International speedway plans in the fast lane for Ipswich

13 November 2018

Ipswich City Council will rev up attempts to secure an international speedway event – a potential $50 million money spinner for Queensland over five years.

Interim Administrator Greg Chemello has endorsed an Economic Development Committee recommendation to proceed with negotiations to secure the Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix for Ipswich.

The city already has a fine motorsport pedigree and is now in the running to secure the grand prix, which could attract about 20,000 speedway fans and global interest. Adelaide has also expressed interest.

The Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix is a world championship motorcycle speedway event accredited by the Swiss Governing body Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) which represents 111 national motorcycling federations across six continents.

The Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix has been held at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne over the past three years, where attendance has increased from 18,000 to 23,000.

The FIM Speedway Championship is staged in 10 countries throughout the year with around 150 riders, crew, officials and media travelling the circuit. The 2017 Championship was broadcast across 122 territories to an estimated global audience of 385 million people.

Council has progressed detailed discussions with FIM and promoter Paul Sergeant Events. Motorcycling Australia and Motorcycling Queensland have also been engaged in those talks.

Economic Development and Marketing Chief Operating Officer Ben Pole said the Ipswich Motorsport Precinct at Willowbank had been identified as a preferred venue for the event in the long term.

“Council commissioned a third-party evaluation of the Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix at the Ipswich Motorsport Precinct. The analysis concluded that if the grand prix were to be hosted at Ipswich between 2019 and 2023, the Queensland economy would experience a benefit of $50 million over the five years under a low-visitation scenario,” he said.

“While FIM and Paul Sergeant Events view Ipswich as the preferred venue, they are undertaking a competitive process to maximise their position.”

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