Townsville getting revved up for five more years of Supercars
Date published: 28 August 2019
Townsville will reap more rewards as part of a new five-year deal for the Supercars event at Reid Park.
Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones announced new five-year contracts for the Townsville and Gold Coast Supercars races today.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said she’s very pleased the event is now secured until 2024.
“The Supercars races are an important part of the Townsville calendar, but the promotion of our city will go to new heights as part of this contract,” Cr Hill said.
“Two teams are now linked to Townsville, so they’ll mention the city when they speak to the media.
“More importantly, these teams will share stories about the city on their social media platforms – their Facebook pages are much bigger than ours, so we’ll be reaching a much bigger audience.
“The Watpac Townsville 400 generated approximately 135,000 direct visitor nights this year - I’m confident the added promotion will drive that figure higher.”
Townsville MP Scott Stewart said the five-year extension is in the best interests of city.
“We had almost 130,000 spectators through the gates this year so we’re happy to back the Watpac Townsville 400,” Mr Stewart said.
“The Townsville and Gold Coast contract announcements secure the future of the two biggest events on the Queensland Events calendar.”
Cr Hill said Council will look for new ways to promote the Watpac Townsville 400.
“We’ve discussed potential business events with Supercars and we could look to make the most of our iconic CBD feature, Castle Hill,” Cr Hill said.
“We may look to stage a hill climb event – potentially we could have a time trial featuring Supercars to promote the 2020 Watpac Townsville 400.”
The dates for the 2020 Townsville 400 will be June 26, 27 and 28.
