Was the Gold Coast 600 a success for the Queensland taxpayers

[cavvy]

No doubt it was a great finish on Sunday & full of controversy on Saturday for us race fans, but what about the taxpayer who funds the show?

Crowd? What are VESA claiming?

TV ratings: good? What about international appeal?
Rnk Description Stn Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 Junior Masterchef Australia Sun Ten 1,445,000 388,000 505,000 259,000 124,000 169,000
2 Seven News – Sun Seven 1,445,000 407,000 327,000 400,000 115,000 195,000
3 Nine News Sunday Nine 1,231,000 378,000 349,000 228,000 153,000 123,000

19 V8 Supercars: Gold Coast D2 Seven 551,000 176,000 98,000 152,000 79,000 46,000
20 Ten News At Five Sun Ten 529,000 173,000 134,000 94,000 50,000 79,000
21 Four Nations Rugby League 2010 Nine 455,000 268,000 15,000 156,000 6,000 9,000

30 FIA Formula One World Championship 2010 One 326,000 86,000 117,000 41,000 49,000 34,000
V8 Supercars: Gold Coast – Raceday Xtra D2 Seven 300,000 87,000 54,000 60,000 49,000 50,000

Let the politics begin !!!

[Armco Bender]

Let the politics begin !!!

The politicians would have done very nicely,wined,dined and slapped each others backs.
The taxpayer just get screwed over as they normally do.

[sizzle]

Originally Posted by cavvy

Crowd? What are VESA claiming?

If you believe this article then 170,000.

I think there may have been a bloody lot of rock fans rather than race fans if the grandstands were anything to go by.

[Average Punter]

Motor racing? A success for taxpayers?

Surely you jest...

[eduardo1]

170,000 over three days. Realistically, that's a breakdown of 40K, 60K and 70K over Friday/Saturday/Sunday.

That's just plain rubbish. 70,000 in the reduced size precinct - you couldn't have moved.

I liked the concept in theory and it's really cool that respected international drivers are keen to be involved in our series.

But, part of the appeal of having top line drivers is to see them driving at a high level.

Watching guys like Franchitti, Castroneves, Villeneuve struggle and look like rank amateurs in our cars was a bit of a turn off to me. It really was farcical at times and made them look a bit ridiculous, which none of these champions deserve.

Especially when, after 35 laps, they're all over and for 200km it's just a normal V8 Supercar race.

Having the international drivers there may well be a strong enough lure to justify the expense though. I'd be interested to see the economic impact report when it's done - to see how many interstate and international visitors the event got.

[cptkablamo]

I think the crowd peaked on Saturday...

Was it a success for tax payers - that is an interesting question. Sure, there was a decent crowd and the national tv figures were good...and the event was certainly better that I thought it was going to be. I actually quite enjoyed it and having the internationals there gave it something extra - the Gold Coast event needs that element.

But the real questions - what international coverage did it get? Was that coverage better or worse than in CCWS/IRL days? What was the viewership like overseas? How many overseas people came to the Gold Coast for the event.

It is all very well to go on about nationals liking the event, but that would not answer the question that the State Government asked when funding the event.

Should it continue? Yes. I think so (and no, I didn't think I would say that a week ago). If they can't or don't want to have an international category, they should let this concept mature and see how it goes over a few years.

[eduardo1]

The only justification for having this event (for the Qld Govt) is how many tourists it brought in. Does this concept bring in enough that wouldn't otherwise be here and is it sustainable?

On a plus side, bringing in just some drivers is far cheaper than shipping in a whole series - and the set-up maintenance costs are less with a smaller track and precinct. So it doesn't need to hit the heights of IndyCar in the late 90s early 2000s to be justifiable.

But will enough people travel to come and see V8s race, even with a host of internationals?

NSW people had Bathurst 2 weeks earlier and their own street race in another 6 weeks, so that dilutes the appeal for them.

Townsville has its own street race, Victorians had Phillip Island recently, plus Sandown in another few weeks, plus they also get Winton and the AGP, so they're not starved of V8 racing. And for a V8 street race, Adelaide is closer for them and of course there's no need for Adelaide folk to come to Gold Coast because there's nothing else there for them.

Not many will come from WA, plus they've also got Adelaide a lot closer.

So really, the hopes of a V8s only GC street race are pinned to the sustainability of people wanting to travel to maybe bump into some international superstars in the paddock and watching them go slower than the regular V8 guys on the track. It doesn't sound like a long term business case for me. It's just not unique enough in the long run.

Like I said earlier - I like the concept - but I think as an event, GC is going to need something else to make it more unique to survive long term. Which I hope it does - GC/Indy has always been one of our truly awesome events and I never want it to end.

[mac]

Personally, it was an interesting novelty. That novelty will have worn off in 12 months time...

[stmookeyj033]

Of course it would be a success for the Government, they'll just sell another asset to balance the books....Oh wait?

To be honest there's no motorsport event held outside of an enclosed circuit that's a success in this country.

[peckstar]

Clipsal has always seemed like a success, what do you base your definition of success on?

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by eduardo1

170,000 over three days. Realistically, that's a breakdown of 40K, 60K and 70K over Friday/Saturday/Sunday.

That's just plain rubbish.

Haha so true.

Tony said on Wednesday or Thursday that they had 145,000 sold so thats a 25,000 walk up

The 'alleged' figure compares with 202,000 in 2009 and 297,000 in 2008.

You can't imagine too many international tourists flying out to the Gold Coast for the event we saw on the weekend - outside of the 18 drivers.

[rik]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

The 'alleged' figure compares with 202,000 in 2009 and 297,000 in 2008.

Although previous years were 4 day events.... so 170,000 over 3 days is probably more profitable(less of a loss maker) than 202,000 over 4 at a larger track?!?

[rik]

Originally Posted by cavvy

TV ratings:
Rnk Description Stn Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
19 V8 Supercars: Gold Coast D2 Seven 551,000 176,000 98,000 152,000 79,000 46,000
21 Four Nations Rugby League 2010 Nine 455,000 268,000 15,000 156,000 6,000 9,000
30 FIA Formula One World Championship 2010 One 326,000 86,000 117,000 41,000 49,000 34,000

Now I don't have much of a clue about TV ratings, but something seems very strange with such a massive Melbourne audience allegedly tuning it to a lopsided irrelevant League game against PNG???

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by cptkablamo

But the real questions - what international coverage did it get? Was that coverage better or worse than in CCWS/IRL days? What was the viewership like overseas? How many overseas people came to the Gold Coast for the event.

Nothing here, can't even find the highlights being shown over the next few days (although I was out during the day and may have missed them being shown earlier). ChampCars used to get live coverage through Eurosport/Sky with highlights of the V8s on Motors.

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by sizzle

If you believe this article then 170,000.

I think there may have been a bloody lot of rock fans rather than race fans if the grandstands were anything to go by.

Hahaha!
I don't know how well attended the concerts were, but the race crowd on Saturday was no more than 10,000, and on Sunday I would suggest it was 20-25,000.

There were fewer than 30,000 on race day at Bathurst though, so at least they are consistent with their multiples.


Did the QLD taxpayer get value? No. Not only did they pay $500k to stage the race, they then paid for the concerts, for the free buses, and for the extra policing on top of that.

...And those who paid to get into the circuit then would have paid $5 (which is the same as US$5 or GBP3.35) for a 500ml bottle of cola.

[yap]

Originally Posted by sceptic

Hahaha!
I don't know how well attended the concerts were, but the race crowd on Saturday was no more than 10,000, and on Sunday I would suggest it was 20-25,000.

It is a bit hard to estimate how big the crowd is on a circuit like this where you can't see the whole circuit at once, but as someone who was there for all 3 days I GUARANTEE there was a LOT more than 10,000 there on Saturday....

There was at least that number at the concert alone on Sat nite as it was packed

[PVDA]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

You can't imagine too many international tourists flying out to the Gold Coast for the event we saw on the weekend - outside of the 18 drivers.

Each would brought a friend along so that's up to 36 at least

[cavvy]

Originally Posted by rik

Now I don't have much of a clue about TV ratings, but something seems very strange with such a massive Melbourne audience allegedly tuning it to a lopsided irrelevant League game against PNG???

Not straight up & down the numbers rik:

19 V8 Supercars: Gold Coast D2 Seven 551,000 176,000 98,000 152,000 79,000 46,000
21 Four Nations Rugby League 2010 Nine 455,000 268,000 15,000 156,000 6,000 9,000

Underlined the Melbourne viewers, bolded the totals for the national capitals (sorry Tas). 98,000 Melburnians watching the V8s, 15,000 watching league.

[rik]

Originally Posted by cavvy

Not straight up & down the numbers rik:

Underlined the Melbourne viewers, bolded the totals for the national capitals (sorry Tas). 98,000 Melburnians watching the V8s, 15,000 watching league.

Ahh, thanks... Didn't realise the first number was the total. Thought it was Sydney.

F1 overlap seems to hurt V8s in Melbourne a lot more than other cities.

[revhead05]

Quite frankly, I just can't believe the crowd figures often given for these events, and here's why.

The track is as near as makes no difference 3km in length. Let's presume that we can get spectators ALL the way around both sides of the track, which means we have 6km of available space. Of course this counts the pits, and run-off areas etc, but let's ignore those for the minute.

Now, unless they all get very friendly, each spectator will take up around 1 metre of width, meaning that if we had them all the way around the track, and 1 person deep, we would need 6,000 customers.
To get close to 60,000 people, they would need to be 10 people deep ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TRACK, and remember we are including the non-accessible areas.

Of course, there are the occasional grandstands, which would probably be more than 10 rows high, but remember, we have included areas where spectators CANNOT watch from.

Watching the racing, most of the visible spectator areas were less than 1 person deep.

Have I missed something?

[peckstar]

yes you have, 20+ story buildings

[Muznik]

Originally Posted by peckstar

yes you have, 20+ story buildings

I was thinking the same think Peckstar.

The highrises have always been where a lot of the crowd hide.
Some highrises can hold thousand/s + on their own.

I didnt go to the event this year but was a little more interested than I thought i would be watching on TV.. I may be tempted next year.

But anyone who thinks the tax payers will come out in front when TC is involved is deluded

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by peckstar

yes you have, 20+ story buildings

Yeah, but can you call them spectators? How many of them even notice the cars?

[Robert Ryan]

Now, unless they all get very friendly, each spectator will take up around 1 metre of width, meaning that if we had them all the way around the track, and 1 person deep, we would need 6,000 customers.
To get close to 60,000 people, they would need to be 10 people deep ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TRACK, and remember we are including the non-accessible areas.

Yep the "fantasy" numbers we used to get from CART, Indycar when they were racing at Surfers.
The Race 2 will be shown on Speed TV in the US next week. Be interesting to see the reaction.
As it stands, a few US and Europeans drivers thought our drivers were a bit rough. I thought the overseas drivers wer dong the bulk of the crashing?

Down on the Gold Coast of Australia, Surfer’s Paradise to be specific, the V8 Super Cars were the star attraction without the Indy Cars. Instead, a dozen International seeded drivers were invited to take part in the annual Aussie speed fest. In the process, many of the invitees crashed taking them out of contention including Alex Taglini, Jaccques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti, Hilio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, and Scott Pruett. In many of the crashes, the narrow street course was blocked.

One exception on the crashouts was Patrick Long, an American Invitee. He managed to finish fourth and eleventh at Surfer’s Paradise last weekend and was able to “dodge the bullets”. Long told Speed’s Dave Despain on his Wind Tunnel program that the Aussie drivers didn’t welcome the outsiders. We think that it could one reason for all of the carnage so they (invitees) won’t come back next year

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by Woolley

Yeah, but can you call them spectators? How many of them even notice the cars?

well they have to pay, so i would go with yes