From The Canberra Times
CORPORATE sales for the Stegbar Canberra 400 are 25 per cent ahead of last year's race, two grandstands have sold out and a third stand is only a few seats away from a full house.
This year's supercar race on the June 7-9 long weekend is shaping up to draw a 100,000-plus crowd. With the Treasury and King grandstands fully booked, the last seats in the house with big-screen and commentary are at the Flynn and Library stands.
Reflecting the strong ticket sales are the city's hotel reservations, which according to the Australian Hotels Association ACT branch, are booked solidly in the 3-to-4-star range for Saturday night.
Association general manager Nick Proud said advance bookings were stronger than last year as a result of an improved forward booking system and a better relationship with event organisers.
He said hotels as far as the southside suburb of Greenway (Country Comfort) were experiencing the same demand as hotels in the central business district. While there were single-night bookings still available for Friday and Sunday, Mr Proud said consecutive two-night bookings were scarce.
Canberra Accommodation Association chairman Mark Sprote said the Brassey Hotel, of which he is general manager, had no vacancies.
The Canberra Visitors Centre expects an influx of last-minute bookings this week.
Judging from Canberra's previous two V8 supercar races (which attracted crowds of 109,000 and 101,000 respectively) a major influence in crowd numbers is the walk-up buyer.
And of course the weather.
So far so good, with our recent clear skies assisting track construction and putting organisers ahead of schedule.
The Stegbar Canberra 400 runs from June 7-9. Ticket bookings: 6219 6666. Further information:
www.canberra400.com.au
All systems go for packed supercar weekend
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