders spending money on the event than it is pointless to the Qld Government to keep the event.

[alfacors]

Originally Posted by Mixer

Funny just as I write this there's an ad for a Gold Coast hotel at the bottom of the page... If the hotels, bars and restaurants are full does it need to be an international event?

Are they full? From what I've heard for the last couple of years, there's been no problems for people getting accommodation at all?

[Mixer]

Originally Posted by alfacors

Are they full? From what I've heard for the last couple of years, there's been no problems for people getting accommodation at all?

Alright so hotels are 85% full. Still its a ****load of money changing hands which is good, right?

[Bugger All]

Originally Posted by Mixer

Alright so hotels are 85% full. Still its a ****load of money changing hands which is good, right?

And considering the average cost of a room and many other things over that weekend is significantly more than most other weekends (except Xmas NYE and some of the important holidays) it is probably 2X S**Tloads coming in

[Mixer]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Who is spending the money though? If its Queenslanders spending money on the event than it is pointless to the Qld Government to keep the event.

Why? Do local businesses not make a profit when Queenslanders spend? Surely there's a tourism aspect to this but anything that allows your business to profit, has to be good for the economy!

Originally Posted by Bugger All

And considering the average cost of a room and many other things over that weekend is significantly more than most other weekends (except Xmas NYE and some of the important holidays) it is probably 2X S**Tloads coming in

Exactly! Try telling a guy owning a restaurant in the city or Lygon St that the F1 makes a loss...

[peckstar]

Which economists and governments are they DRT. you have a very narrow model.

when the australian economy was dodgy, the government gave us money and told us to spend it within australia, was nothing to do with getting outside money.

even getting people to spend within the state is a good thing, but yes its also good to get money from other states and even overseas

[Downoz]

Well when the Gov gave me my money I went to the US. Thank RHS.

[formerf1champ]

gomick, what's your opinion?

http://tentenths.com/forum/showpost....64&postcount=8

Purist, can you give us your opinon, from a perspective overseas?

http://tentenths.com/forum/showpost....4&postcount=10

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by peckstar

Which economists and governments are they DRT. you have a very narrow model.

NSW Government, Qld Government, Victorian Government, South Australian Government, WA Government, Abu Dhabi Government, Bahrain Government, Spanish Government, Singapore Government, New Zealand Government, Turkish Government, German Government.

Please let us know if you wish me to keep going?

Also walk into any event management, sport management or economics university degree in Australia and when looking at events and justification for government financial support such as Economic Impact Assessment - they teach the same model.

So if this is wrong - you might want to tell this to the people who are teaching this to the masses.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Look, I doubt the Gold Coast 600 brings any international tourists into Queensland. CART did, especially during it's glory years in the 1990s when it was arguably the second biggest car racing series in the world. If you have an event that brings in international interest and tourism or simply gives a place an identity of an area to the international community , whether it be the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the Bathurst 1000, Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 or 24 Hours of Le Mans, then yes, you can justify spending taxpayer money on it.

But if you have some random street race where most of the spectators likely come from the local area that disrupts traffic for a week just for three days of racing I just doubt it's worth it. People are talking about "economic impact figures" but in the US or here in Bermuda even for events such as the Superbowl, typically qualified economists repudiate these figures, while of course delusional politicians and promoters are the ones that harp on about it.

The question to the government in Queensland should be, for what it costs, does the Gold Coast get it back in return? If so, then great, keep the event, although I doubt it does. Also, they should also ask would a world-class permanent facility that can host everything from Club Racing to Indycar/Sportscars and V8s of course be better economically for Queensland than this event.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

NSW Government, Qld Government, Victorian Government, South Australian Government, WA Government, Abu Dhabi Government, Bahrain Government, Spanish Government, Singapore Government, New Zealand Government, Turkish Government, German Government.

Please let us know if you wish me to keep going?

Also walk into any event management, sport management or economics university degree in Australia and when looking at events and justification for government financial support such as Economic Impact Assessment - they teach the same model.

So if this is wrong - you might want to tell this to the people who are teaching this to the masses.

You're partially on the mark DRT, pretty much all goats assess events along similar lines - main points are usually (in no particular order) 1. Inbound tourism 2. TV exposure to tourism markets (foreign & domestic) 3. Stimulation of local economic activity (spending) that may not have occurred without the event 4. Promote image and build positive awareness of location through all media.

The weighting of these different items varies from govt to govt, event to event, location to location depending on what is important to them at the time any decision regarding financial support is made but generally there's an element of each item weighing on the overall funding decision.

In the case of the Gold Coast 600, with a change of govt and also a new CEO being recruited for Qld Events right now, it is possible that the weighting of the different items listed above is going to change for this event.

That change MAY give headaches to the V8 fraternity or MAY actually be a great fit for them and the event is built on the current format. As the govt has committed for this year and 2013 publicly, I can't see any call being made on that to at least after this year's event, at the earliest.

[Purist]

In light of the steady trend of suburbanization since World War II, bringing attention back to the urban core with significant events certainly has some benefits. If people are actually excited by things happening in their communities, there is the very real chance that their spending will increase from whatever their baseline has been.

(Maybe urban renewal isn't as big a concern in Australia as it is over here, but I'm sure mass access to automobiles is causing sprawl issues to various extents worldwide.)

This leads into another point, that people will spend money they would otherwise just keep saving, to go to special events. As such, it is NOT strictly a case of redistribution by any means. So, it's not a matter of spending money in one restaurant or another, but of spending the money in conjunction with the special event, or just leaving it in the bank, because you don't NEED to spend it, and/or you haven't gotten the right "push" to feel like spending it.

It looks like there's increasing flexibility in the IndyCar calendar (longer season, acceptance of a second 500-miler), so maybe those guys can come back, and significantly ease concerns about this solely being a V8s (and therefore domestic) event.

[eduardo1]

One thing with the Gold Coast date, and why it was so inflexible when asked to move by IndyCar/ChampCar/CART is that mid-to-late October is a traditionally quiet time on the Gold Coast.

This is why the Qld Govt has stuck firm on the date and why they've supported the Indy/V8 event, because it stimulates the economy during its down time.

So it doesn't need to make a lot of money, but it needs to stimulate transactions to help tourist businesses with cash flow. Bear in mind the GC is one of, if not, the most tourist dependent economies in Australia, so ensuring they have consistent income 12 months of the year is a major criteria of economic management for the Qld government. So while the event may not make money, or generate as many tax receipts to competely cover the investment (and I don't know if it does or doesn't), it does have socio-economic benefits that go beyond this 2 week period.

While I've given reasons against the business model relying so much on government funding, the Gold Coast event is one that has always made sense from both a V8s and a Qld Govt perspective. (So too does Townsville for much of the same reasons - plus a few others - provided the losses are not too onerous).

[fordo]

in reply to a question asked about motel bookings for the GC600 weekend, they are way down, the prices were normal rates last year and the motel my missus works at only had 1 family staying last year for the event and it is a 15 minute walk from the circuit. The Mantra group as a whole were trying to entice people to come and stay with all sorts of deals but were still on average 25% full over the whole event. The restaurants in Surfers made very little last year as a very large percentage of the people that bought tickets only bought them for the concerts at night so did not go to the racing or dine in the Surfers area. As a local who works in Surfers, let me say that business dies for the 2 - 3 weeks it takes to set it up and clear the roads again. Locals avoid it like the plague.

The road through the 1st chicane area before they get to the Red Rooster hairpin is all dug up at the moment for the Rapid rail system and when I spoke to one of the construction guys about it being all clear in time for the race he laughed and said that they will be installing a flyover type bridge for the train that comes across from the Marriott side and down onto the road that they use for the track so not likely. If the gold Coast Council had not stalled the construction of the bridges over the Nerang River areas for the rail system then they would not have bought forward this part of the works and it would not have been started until after the race.