Sports Marketing & Sponsorship - FIFA/CIES International University ...

Is motorsport “a race out of place”?RESEARCH PAPERreversed. Parliament House provided powerful nationalsymbolism to help sell Australian cars and otherproducts, and to help promote motorsport.The organisers of the race (as well as the varioussponsors) were aware of the way in which sponsorsbenefited from the race venue. Evidence for this canbe found in the television coverage of the 2002 race.One commentator was explicit about how the locationof the race gave status and national prominence tomotorsport:“It’s fantastic kudos for the V8 Series – to have aV8 race around the Houses of Parliament – thatdoesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. It’s agreat circuit. It’s hard on cars, but it’s greatpublicity for the V8 series.”In other words, it was not so much that the motorrace showcased Canberra, but that the ParliamentaryZone gave status to motorsport (and its associatedcorporate interests). The prestigious location of therace was a significant factor in sports marketing.Case study 2: Melbourne’s Albert Park – publicparkland or motorsports marketing backdrop?City motorsports events are widely (perhapserroneously) regarded as successful event tourismstrategies that boost the image of the city, contribute tothe local economy and create ‘winner’ associations forthe politicians who champion such spectacles(Kyriakopoulos, 1996; McDonnell et al, 1999). InAustralia, the pursuit of hallmark events of sporting orother kinds became a particularly vigorous contestfollowing the early 1990s’ election of the brashlyentrepreneurial Kennett government in Victoria. Cityofficials apparently embraced the idea thatinternational motorsports events were essential inprojecting a world-class image of their city.There has been little acknowledgment, however, ofthe fact that motorsport benefits from the location of anevent in one of Australia’s most highly valued parklandareas, adjacent to the central business district ofMelbourne – Albert Park. The official website for the2007 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix downplaysthe significance of the location of the event:“It’s the transformation of a leafy, inner suburbanopen space into an international gathering-pointfor some of the biggest movers and shakers inworld sport… A few miles of commuter roadssuddenly become a 5.3 kilometre challenge to thegreatest drivers in the world.”F1 ING Australian Grand Prix, 2007This description of the event understates thesignificance of Albert Park, which is much more thana “leafy, inner suburban open space”. The AustralianGrand Prix in Melbourne is not simply an urban streetcircuit of “commuter roads”. It is held on public roadsin an urban parkland reserve of considerable historicalsignificance. Albert Park is one of Melbourne’s largestinner city park reserves, first proclaimed a public parkin 1864, and is an important recreational area forthousands of local residents (Littlewood & Ward,1998). The “transformation” involves considerabledisruption of the normal activities in the parkland(including active amateur sport and informalrecreation) over a period of months as thousands oftonnes of race infrastructure are trucked into the park(not including the 1,000 tonnes of race equipmentshipped in by the racing teams). No longer is the parka tranquil area of escape from the pressures of urbanlife. It becomes a construction site, and then a site forspectacular consumption for a privileged minority. Italso provides a spectacular setting and backdrop,where the amenity of the park setting and theproximity to the centre of Melbourne allow themotorsports event to benefit from the association withboth historic parkland and the symbolic ‘power’ of thefinancial centre of Melbourne.Television coverage of the racing event makes clearthe proximity of the event to the centre of Melbourne.Commentators sit with a backdrop of the centralbusiness district skyline. This is a visual signifier of thefact that motorsport is a valued and accepted part ofthe business of Melbourne. The Australian Grand Prix68International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● OCTOBER 2009 ●