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Council has recieved the findings of an independent review of the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercar event.
Stakeholder feedback and advice from technical experts formed the corner stone of the Review which was undertaken with the intention to grow the positive spin offs for the city, ensure full resource consent compliance and mitigate any negative impacts experienced.
Analysis for the Review was undertaken by independent chairperson Peter Stubbs in 2008. Mr Stubbs identifies 57 issues for consideration and presents over 100 recommendations as a result of an extensive investigation and analysis of feedback.
Council is now in the process of examining the review findings. Over the next 6 years Council and the promoters are committed to continually improving the event and its impact on Hamilton. The Review's findings will be key to this.
While some recommendations require immediate consideration, others are designed for consideration over the coming years as the event evolves. Certain recommendations are solely directed to Council for consideration, others to the promoter and many require cooperative consideration by both parties.
In his report Mr Stubbs says that while the immediate temptation is to focus on what did not go well and what needs to be improved it is important to first recognise what was achieved in the inaugural event. He highlights a number of successes as a credit both to the promoter and to Council:
- Attendance of the event was 172,522 and over 54,000 visitors came from out of Hamilton, with nearly 30% of them from Auckland;
- $28.3 million of new money was generated for the local economy, 40% greater than initially estimated;
- 60% of visitors said that the event was significantly better, or better, than they expected. Over 95% of visitors surveyed said their overall experience of Hamilton's performance as a host city was either quite good or very good;
- It is likely that the event will be granted "endurance status" by V8 Supercars Australia. This will make the Hamilton 400 one of only three premium rounds in the Championship.
Mr Stubbs also pointed out that it is important to understand that the findings are recommendations only. Whether any of the recommendations are implemented is a matter for Council, the promoters and the community to determine. There will be cost implications, as well as Resource Consent implications depending upon which recommendations are accepted.
He emphasised that, "neither the Council nor the promoter should worry that they did not get it precisely right first time; the need for change or improvement is a given with any long term event. And the extent of the changes that the promoter and the Council decide to make to the event will ultimately be a balancing act between cost and benefit."
To ensure comprehensive feedback was gathered to support the review, Council assisted in collating 318 pieces of written feedback from a large cross section of the community including residents, business owners, race goers, media, race participants, the promoter and event director, corporate box holders and race sponsors.
Of more than 100 recommendations, some of the higher profile issues include ticket holder viewing quality and the potential inclusion of the Frankton business district in the event area.
Resolution of visibility issues has been extensively worked on by the event director. One of the key issues for visibility is the location of a large tree on the corner of Seddon Road and Mill Street. Council will determine its preferred action or non-action regarding the tree and then if further investigation is determined, Council will consult directly with local tree preservation groups, who worked closely with Council throughout the entire event planning process.
The Frankton Community Liaison group has recently reorganised its membership to better reflect representation of retail trade and residents and to introduce three West Ward Councillors into the group. Moving forward the group will work long-term with the Frankton community around event issues and will work to ensure Council understands exactly what the community consensus is on this issue. Whether the Frankton business and retail district become incorporated into the event area will be a decision that will be largely determined by the community itself.
The process to identify improvements for the event in future years started as soon as the event finished in April. From the immediate conclusion of the first event Council were aware of a number of issues it wanted to review closely. Council received comprehensive feedback that has allowed the report to drill right down to these issues. Driven by the desires of the community, Council will now concentrate on the most significant and pressing issues and determine a path forward that will ensure next years event will be stronger again. | 
