Extra Grandstand Seats Added to Meet Demand
Of the available grandstand and walkabout capacity for the 2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX, more than 80% has been sold to date. Of these, 94% of the tickets sold are three-day tickets. As of today, 81% of the Pit Grandstand has been taken up, while 83% and 86% of the Bay and Esplanade Waterfront Grandstands, respectively, are sold. Both Sunday and Saturday Single-day walkabout tickets are completely sold out with the three-day walkabout ticket expected to be completely taken up by mid next week.
“The increased momentum in sales as the race dates approach is something that we expected might happen as other FORMULA ONE circuits traditionally experience the same buying pattern. Whilst we never thought we would eclipse the remarkable attendance of our inaugural race we are delighted with such positive sales and we still have a little under a month to the race" said Mr. Michael Roche, Executive Director for Singapore GP (SGP).
Industry observers point out that established circuits often experience a decline in attendance ranging from 20%-30% between the inaugural race and second year.
“We did factor in this phenomenon when budgeting for this year’s race. It was one of the main drivers for ensuring the entertainment options from Backstreet Boys to Travis were considerably beefed up from last year. It is clear that the renewed interest in the championship and the strong entertainment line-up both around the circuit and in Singapore as a whole is a strong draw. All said, it does look like we are on track to exceed our expectations,’’ added Mr. Roche.
Nearly 1,000 seats will be added to the Pit Grandstand as well as the Turn 3 Grandstand, thus bumping up the overall number of tickets on offer to around 83,000. With slightly under four weeks to go before the race, SGP is not discounting the idea of adding in more seats, as they did in 2008 as seating within the Marina Bay Street Circuit is built to order.
For corporate hospitality, 83% of the available corporate inventory has been taken up in the Club, Sky and Green Room Suites as well as the Formula One Paddock Club™.