The next stage of consultation has commenced to gain feedback on the future of the Newcastle 500.
Consultancy firm KPMG held the first of four stakeholder workshops today as part of a comprehensive consultation strategy developed on behalf of City of Newcastle to capture views on the event from across the community.
Industry representatives took part in today’s in-depth focus group, which has been held to understand the perceived benefits and challenges presented by the Newcastle 500.
Additionally, in-depth workshops are being held with local residents on Tuesday and Wednesday, alongside a meeting with local small to medium businesses.
The stakeholder consultation follows an extensive online survey, which launched in February and remained open throughout the delivery of the Newcastle 500, attracting more than 10,000 responses before it closed on 31 March.
During this time, KPMG also conducted a statistically significant phone survey to Newcastle residents, while in-person surveys held around the event precinct during the race period were carried out to provide insight into attendees’ behaviours including visitation to local businesses.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle was committed to capturing views from across the community on the future of the Newcastle 500.
“The community have now experienced the Newcastle 500 four times, we are committed to an open and transparent process of consultation to help inform any future decisions on this event,” Cr Nelmes said.
“We’re committed to undertaking a robust, open process of consultation through consultants KPMG, who are using a range of online, in-person and telephone surveys before, during and after the race period to gather feedback from a wide a range of people.
“This feedback will allow councillors to better understand the community’s views on issues around liveability, economic benefit or challenges, perceptions of the event and its impact on the visitor economy.”
Should Supercars Australia and Destination NSW first agree to an extension, City of Newcastle’s elected Council will vote on whether Newcastle continues as host city. A report on the feedback and insights from the community consultation will help inform the Council’s decision about any potential extension of the Newcastle 500.