Newcastle 500

A FINELY TUNED SCHEDULE AND BUILD FOR NEWCASTLE’S BIGGEST ANNUAL SPORTING EVENT

 

 

The Project:

 

In late November tens of thousands of race goers streamed into Newcastle for the 2019 Coates Newcastle 500 – an annual street circuit motor racing event for the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Each year Coates helps the City of Newcastle get “race ready” – providing the month-long build of temporary infrastructure for the three-day event. Once the crowds have dispersed and the final chequered flag has fallen, Coates stays on board for another fortnight to restore the city to normal.

 

The Problem:

 

Scheduling the vast amount of equipment needed for an event of this scale makes it a complex project to deliver, explains Tristan Oxman, Coates Major Projects Manager – Events. “Newcastle 500 presents many unique challenges for our team. Along with other event infrastructure, we must build, reposition and repurpose over 10km of temporary fencing, whilst also managing traffic, accommodating local residents, businesses and members of the public,” says Tristran. “And while all of this work is underway – in what is already a busy city environment – we must maintain strict safety exclusion zones to allow work to be performed safely.” Ensuring all safety documentation is compiled and uploaded for a build of this size can also be challenging.

 

The Solution:

 

Preparations for the 2019 Coates Newcastle 500 event started long before the first rev of an engine. On October 14 – five weeks out from the first race – our work on site began. In addition to temporary fencing for the 2.6km circuit, during this time Coates delivered a huge range of event infrastructure, including:

• Over 300 fresh water flush toilets positioned around the track
• 120 site sheds for operational staff (ranging from 3.6m x 2.4m up to 12m x 3m), plus additional units like ticket booths
• 4.5km of black weed matt (scrim) to black out back of house compounds
• Over 8km of crowd control barriers
• Over 300 tonne of hand-loaded concrete blocks to weigh down temporary fencing and other event structures
• 24 forklifts and telehandlers
• 54 generators
• 18 light towers
• 48 message boards

 

To support the planning and delivery of the event, we provided the following onsite support services:

• On site management for all scheduling and equipment arrival
• Compiling and uploading all required safety documentation
• Refuelling of equipment as well as a stationary fuel tank for the customer’s refuel equipment
• Night time servicing of all toilets and waste tanks, managed by a supervisor
• Landing all sheds and toilet blocks on site, and ensuring they were levelled, with building code compliant steps, ramps and landings fitted
• Plumbing services for connecting toilet blocks to waste tanks or straight to sewer points
• On site crew for the duration of the build to set up and dismantle all fencing and crowd control barriers.

   

Work was successfully completed on December 12th “By achieving an efficient, finely tuned build schedule we were able to minimise the event’s impact on the local Newcastle community and ensure the safety of the competitors, officials and spectators throughout the event,” says Tristan. “Coates is proud to contribute to another successful Supercars event, and support Newcastle in delivering the city’s biggest sporting event of the year.”