4 - FIFA/CIES International University Network

ANATOMY OF AN EVENT:
BRITISH GRAND PRIX
says Phillips, “with my boss being
the BRDC - a club made of very
notable racing people - we wanted
to put together a design with the
help of some ex-Grand Prix racers
and MotoGP riders, in addition to
what the fans want and of course
crowd logistics.
“We thought working with
Populous - who were quite new to
[motor racing], they’d done a bit of
track design but not much - was the
best thing to do because it gave us
a bit more control over the creation
of a really good racing circuit rather
than an architectural circuit. It
worked - and in addition to that
we worked with our contractor
Buckingham and during the
construction we changed bits to
make sure the racing line would
be improved from the provisional
plan. It’s a huge track and the plan
and the actual circuit are two very
different things.”
It is also worth noting that the
new Silverstone track layout was
not initially designed with Formula
One in mind but MotoGP, since
the British Grand Prix was formally
moved to Donington Park after
the 2009 race. This played into
Populous’ hands as Silverstone’s
design partner, says Barrow:
“Instantly we had a problem to
solve, that being the motorbikes
were really uncomfortable using
the run through to the Bridge
corner, which was the most
dangerous part of the track for
high-speed bike racing. A new
arrangement we suggested fitted
the bill so we progressed on that
basis - we increased the length of
the track, increased the average
racing speed and created more
opportunities for overtaking.”
Formerly known as HOK Sport,
Populous grabbed the attention
of Silverstone through its costeffective
plan and construction of
the Dubai Autodrome race track
in 2004. Barrow says the Dubai
circuit was built for around half
the price of others at the time and
when some tracks were costing
north of $300 million to construct.
The whole development - which
included the track, 7,000-seat
grandstand and pit complex, plus
a marketing and management
building - cost $95 million.
An important 2011
“Next year is going to be a real
testing point,” says Barrow,
“because the Formula One start
will be at Abbey, and all the new
facilities will be finished by then
including the four hundred metrelong
pits complex and hospitality
area we’ve already started building.”
Redevelopments have also
focused on Ecclestone’s criticism of
the quality of its spectator facilities,
with new elevated viewing banks
under construction and existing
grandstands set to be moved to
bring fans closer to the action.
Phillips adds that although
the new track was designed
with safety in mind, so too was
spectator engagement a serious
consideration: “We needed to
engage with the public by making
sure we got the grandstand heights
right and the sightlines correct -
getting people as close to the action
as possible whilst also making sure
the infrastructure behind it was
right. We’ve being doing that and
will be doing more in the next 12
months or so and probably in the
years following. This isn’t the end
of the story for us at all.”
However even with great
investment in permanent
grandstands, temporary structures
at the British Grand Prix are still
used in force. Silverstone’s 25-year
As major events increase in scale and commercial sponsorship
is restrained by lower economic growth, the public sector is fast
becoming a very important funder in sport. On the government side
too, there is a realisation of what sport can deliver and a willingness
to invest in partnerships.
The new Sport and the Role of Government report provides
a roadmap for these new relationships from both sides of
the table. This unique resource will help you to:
l Evaluate winning partnership models based on over 40
successful case studies
l Strengthen the arguments for public sector investment in sport
l Understand and deliver the full community benefits from sport
l Gain measurement techniques across the range of public
policy outcomes
NEW REPORT FROM SPORTBUSINESS
With interviews, academic studies and practical examples from
different contexts around the world, Sport and the Role of Government
will give you the tools to build powerful public-private partnerships.
Sport and the Role of Government
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY BY VISITING: WWW.SPORTBUSINESS.COM/SPORTANDGOVERNMENT OR CALL: +44 (0) 207 954 3514