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Russell Ingall has called for a reduction in the price of admission to Supercars races, which he believes is ‘a tough sell’ to families in particular.
Ingall, who is based in southeast Queensland, had looked into attending the recent Century Batteries Ipswich SuperSprint with one of his daughters but opted out due to an adult paddock pass costing nearly $100 for Sunday only.
“I was going to go out but then I found out the ticket price,” he said on the latest episode of Enforcer & The Dude.
“(But) it’s just under a hundred bucks, $98, for a general admission for Sunday to roll out there, (including) a paddock pass.
“It blew me out a bit because I was going to go – one of the girls wanted to go out – and I’m thinking, if you’re a family, and only under 12s get in for free, so you’ve got a couple of teenagers and mum and dad go out there, there’s over 400 bucks in tickets if you only want to go out for one day.
“(That is) before you even start buying a greasy hot dog and a Coke, and all the rest of it; that’s 500 bucks out of the gate.
“It’s a tough sell.”
Pre-sale general admission tickets for adults for that event at Queensland Raceway were $31 for Friday, $64 for Saturday, $67 for Sunday, $92 for both days of the weekend, and $108 for all three days.
Concession attendees paid $10 to $11 less for each option, while the paddock pass was an extra $31 for any option (but covered all three days), and children 12 and under received free entry.
The combined Saturday/Sunday price therefore works out at an average of $46 per day ($61.50 with paddock pass) and the three-day at $36 ($46 with paddock pass), representing far greater value for those who wish to attend multiple days.
Paul Morris, however, believes that a significant number of fans do not necessarily want to even stay for a whole day.
“People don’t want to spend three days at a race track anymore,” he asserted.
“If you were going to go there and absorb all that for three or four days, which people used to like to do, that was pretty good value, but if you just want to turn up, watch the race, and go home, I think the ticket price is too much.”
Ingall added: “A three-day pass was $123 (Ed: $138 for adults, including paddock pass), so you think ‘For three days, I can cop that; $123 is alright,’ but that’s too much for a single day; it has to be reduced.”
The upcoming OTR SuperSprint at The Bend, one of the few events not promoted by Supercars itself, is similarly priced.
A three-day general admission ticket for the South Australian event, which includes paddock access, is $129 for adults and $109 for concessions.
Single day general admission entry is slightly more expensive, however, at $75 for an adult (concession $65) for either of Saturday or Sunday.
By way of comparison, unreserved general admission tickets for that Sunday afternoon’s AFL match between Port Adelaide and the Fremantle Dockers in the state’s capital of Adelaide is $35 for an adult.
In Sydney on the preceding night, adult rugby league fans can attend the St George Illawarra Dragons v Sydney Roosters fixture at Jubilee Stadium for $25 general admission.
It is worth noting that Supercars events have greater scarcity value than such competitions due to there being only 15 this season and no more than four in any single state/territory.
