Hampton Downs officially in trouble

[trustme]

I don't believe Puke will be sustainable in the long term. There are already problems with noise complaints & council restrictions , these will get worse as the area builds up & pressure from locals becomes more intense. Baypark went , Western Springs will go at some stage , Puke will be a target before long. Motor racing venues in a built up area don't work.

[FJRider]

Motor racing venues in a built up area don't work.

Depends on who makes the most money from it.

[Kickaha]

Motor racing venues in a built up area don't work.

Like the speedway at Palmy North?

[BoristheBiter]

Like the speedway at Palmy North?

It all comes down to the council bylaws and zoning.

the new St johns development up here used to be a quarry (zone 6 heavy industry) and now is zoned residential so all the zones around them have been changed.
A lot of business have had to move or reduce their work.

Funny how the developers got the change so easily......Oh that's right it's a Fletcher's development.

[Zedder]

It all comes down to the council bylaws and zoning.

the new St johns development up here used to be a quarry (zone 6 heavy industry) and now is zoned residential so all the zones around them have been changed.
A lot of business have had to move or reduce their work.

Funny how the developers got the change so easily......Oh that's right it's a Fletcher's development.

Behind that deal also was Landco of the Todd Property Group, a subsidiary of Todd Corporation, so yeah, a bit of clout there.

It can go the other way though BtB. Fulton Hogan had an industrial zoned quarry in Penrose which the neighbours hated. However, FH did everthing they could to keep them happy, including running water trucks around to keep dust down plus they stopped blasting and only used hydraulic rock breakers etc.

Nothing worked and the neighbours, who only saw lower house values due to the quarry being there, bitched and carried on until it was economically unviable for FH to carry on.

[BoristheBiter]

Behind that deal also was Landco of the Todd Property Group, a subsidiary of Todd Corporation, so yeah, a bit of clout there.

It can go the other way though BtB. Fulton Hogan had an industrial zoned quarry in Penrose which the neighbours hated. However, FH did everthing they could to keep them happy, including running water trucks around to keep dust down plus they stopped blasting and only used hydraulic rock breakers etc.

Nothing worked and the neighbours, who only saw lower house values due to the quarry being there, bitched and carried on until it was economically unviable for FH to carry on.

can't see how that is different, the company's suffer due to council planing.

[Zedder]

can't see how that is different, the company's suffer due to council planing.

With the St Johns site, it was zoned industrial but you believed because it was a "Fletchers development", it was made residential.

In the case of Fulton Hogan, it was zoned industrial but the neighbours made it become non industrial although they were going against the legality of an industrial zoning. Both cases were about pressure groups.

[Gremlin]

the new St johns development up here used to be a quarry (zone 6 heavy industry) and now is zoned residential so all the zones around them have been changed.

The long term plan for the quarry (before it was a quarry) was to be residential...

[Zedder]

The long term plan for the quarry (before it was a quarry) was to be residential...

The land was zoned for quarrying activity only though. Landco had to apply for a plan change which they started in 2004.

Also, local residents fought part of the development so it wasn't a foregone conclusion.

[Mental Trousers]

In trouble is perhaps overstating the postion a bit, but there are only three reasons why you go to the market to fund your business and remember, going to the market means that you are selling a portion, however large or small, of your business:

They're only selling a portion, otherwise someone has to buy out the $70m loan.

If anyone wanted the place the best way is to buy the debt from the bank. That way the current owners have to make payments you and if they aren't able to keep up with payments you end up foreclosing and getting the track debt free.

1) the bank won't give you the money, to allow you to retain full ownership

The bank virtually owns it. There's a $70m loan on the place.

2) operating revenues are insufficient to fund expansion, upgrades, purchases, pay off debt, with retain earnings and allow you retain full ownership

Apparently they're booked 330 days out of 365. Less than 3 days a month where it's not generating revenue.

You can count them up if you like - http://www.hamptondowns.com/pages/56/event-calendar.htm

3) you want out, for whatever reason. Generally because you have been in it so long you simply have had enough or you have had enough of seeing your large fortune become a small fortune and you cannot simply close the doors (as is the case in this case).

My gut feeling in this case, and of course only those who know will know, is all three.
It is a huge undertaking for a small group of investors/owners to undertake with minimal state support and it is pretty amazing that they got to where they are. I for one hope that a suitable investor/new owner will come on board with the necessary long term horizon to allow the facility to reach its full potential and continue to operate at a rate that NZers can afford.

That's entirely possible. I've never met Chris so I don't know if he's looking for an out or not. I have met Tony plenty of times and he's very involved with the day to day running of the track and associated businesses (Play Day on Track etc) so I'd be surprised if he wanted to get out of it.

End of the day there's still $70m owing on the place so the bank is likely to be unwilling to come up with more.

However, the Resource Consent now enables very large events to take place, for which the long track is needed. To finish that they need money and one of the few avenues open for that is investment.

The thing that strikes me is how short sighted everyone seems to be. It's my understanding they were always going to

1. start with the "National Track"
2. run that while the Resource Consent to run big events is sorted out
3. when the Resource Consent is granted (for which addressing all the issues LTSA, local council, the prison, the land fill etc have with the track) find investment to fund the expansion
4. finish the long track
5. host the big events and start making some serious money

Looks like they're right on track to me, although things like the Motorsport NZ bullshit weren't in the plan. However, the V8 Super Tourers and support classes have mostly filled the gap.

[gixerracer]

http://www.nzmotorsportpark.co.nz/

[BoristheBiter]

http://www.nzmotorsportpark.co.nz/

Buy the looks of that they are cutting their loss's and selling the whole thing.

Just noticed that in the video there are no bikes.

[ktm84mxc]

With our problems at Ardmore there was talk of us moving to Hampton downs but the costs put us off $200,000 a year in ground rent plus we'd have to build the track and put in a watering system etc. Can see why it's a bit of a white elephant.

[Tony.OK]

http://www.nzmotorsportpark.co.nz/

NZ's new China town?

[ktm84mxc]

With the new developments at Pokeno township 5000 houses are planned and a train station Auckland is coming to a Ntn Waikato area. Hampton downs will be next.