Gentlemen, switch off your engines
18/01/2006 12:00:00 a.m.
DISAPPOINTED doesn’t get close to describing Mayor Kerry Prendergast’s reaction to the scrapping of the V8 Supercar street race.
"This would have been the biggest annual event in New Zealand," says Prendergast.
There is nothing on the horizon that would come close to offering the financial benefits and international exposure of the Supercar race, she says.
"It’s back to the drawing board. I’m not aware of anything that would bring those numbers [of visitors] in. There’s the Masters Games next year but they are a one-off."
The Wellington City Council will meet on May 19 to put the final nail in the street race’s coffin. Council is expected to recommend not to proceed with the proposal to host a V8 Supercar race in 2007.
The time required to get a resource consent and the cost and uncertainty of that process are behind the dumping of the proposal.
AVESCO, the governing body of the V8 Supercars series, wanted a firm guarantee that the race would take place in 2007. The expectation that a resource consent would be challenged in the Environment Court means the council cannot give that guarantee.
The proposed Supercar street race has drawn criticism for its environmental impact and the need for council funding.
Councillor Jack Ruben, an opponent of council funding the race says: "If somebody wants to run a V8 Supercar race, or any other race, in Wellington they should fund it themselves. It doesn’t stack up against anything else in the District Plan, such as an indoor sports stadium, upgrading sports fields or libraries."
