Townsville V8 Supercar event not proceeding: Fraser

December 5, 2006

Townsville V8 Supercar event not proceeding: Fraser

The State Government announced today that a proposal for a North Queensland V8 Supercar event in Townsville would not be proceeding, as it could not be justified on cost grounds.

Sport Minister Andrew Fraser said that a consortium originally approached the Queensland Government in 2004 to support a V8 Supercar event in Townsville on the basis that it required a one-off capital injection by the State of $11 million and no ongoing State funding to support the event.

Detailed due diligence has since been undertaken, which shows that the estimated cost to the State Government and Townsville City Council of the event proposal was significantly greater than originally envisaged.

“Our analysis shows that the capital works alone to stage the event are estimated at $24.7 million and annual operating contributions totalling $3 million would be required by the Queensland Government and the Townsville City Council” Mr Fraser said.

Mr Fraser said this was a difficult decision and was taken following careful consideration of the due diligence study on the event proposal, which found that ReidPark in Townsville would require extensive capital works to support a race.

“The State Government knows that many north Queenslanders are strongly supportive of the event proposal and as such, we did not take this decision lightly.

“We expended considerable effort on exploring avenues about how the sums could work in favour of the event.

“In the final analysis, we must make responsible financial decisions on behalf of all Queenslanders and given the significant set up costs we could not proceed.

“We said all along that the V8 Supercar event had to represent value for money and stack up financially.

“The Beattie Government has an unparalleled record of strong economic management. We must make decisions that ensure we maintain a strong budget position,” Mr Fraser said.

Mr Fraser thanked all of the key stakeholders - such as V8 Supercars Australia and the Townsville City Council – who contributed to the due diligence process for the V8 Supercars event proposal.

Mr Fraser paid particular thanks to Tony Cochrane and his team from V8 Supercars Australia.

“Mr Cochrane has been a passionate advocate for the event proposal and contributed significantly to the due diligence process.

“V8 Supercars Australia has been entirely professional and supportive while we have assessed this proposal and have done the hard yards to help us understand the full impacts of the event.

“Their approach to this issue has been commendable and I regret that we are not able to proceed.

“They are an integral part of the Lexmark Indy 300 event and I look forward to forging a stronger relationship with V8 Supercars in that event into the future.

Mr Fraser emphasised the considerable investment by the Beattie Government in sporting facilities in Townsville in recent years.

“We have committed $10 million to the redevelopment of the Murray Sports Complex which will provide fantastic facilities for the people of Townsville wanting to pursue a range of sport and recreational pursuits,” Mr Fraser said.

“Earlier this year we also contributed $2.77 million to the upgrade of the Police Citizens Youth Club at Aitkenvale”.

“On top of this, we also have our longstanding commitment to maintaining the Townsville Sports Reserve as one of the leading regional sporting facilities in Queensland.

“We have constructed the $3.1 million Sports House at the Townsville Sports Reserve and expended $7.4 million on a recent upgrade to Dairy Farmers Stadium.

“There can be no question about our commitment to sport in Townsville.

Media Contact: Chris Taylor, 3227 8825 or 0419 710 874