Launceston gives green light for rally championship round
Published on 21 November 2017
The City of Launceston has given the green light to a proposal to stage a round of the Australian Rally Championships in the city in 2018.
At its ordinary meeting on Monday, aldermen voted to provide $50,000 from its Conferences, Conventions and Championships Incentives budget to help secure the event.
Rally organisers, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Ltd (CAMS), are also seeking $200,000 from Events Tasmania, with that funding agreement contingent on support from the City of Launceston.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said an event of this magnitude, set to be held in late August next year, ticked all the boxes in terms of bringing large-scale events to the city during the cooler, winter months.
"The benefits to Launceston of hosting such an event are enormous - from hotel accommodation, food and beverage sales — the list goes on and on," Mayor van Zetten said.
"We know from past experiences, such as when Ballarat in Victoria hosted a round of the Australian Rally Championship — that business in the region benefitted greatly with more than 6000 people flocking to the event.
"I know CAMS expect a similar figure for a Launceston-based stage of the rally and that's just fantastic news for the city."
Burnie was the last Tasmanian city to host a round of the Australian Rally Championships in 2010.
Based on figures from the Ballarat event in 2017, Mayor van Zetten said he was hopeful a Launceston-based event would generate more than 2400 bed nights in terms of accommodation in Launceston, while each of the more than 50 teams are estimated to spend at least $3000 on food and beverages — totalling more than $160,000 in revenue.
"That's just in direct figures — the flow-on effect for the broader region is more difficult to quantify in terms of dollars and cents, but there's every chance we could see positive economic value in the vicinity of $750,000 for the region," Mayor van Zetten said.
"And that's just wonderful considering the proposal would see the rally arrive in Tasmania during the cooler, winter period — a time when we normally see a slow-down in terms of hotel accommodation.
"This event would give our region a huge boost. And that's not counting the national exposure for Launceston an event like this brings with it in terms of media coverage."
In a report to aldermen, CAMS said the proposal may also include a Super Special Stage on the Friday night, with a plan to hold the stage at the University of Tasmania Stadium under lights, which is yet to be confirmed.
Under CAMS' proposal, the event will conclude with a ceremonial finish and podium presentation in the CBD.