Tourism: Yorkshire venues invest to boost region’s events offering
A NUMBER of major venues across the region are investing millions of pounds to improve and diversify their offering to ensure Yorkshire can compete with rivals in attracting key events.
Doncaster racecourse, home to the historic St Leger stakes, injected £35m in a new conference centre as it continues to grow its non-racing business.
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“We have seen double digit growth in our racing and non-racing business in the last three years,” says managing director Mark Spincer.
“In the last 18 months we have seen more and more blue chip companies coming to enjoy our racing and non- racing. For example we recently held a major long service awards dinner for a national company.
“We also host conferencing and exhibitions, and are about to host a major political party conference. We have worked very hard to showcase what we have on offer here to businesses nationwide, as people don’t always realise what we have here at Doncaster, or in fact what Yorkshire as a region has to offer.”
Horse racing contributes nearly £230m annually to the Yorkshire economy, according to a report by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University.
Of the £228m total, around £30m was attributed to off-course spend by race goers, including hotel stays, food and drink, and those attending racecourses for events such as conferences and exhibitions. This was largely linked to meetings at York and Doncaster.
“We are really starting to see the £35m investment in the new conference centre which we unveiled in 2007, pay off,” says Spincer.
Doncaster racecourse received planning permission in 2007 to build a hotel but decided to hold off when the recession hit.
Spincer added: “Now we are re-evaluating the project, and looking into building a 120-160 bedroom 3* hotel.”
Meanwhile Yorkshire County Cricket Club recently unveiled ambitious plans to transform Headingley Cricket Ground into one of the finest cricket venues in the world, which will see its capacity increase from 17,000 to 20,000.
The Headingley masterplan, described by club chairman Colin Graves as the most ambitious project since the Leeds ground was established 125 years ago, will see Yorkshire CCC in partnership with Leeds Rugby, Leeds City Council and DLA Architecture, working to prepare for the phased redevelopment of the ground over the next 20 years.
Graves said: “Our ambitions are clear. we want to create a stadium that is amongst the finest in the world and enable Yorkshire to continue to stage major international fixtures over the long term. It is vital that we don’t lose sight of our objectives. As other venues around the country continue to invest in their facilities, we cannot afford to standstill and expect that Headingley will always host international cricket.”
Another venue which is investing is The Great Yorkshire showground in Harrogate, which has secured planning permission for a new £10m exhibition hall at the showground, which will replace the ageing existing building.
Heather Parry, managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre, said: “This will be the largest single project the society has ever undertaken and is a real investment into the future of Harrogate to help it become the finest events town in the country.”
