‘Great for business’: East End property chief wades into motorsports debate
An East End property mogul declares the “devil’s in the detail” as he speaks out over the government’s controversial plans for nearby park lands.
Maras Group Managing Director Steve Maras said the upcoming MotoGP would be “great for business in the east end and the city at large”.
Speaking to InDaily today, Maras said he was waiting to see the track plans, but he hoped the MotoGP would capture the same energy as the 1980s Adelaide Grand Prix.
“Putting aside how that’s actually put together, an event of that kind, without question, is great for business in the East End and for the city at large,” Maras said.
“I guess the devil’s in the detail, in so far as how will it look, what impacts will it have, you do have to look at these things in terms of impact, but I think from an event perspective, I remember vividly the ’85 to ’95 Grand Prix period, particularly those early years.
“I was just finishing high school, Adelaide transformed literally overnight from little Adelaide, sleepy town to something you never thought could happen in Adelaide.”
The Maras family business owns swathes of east end buildings in Rundle Street east, Ebenezer Place and Vardon Avenue. It also owns commercial offices in Union Street, Hindmarsh Street, Angas Street, Hutt Street, Pirie Street, Frome Street, King William Street, Currie Street and others outside the CBD.
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Maras said the Grand Prix Adelaide city circuit made Adelaide “an international city” and spurred events like the Adelaide Fringe to up their ante in the park lands.
“That really paved the way,” Maras said.
“After that, that’s when we started to see real events and festivals happen in Adelaide, you talk about the Fringe and Garden, and Gluttony and all the rest of it…who would have thought 15 years ago that we’d be seeing both park lands fully occupied by these festivals? It’s incredible.”
His comments come as protesters have set up camp in Victoria Park – where MotoGP will be held – and after thousands marched through the city in opposition to the event on Sunday.
Concerns include tree loss, with the tree toll for MotoGP yet to be confirmed, and interruptions to key public transport routes like the O-Bahn.
“I know there’s a lot of angst…I get it…I know that things have been heating up quite a bit. I’m not going to get into much of that, because I don’t want to buy into that,” Maras said.
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“I’m just looking at what the event could do for, not just the East End; it’s the whole city.”
Asked if any of the Maras Group traders – spanning retail and hospitality across Rundle Street, Vardon Ave and Ebenezer Place – had raised concerns about the impacts of building the track, Maras said he had not heard any.
“Specifically, from the hospitality operators, they absolutely can’t wait for it to happen, but that’s hospitality, and hospitality is always a major beneficiary of things like that, and always has been,” he said.
Last week, a petition led by Adelaide Park Lands protesters that amassed more than 40,000 signatures was tabled in parliament, triggering a parliamentary inquiry into the MotoGP and golf course plans.
The petition was hosted in several Adelaide cafes, including TIBA Espresso on Flinders Street, Staazi & Co on Grenfell Street and Pave Cafe on the Parade, Norwood.
Park Lands protesters have also raised concerns over the construction’s impact on major Fringe hub Gluttony, in Rymill Park.
Gluttony co-director Daniel Michael previously told InDaily he had been assured his major Fringe hub will run as normal in Rymill Park next year, “despite” MotoGP track construction being slated to start in December.
The MotoGP track plans are expected to be released from the state government in the coming weeks.
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