Melbourne v Formula One – Debate

Melbourne v Formula One Debate

 

If you live in Melbourne, or even Australia for that matter, you are probably familiar with the complaining and ranting that goes around this time of the year prior to the Australian GP.

This will grow along with the general hype of the race as we get closer to race week and crescendo on the Friday. The race will happen on the Sunday, and the previous murmurs will be a distant past, and people will go on about the race result and how they had a good time. Everything goes back to normal, which is of course until same time the following year.

Melbourne’s current contract ends in 2015, and the closer we get to this date, the more discussed it will be. Here are the current Pro’s and Con’s:

Pro:

• In 2012 Formula One had more than 500million viewers globally
• Australia has 3.4million viewers
• Direct economic impact of $125m in 2010 (254% return)
• International media coverage puts Melbourne on the world stage, increases tourism.

 

Con:

• In 2010 the Victorian Government spent $49.2million
• Ticket prices are the second most expensive all year, after Bahrain
• Overall attendance has been gradually waning since 2008
• Spectator attendance hasn’t reached the same mark as it did when it was last in Adelaide back in 1995.
• Minor protests on road closures.

 

The hosting fees the Australian GP Corporation pays Formula One Management are bang on average. Further, Australia has a better deal than many;

• Korea ($45m)
• Abu Dhabi ($49.5m)
• Malaysia ($50.2m)
• China ($40.3m)
• Singapore ($51.9m)
• Japan ($44m)

A little extra excitement was injected into the argument last week, however, when former F1 driver turned commentator David Coulthard chimed in to the debate via the AGPC’s official podcast, and promptly called Melbournians (or those disinclined against the Grand Prix, at very least) ‘selfish and small-minded’.

 

Fact: Melbourne has a contract, like it or not, to stage the Grand Prix.

Fact: Having a Grand Prix guarantees Melbourne international media exposure.

Eddie McGuire has come out and said that F1 had catapulted Melbourne into a world-class city since its arrival. Shane Warne even chipped in and said that it keeps Australia and Melbourne on a global radar.

However, instead of embracing this event and making it more than just a race; soaking the high end luxury that it brings with celebrity, fashion etc. Instead, we face the yearly debate on how it ruins Melbourne.

Last year, there was a unique opportunity to showcase Mark Webber and his Red Bull charging across the Bolte Bridge. Something that would have been cool to witness, however, with the naysayers who insisted that he obey speed limits, Webber was left to throttle along in first gear.

Picture: http://www.floodslicer.com.au

The location is one of the biggest things that make the Melbourne GP special. The aerial shots of the track around the lake with beach to one side and city skyline to the other are what sells the city to potential visitors. On a side note however, driving around Albert Park as a fan is incredibly frustrating, as is Mt Panorama – you’re on a famous circuit, there’s clear space in front, you know you can be trusted to handle your car properly not like some young, inexperienced hood….but… you’re stuck on 40kph…. it’s a bit like being given an unlimited credit card and the keys to a brothel, but then being told you have to keep your pants on. That aside, the picturesque look of the event is what makes it so inviting to those around the world.

As far as the race goes, being the first race in the F1 calendar, it is the first chance fans around the world get to see their favourite drivers and teams for that year. It also serves as a début event for most new drivers.

The debate as to whether or not we continue with the race should come down to money and value alone.

In terms of international media exposure, Formula Money – an independent reference tool for sponsors and promoters in Formula One – valued Melbourne’s international exposure at $816 million over the past four years.

What can’t be denied is the amount of money being spent. $56.7 million is a lot. An economic impact assessment a year or so ago found that the race was worth around $70 million annually.

Sure these figures should be contested, but we can’t deny that we’re not getting something back for the amount we spend on this event. It’s more than just a race, with ticket sales. It’s a tourist event; it brings in people all over the world. So you get hotels, restaurants, businesses and even taxi drivers that benefit from the once a year festival. We’re not paying to just watch some cars race around a track; it’s a lot more, we’re promoting Melbourne’s image and style. However, that image is frustratingly being kept back with all the negativity that surrounds the event.

There are some sections of Melbourne’s media that I find infuriating. If you read nothing other than the Herald Sun, you would believe that the expenditure actually equates to a significant proportion of the state’s annual expenditure. It all comes down to one thing that the media love to use the most: fear. At the end of the day, nothing sells papers like playing on people’s fears!

When you can see past the emotional hysteria, it’s easy to see that the benefits of the GP for the city of Melbourne are immense. Unfortunately, phrases like “return on investment”, “boost for tourism” and “international exposure” don’t quite stir up the emotions like “waste of taxpayers’ money” or “what about our hospitals and schools”. It’s a shame that so many Melbournians have been influenced by this negative line of thinking, primarily advocated by the likes of the Herald Sun, rather than actually enjoying the event and the positive image of Melbourne that it sends to the rest of the world.

Us up in Brisbane, would love to have the event in Gold Coast, we envy those in Melbourne who live so close and don’t have to spend this time every year looking for flights and accommodation.

So rather than this perpetual ranting and raving, Melbourne ought to exercise patience. Argue tooth-and-nail at the right time, with the right people. And in the meanwhile, seize this spotlight while it lasts, make the most of it now – because if you, who argue against this race, get your way, that spotlight will be gone forever and you don’t know what you’ve lost until it’s gone.