Several private sector players are bidding to bring Formula One racing back to Johannesburg, however the cost to host such an event may prevent any real progress, again, the Sunday Times reported.<\/p>\n
Kyalami, which has recently been refurbished after it was bought by Porsche, last held a Formula One race in 1993.<\/p>\n
Saki Zamxaka, CEO of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, told the paper that the benefits of exposure to an estimated half a billion TV viewers would include tourism, while boosting the image of Johannesburg as a hosting city.<\/p>\n
“Studies indicated that 300,000 people could be expected to come for such a race. It could also potentially boost motor racing in the country. Major races in the city and at Kyalami or Zwartkops could attract sponsorships and there could be benefit for the automotive cluster in Pretoria.”<\/p>\n
Zamxaka however, highlighted the commercial viability and sustainability of such an event\u00a0 given that taxpayers’ money would be involved.<\/p>\n
“Our involvement would initially be in looking at how much money would be required to kick it off. We’ve been told that is around R15-million to R20-million initially, out of R220-million raised by the organisers. The rest can be raised.<\/p>\n
“We don’t want to be spending taxpayers’ money. Ideally we’d like to get the money back in a loan or equity arrangement and, if it’s profitable, for the province to get revenue out of it.”<\/p>\n
He said the organisers who had approached the city estimated a R1-billion race cost if Joburg were to buy into the event.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Cape Town has also been approached with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone expressing excitement over a potential street race in the city, like the iconic event in Monaco.<\/span><\/p>\n Alan Winde, Western Cape MEC for economic opportunities, said three separate applications had not materialised into anything fruitful because organisers required “a big cheque” from local government.<\/p>\n “The mayor [of Cape Town], Patricia de Lille, said she cannot justify putting hundreds of millions of rands from taxpayers into such an event when other social needs require investment. So come with a pitch and come with the money – that’s the city’s stance,” said Winde.<\/p>\n The politician cited Australia’s Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix as an example of the costs involved for a host city.<\/p>\n In 2015, Melbourne made a loss of R671 million despite the attendance of 297,000 race lovers, according to the operating company’s annual report.<\/p>\n Since 2011, taxpayers in Victoria state have subsidised the Formula One event to the tune of R26.5 billion. The Sunday Times noted that Melbourne has extended its contract until 2023 because of the global exposure it receives.<\/p>\n In 2008, Durban hosted an A1 race, which brought in an estimated R220 million, and attracted 100,000 fans.<\/p>\n According to Zamxaka, the proposals received for Joburg have been for a street race, and not Kyalami. However, the consulting firm which designed the street circuit and infrastructure for the A1 street race in Durban, said that ‘the costs would depend on the circuit design and position but probably somewhere in the R3.1 billion range, and around R1.3 billion every year after that’.<\/p>\n Porsche SA buys Kyalami for record price<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Bernie Ecclestone wants a F1 street race in Cape Town<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on Formula One<\/h3>\n