As Supercars and its teams prepare for another visit to Bathurst next month, Cessnock’s ongoing, genuine interest in being Newcastle’s longer-term replacement should naturally be welcome.
In fact, the so-called Wine Country 500 idea should be more than welcome, because it ticks all of the boxes – except for one, perhaps.
Supercars held out as long as it could in the hope of a new deal for its would-be 2024 season-opener, a reasonable position given the event still enjoyed state government support as Newcastle City Council stalled.
Even New South Wales Premier Chris Minns voiced his displeasure at council’s “nonsensical” dithering, predicated as it was (supposedly) on the funding on offer being for an interim, one-year deal rather than five.
Regardless, we are where we are, and stretching the Bathurst 12 Hour into a 10-day ‘Bathurst SuperFest’ is the solution for 2024 at least.
Perhaps the SuperFest will be a roaring success but, even if both the 12 Hour and Supercars event draw substantial crowds on top of strong television ratings, it is still a suboptimal state of affairs and should have the category and NSW government looking for an alternative.
Bathurst fatigue
The first reason is that there is just too much Bathurst.
Where there was once just the 1000 and the 12 Hour in the not-too-distant past, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International and the 6 Hour now vie for attention also (Challenge Bathurst also exists, but it is entirely participant-focused).
Throw in yet another Supercars event at Mount Panorama – this time just days after the 12 Hour rather than instead of it (as was the case in 2021) – and, for most, that is too much of a good thing.
Even if it is not, what does more Bathurst achieve for Destination NSW, the government tourism agency through which the state’s Supercars events are funded?
Supercars fans already know about Bathurst, and there is a risk that the two components of the SuperFest compete with rather than complement each other – time will tell.
The Newcastle 500, on the other hand, introduced television viewers – and non-local attendees – to a new destination in the state.
Welcome to Cessnock
Cessnock, on the other hand, is something new; not entirely (more on that below), but it is a part of the state which has not seen Supercars before, and has thus not been seen by (most) Supercars viewers before.
While the Cessnock and its surrounds are still referred to by some as ‘The Coalfields’, mining has moved up the valley and the Lower Hunter boasts a substantial wine industry, and hence the ‘Wine Country 500’ moniker.
That means it is already a tourist destination, and hence has the accommodation facilities to service the influx of a Supercars event.
Importantly, it also has the potential for pretty television pictures which can take Cessnock to a new audience, just as Supercars did for Newcastle.
Same, but different
Cessnock is, though, still part of the Greater Newcastle area – the Cessnock and Newcastle LGAs share a border – and hence the catchment for one would be near enough to identical to the other.
That is useful to note because it means that, if Destination NSW determined that the Newcastle 500 was worth the investment, then presumably there is a very good chance that the Wine Country 500 would be as well.
Newcastle Mayor Nuatali Nelmes claimed “a $36.2 million economic injection” for her city’s LGA alone, a figure which does not include the spoils for neighbouring council areas which would also stand to benefit if Cessnock was added to the calendar.
One of her fellow councillors noted that constituents in the city’s west, who were in favour of keeping the event, would find it easier to reach Cessnock than Newcastle East.
“From where I live, it would be about 15 or 20 minutes; that is actually less time than it takes to get into the city,” said Cr Elizabeth Adamczyk when she voted to effectively seal the Newcastle 500’s fate in November.
Depending on where exactly the Wine Country 500 would be located, it could very well be easier to access for those travelling down from Sydney also.
Where else?
Cessnock thus far is the only LGA to have thrown its hat in the ring in a public way, which is not to say that others have not in a more discrete fashion.
However, if not somewhere near Newcastle, then where?
While visitation is an objective of any government-funded sporting event, they generally still need a sizeable local population to be viable.
Greater Newcastle boasts a population of almost 600,000 people, with another 350,000 nearby on the Central Coast.
On the south side of Sydney, Wollongong and the broader Illawarra region has around 320,000 people, meaning one would have to add in the Southern Highlands (160,000) and the Capital Region (240,000; which includes Goulburn) to come close – but that is really stretching the catchment.
Head north of Newcastle instead, and a similar problem arises. One of the reasons for the World Rally Championship leaving Coffs Harbour was the low population base.
Furthermore, Coffs Harbour is about as close to the Gold Coast as it is to Newcastle. There are other substantial population areas further north, but a Supercars event there would be competing for interest with the Gold Coast 500.
Can Cessnock provide a circuit?
All of the above is largely academic if there is nowhere to race in Cessnock, and that is the big question at the moment.
As previously reported by Speedcafe, council has undertaken “preliminary groundwork” on possible tracks, and Mayor Jay Suvaal indicated a loose preference for forming a circuit from more open roads rather than suburban streets – for the spectacle, and to minimise impacts on residents.
Commercial realities suggest that Supercars would go where Destination NSW offers funding, while Cr Suvaal told Speedcafe earlier this month, “It’ll be up to Supercars and Destination NSW to consider their preferred next options and where they want to host the race, and we’re more than willing to keep our discussions open with them.”
There is still much to play out, but Cessnock is a good option – if it can provide a race track.
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