Sport North East ISSUE 01 | Page 11

Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse Located within High Gosforth Park, Newcastle Racecourse is home to the historic Northumberland Plate, and is one of Britain’s busiest racecourses, hosting over 60 all-weather and jumps fixtures a year. Sport NE Magazine recently caught up with their Head of Marketing and Digital Max McCall to find out more about their plans for 2019. Atmosphere He told us, “The mood around Newcastle Racecourse and High Gosforth Park estate is very positive. We’re excited for the year ahead with plenty of feature racedays on the horizon. The various teams are preparing to deliver some excellent events for the 100,000+ visitors we’re looking forward to welcoming through the doors this year.” 2018 “2018 was a good year, with plenty of memorable days to reflect upon. The glorious summer brought out the crowds for our iconic Northumberland Plate Day. Live music after racing events continued to be a success, an offering that has gone from strength to strength with our audience, and across the country, over the past few years.” 2019 “We have 62 racedays in the calendar for 2019, which makes us one of the busiest racecourses in the country. Particular highlights for the year include the Good Friday Family Raceday, with a new Greatest Show theme, our social highlight of the year, Ladies Day, and the Northumberland Plate Day, with Madness performing live after racing. Our non-racing side of the business is also often overlooked, but we’re an established conference, exhibition, party and wedding venue, and we look forward to hosting many of these events throughout the year, including the very popular NWG Innovation Festival in July, whilst attracting plenty more for the future.” Get Involved “There really is something for everyone; families, friends, colleagues, clients, students – we have such a wide-ranging set of events that cater to a variety of audiences. Check out our website and you’re sure to find a raceday or event that suits you. For those looking to taste one of our largest and most atmospheric events of the year, Plate Day on Saturday 29 June or Ladies Day on Saturday 27 July are where to look.” Challenges/Ambitions “The leisure and entertainment industries continue to move at such a pace, and so keeping up to speed, and at times getting ahead of the curve, with our offering and how it’s marketed are the biggest challenges we face. This makes for exciting times though, and with the proposed estate development planned for the near future, our offering is facing another significant enhancement. The next five years will actually be bringing about a lot of change to the racecourse and our wider estate, including onsite pub and golf club. Development plans to High Gosforth Park are at an advanced stage, which includes significant racecourse refurbishment to public and hospitality areas, as well as the building of high- quality residential accommodation and a large new event centre. There’s more information about the development plans on our website for those interested.” www.sportip.biz 11