Sport, sponsors, activism and politics

[kruddler]

I call total Bulldust on the value of the GP to Victoria and everyday Victorians.  No single politician or department has ever put out a realistic, rigorously determined figure that can be backed up with real data.

They key word there is 'realistic'.

I am very wary of anyone who puts out a 'realistic' figure. There are far too many moving parts to get a realistic figure.
As an example, i went to Austin, Texas for the first ever F1 Grand Prix they had there as part of my honeymoon. No way in hell i would've gone there for any other reason. How would Austin know this though if they did a 'realistic' breakdown?

Now, my honeymoon planning started with USA. No time of year, nothing, just America.
Looking at events we could take in decided on the time, ultimately, it was NBA, NFL and F1. We planned our trip to see who we wanted to see and where. Essentially, i flew into america 4 weeks before the F1, and flew out 2 weeks after. No chance they could attribute that to the F1.
I flew into, stayed in and hired a car from San Antonio because Austin was too expensive. (SA to Austin, similar time/distance to Geelong to Melbourne). Most of the eating i did was in San Antonio, except for what i ate during the 3 days i was at the track.

There is no way to track the effect that it had on and around Austin based on my experience, and there are plenty others like it.

It'd be the same thing for Melbourne. You can have a guess, but there is no way you'd get a realistic (read accurate) figure.