F1 Singapore GP 2008 News & Info

14,000 new Singapore F1 tickets

Channel NewsAsia - Friday, February 29

The inaugural SingTel Singapore Grand Prix 2008 will hit a total capacity of 99,000, when a new batch of grandstand seats are made available to the public in Phase 2 of ticket sales.
According to sources, around 14,000 grandstand tickets will be made available soon, with 10,000 seats located at the Padang along St Andrew’s Road, some in front of City Hall and the remainder spread across the circuit.
Organisers are keen to avoid the chaos that marked the first day of ticket sales on Feb 14, so Phase 2 it will include single—day passes for seats from the first phase will be launched when they are satisfied with the ticketing system.

While organisers Singapore GP refused to comment or give details of sales figures so far, a check on their website revealed that the Stamford, Raffles and Esplanade grandstands have all sold out.

Only single seat tickets are still available at the Marina and Bay grandstands, while the centre portion of the Pit Grandstand in front of the Start—Finish straight is almost full. There are still tickets available for both ends of the Start—Finish grandstand and at Turns 1, 2 and 3, at the premium price of $1,398 each. Walkabout tickets, the cheapest at $168 each, are still available.
The first phase of ticket sales for Formula 1’s inaugural night race saw 55,000 grandstand and 15,000 walkabout tickets made available to the general public.

This was in addition to the 11,000 corporate suite and 4,000 Paddock Club tickets put on sale last November.

Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) and Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) are currently in negotiations with Singapore GP on how members of the two clubs at the opposite ends of the Padang will be allowed to use the facilities during the three—day Formula 1 event, from Sept 26—28.

“While we can confirm that we have entered into an agreement with Singapore GP on the use of the Padang for the grandstands, we do not have any conclusive arrangements at the moment on the security, logistics and access matters,” said SCC general manager Alan Jones.
“We are still in talks with Singapore GP and the government agencies involved.
“However, our position to ensure our club and members’ best interest remains.”
Said SRC president Johnny Goh: “Field rental for grandstands for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix have been concluded and we are currently negotiating with Singapore GP on the use of club facilities and how members are to view the race, and we expect to get a reply soon.”

Not all property owners are excited over the historic Grand Prix, though.
St Andrew’s Cathedral, a gazetted national monument that sits opposite SRC, would have given parishioners an unrivalled view of the race.

But the fence along its huge compound up to Coleman Street is all set to be boarded up during the three days.
While the Singapore Tourism Board have yet to confirm any decision, Kenneth Ng, the church’s general manager, said: “We had a meeting with the Singapore Tourism Board where we were informed that they were going to put crash barriers in front of our compound and also board up the fence.
“We have no problems with that. Our concern was that the noise from the race would interrupt our services from Friday to Sunday, which is conducted throughout the day and into the evening.
“There is also the worry that people might just come into our property to watch the Grand Prix and create a host of security problems and other issues.

“So we are actually happy that none of this is going to happen.” TODAY

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