Royal Randwick Racecourse releases plans for new non-race day events, capacity increase

Concerts, community markets and trade shows could be hosted within the hallowed grounds of Royal Randwick Racecourse as part of a proposal to entice more visitors to the historic venue.

The turf club has released plans to increase crowd capacity caps for non-race day events.

Concerts, community markets and trade shows could be hosted within the hallowed grounds of Royal Randwick Racecourse as part of a proposal to entice more visitors to the historic venue.

The Australian Turf Club has released plans to host more non-race day events at the Randwick track in a move aimed at “reinforcing the reputation of the site as a world class venue”.

The proposal will involve tripling the capacity of the venue from the current cap of 5000 to 15,000 people for up to 10-non race day events each year.

The events could include community events, private and corporate events, functions, music festivals, concerts, cultural and art events, markets and consumer roadshows.

According to the Turf Club, the proposal would allow more flexibility in the types of events that could be staged at the venue.

The Turf Club has released plans to hold up to 10 non-race day events each year.

“It will support the diversification of the Australian Turf Club business and revenue stream in response to challenging economic conditions as a result of the global pandemic,” the plans state.

“It will also allow the multi-use of the open space of the racecourse that would otherwise be off limits to the public other than on a race day or other special events.”

The club’s history dates back more than 150 years in Randwick.

Royal Randwick currently operates under a capacity cap of 5000 people for non-race day events, however it is permitted to host one annual music festival in March for up to 50,000 patrons.

The Turf Club, in its plans, say increasing the cap to 15,000 would negate the need for the club having to make “timely and cost-consuming” applications to hold future non-race day events at the site.

“This approval will allow the Australian Turf Club to be agile to respond to market opportunities for non race day events and the approval will create greater certainty for the community when events are approved, rather than seeking approval on an ad hoc basis,” the plans state.

Plans show the non-race day events would be held with the spectator, midfield and infield of the racecourse.

A photo of the crowds during the Everest at Royal Randwick.

The hours of operation would run from 10am to 8pm on Mondays to Thursdays and 10am to 10.30pm on Fridays and weekends.

Non-race events will not be held within the same 24-hour period as a race event such as The Everest.

Early plans for the capacity increase have been lodged with the Department of Planning.

Further details of the proposal – including strategies to address noise, traffic and crowd control – will be released as part of later stages in the planning process.

The club’s plans are similar to a proposal by Venues NSW to hold more concerts at the nearby Allianz Stadium.

The Turf Club has supported the Venues NSW plans – describing it as “similar to its modification” for non-race events – but has called for concerts not to be held on the same days as The Everest and Melbourne Cup.