Plans for $2.5bn motorsport precinct

[colinw]

The Gold Coast Bulletin -> click here

Plans include a light rail link from a new station at Yatala. And they call us wacky. 

BOLD plans to build a $2.5 billion super motorsports precinct, including a car-themed amusement park and a race track on sugarcane land at Norwell, are to be lodged with the State Government later this year.

Gold Coast developer IMETT is pressing ahead with a proposal to buy up farms at Norwell in the city's north to make way for an "international attraction" tipped to create 2000 jobs through the construction phase.

But the plans have come under fire from both councillors Donna Gates and Cameron Caldwell, who feel the project is a "land grab" for a residential development.

The area, zoned as agricultural land and outside the urban footprint, has often been touted as a future development site and it is understood IMETT is only one party looking at the area.

IMETT managing director Ron Brown said the company was not interested in building homes, but rather an "international attraction" also featuring a hospitality educational precinct, a boutique hotel, botanic gardens, bars and restaurants.

Mr Brown said the proposal was 10 years in the making, with IMETT scouring the Queensland coast for a site in 2003, before seeing it knocked back by the then-co-ordinator-general in 2010.

He said the site was between 500 to 600ha, with many of the farmers awaiting approval before they considered selling up.

He said he had since met with the State Government and would lodge the relevant application in April under the significant project scheme.

A spokesman for the department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning last night confirmed the company had met its executives and had been advised to provide more information to the Co-ordinator-General.

Mr Brown said he had engaged international companies Forrec, a Canadian theme park developer, and Tilke, a German racetrack designer, to develop a masterplan to present to the decision-makers.

The former airline industry executive said the site would also include a light rail link from a proposed heavy rail station at Yatala and he had begun discussions with European tram developer Bombardier to provide the linkage.

Despite the bold vision, Cr Caldwell said he felt the developers were using "bingo words" to try and assume a prime site without the proper development of a masterplan.

"It is fair to recognise in years to come there may be a move away from canefarming industry. Rather than an ad hoc approach with bingo words like hotels, race tracks and theme parks, we need a transitional masterplan to map out the area in the event that the sugar industry was to not continue," he said.

Cr Gates said the canegrowers were divided.

Mr Brown said he had secured funding from UK and US investors.

[red dragin]

Probably the same guy that wanted to build a 4 runway at Norwell in the late 90's.

All the soil is acid sulfate, not good for building on.

[Mozz]

Hmmm local residents are very vocal about the current skidpan track there ... so much so that only cars with factory standard exhausts are allowed to utilise the current facilities. I suspect they might not be too happy with this situation.

Hasn't SEQ already got a motorsport precinct at Willowbank with Qld Raceway (which is used around 360 days a year), Willowbank Drags and the Kart Track with lots of room to expand I understand....

[red dragin]

Also dirt race track, driver trainer at Willowbank and QR.

Would make too much sense to use that 

[HappyTrainGuy]

To bad its shite house to get to Willowbank PT wise.

Mozz, that's not the case as Norwell is a driver training facility and race car test track. Although they do have time and noise restrictions. Similar to Lakeside Raceway up here

[Mozz]

Been three or so years since I was there, but that's what the operators told us when we turned up for a LS1.com.au event on the skidpan - nothing except factory exhausts... due to complaints from neighbours

[red dragin]

To bad its shite house to get to Willowbank PT wise.

Lol

Just had an image of my 185kg Kawasaki drag bike mounted to the bike rack on the front of a BCC bus 

Would be an expensive light rail for once in a while crowds - and don't believe the crowd figures V8 Supercars claim to get either!

[HappyTrainGuy]

Haha. I meant in terms of getting people to go there via PT compared to other facilities.

[achiruel]

To bad its shite house to get to Willowbank PT wise.

I thought shuttle buses from Ipswich were put on for events.  Are they inadequate (not being a fan of asphalt track racing, I've never been).

[HappyTrainGuy]

For the V8s only. Other big events don't get shuttle buses. Didn't go last year but usually its been Saturday and Sunday only and Friday is a maybe. Most times they are private shuttles provided by stonestreets or brisbane bus lines from memory. All shuttle buses stop running from the venue at about 5.30 and are usually half hourly to hourly or when they have a decent amount of people onboard. When the V8s are on they are faster than if you parked there as they are the only ones that use the drag stip connection link. Drags and other events in that area don't have PT to them (not that I've seen them operating while there). Closest you can get is to the servo/caravan park and then walk a few km on the shoulder of a 100kph road and then up to another km depending on where you want to go (drags/circuit racing/karting) which is what you can see sometimes 

Give a new large facility like that with multiple other attractions not far from the large amounts of nearby population (gold coast/brisbane/beenleigh etc) decent transport access and people would use it. Jump off the train onto a LR vehicle and then your at the track. When Lakeside reopened there was enough demand from people using the train station to reseal and resurface the road, remove the ditches and install a wide footpath from the train station to the race track entrance.

[colinw]

Beats me why they would suggest light rail for a venue that would only have a major crowd a handful of times a year. Only way it would be viable would be if some serious residential & commercial development was proposed along the corridor.

The whole proposal seems loopy to me when we have Willowbank and Lakeside. Lakeside is quite close to Dakabin station.

I do agree that any new major venue like this that is built would include funding for public transport.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Beats me why they would suggest light rail for a venue that would only have a major crowd a handful of times a year. Only way it would be viable would be if some serious residential & commercial development was proposed along the corridor.

The whole proposal seems loopy to me when we have Willowbank and Lakeside. Lakeside is quite close to Dakabin station.

I do agree that any new major venue like this that is built would include funding for public transport.

I'm not campaigning for it but just sharing some information. Lakeside has noise and time restrictions as the stupid locals (like idiots that move next to a railway line that's been there for 100 years) or the people golfing complain about the noise. Along with race catagory restrictions ie speed and limited safety trackside in regards to run off areas. As I understand the track on the Gold Coast wants to host multiple national and international championship events some of which by law and by rules and regulations can not be held at Willowbank and Lakeside. There are less than a handful of circuits in Australia that comply and hold these licences with international rules and can host international events. We have more platforms at Central station than Australia does at circuits that are able to host major international events. Make that permanent circuits and that can be compared to the amount of platforms at Bindha or in some events Sandgate or the platforms on the non existant CRR stations.

So it does have potential for grabbing alot of international events that Australia hasn't really had before especially if there are decent trackside facilities and PT options. That's one of the reasons why Eastern Creek dropped off the radar for these big international events.

[STB]

I would've thought being a motorsport event, the rev heads would just take their own cars (some of them probably revved up) to the event.

In saying that, it's generally up to the event organiser to organise and pay for public transport to the event, which is then usually covered within the entry ticket price.

[somebody]

I would've thought being a motorsport event, the rev heads would just take their own cars (some of them probably revved up) to the event.

In saying that, it's generally up to the event organiser to organise and pay for public transport to the event, which is then usually covered within the entry ticket price.

Those rules only work if there is limited/no parking at the venue.  Otherwise they can just charge for parking and there is no incentive to offer PT to reach the venue, as happens at BEC.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Not really when you consider most get on the p%ss all day Yeah, its usually up to the event organisers but you just had to check out how utilised PT became on the Gold Coast in the hayday for the old champcars where 300,000+ people (I think the record was just over 350,000 in 2007. 2004-2007 had over 300,000 each time) with free Surfside bus and free train options on top of the free surfside shuttle buses running every 10-15 minutes between the railway stations/car parks/pick up locations. Each bus was filled to the brim from about 7.30am-10am on a Saturday morning. When they had night racing there were still large amounts of people there. Being so close to the clubs too also helped It wouldn't be anything like that for every event but if there was decent, fast and easy PT access especially if it was a major drawcard event it would be utilised. They could also go down the same paths of what some European circuits do and host music events and festivals. Who knows it could be a potential future location for The Big Day Out, Soundwave and other large and new music festivals.

The Rock am Ring (Rock at the Ring) and Rock im Park (Rock in the Park) festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. While Rock am Ring takes place at the Nürburgring racetrack in the west of Germany, Rock im Park takes place around the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg, in the south of Germany. Both festivals are usually regarded as one event with a mostly identical lineup for both festivals. All artists perform one day at Nürburgring and another day in Nuremberg during the three day event. There have been minor exceptions in the past years where an artist will be announced for one of the festivals only. Together Rock im Park and Rock am Ring are the largest music festivals in Germany and one of the largest in the world with a combined attendance of just over 150,000 people in 2007, selling out both events in advance for the first time.

Acts for this year's edition included As I Lay Dying, Anthrax, Awolnation, Billy Talent, Crystal Castles, Deichkind, DevilDriver, Dick Brave and the Backbeats, Die Toten Hosen, Donots, Enter Shikari, Evanescence, Example, Gossip, Gojira, Guano Apes, Kasabian, Keane, KoRn, The Koletzkis, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, Lexy & K-Paul, Linkin Park, Machine Head, The Prodigy, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, MIA., Motörhead, The Offspring, Opeth, Periphery, Shinedown, Skrillex, Soundgarden, Tenacious D, The Subways, and Trivium.