Mr CONLAN - 2015-06-18
It never ceases to amaze me as I move around the Northern Territory how stoked people are with the significant world-class events we continually bring to the Northern Territory for Territorians to enjoy. There has been the Sheffield Shield cricket, the Ashes, AFL in Alice Springs for the first time, rugby league across the Northern Territory, the Red CentreNATS is coming to town, and there was a world first with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra playing at Uluru in 2013. They are world-class significant events thanks to this government. Following on from that, can you inform the House how ticket sales are going for another huge global event, the Davis Cup in Darwin next month?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. Like many Territorians he is excited that Darwin has been chosen to host this first-class international match. As members are aware, Australia will take on Kazakhstan in the quarterfinal of the Davis Cup at the Marrara Sporting Complex from 17 to 19 July. This is the first time a Davis Cup tie has been played in the Northern Territory, and the first time Australia has hosted a home tie since 2006.
As members would know, the Davis Cup has a completely different atmosphere to the ATP events. That is because the Davis Cup is very much nation against nation. I am sure the crowd will get behind our magnificent Australian team. It is a festive, raucous and exciting atmosphere. It also immediately follows Wimbledon, which means the Aussie players will be up against the world’s best at Wimbledon and will come straight to Darwin from there.
The Northern Territory government is unapologetic for investing $600 000 for this quarterfinal. This is the kind of first-class event we are happy to pay for to benefit Territorians. It is part of the Festivals NT calendar.
The government is not just investing dollars. The minister for Transport and I are pleased to announce today that all ticket holders for the Davis Cup quarterfinal can travel on Darwin bus routes which lead to Marrara via the Casuarina Interchange for free over that weekend. It is another way we are making it easy for Territorians to access great events.
As for the ticket sales, the temporary grandstands will accommodate about 4500 tennis fans. I am urging honourable members and anyone wanting to see this quarterfinal tie, if you do not have your tickets yet it might be time to book them. The sales have been strong but there are still some good ones available, so log on to Ticketek and buy your tickets now. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it is worth it.
It was wonderful to catch up with Todd Woodbridge the other day and show him the site for the proposed NT Regional Tennis Centre. As members would know, we have committed $8m towards this project and Todd is just as excited as we are about it. We are investing in real projects for real outcomes.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. Like many Territorians he is excited that Darwin has been chosen to host this first-class international match. As members are aware, Australia will take on Kazakhstan in the quarterfinal of the Davis Cup at the Marrara Sporting Complex from 17 to 19 July. This is the first time a Davis Cup tie has been played in the Northern Territory, and the first time Australia has hosted a home tie since 2006.
As members would know, the Davis Cup has a completely different atmosphere to the ATP events. That is because the Davis Cup is very much nation against nation. I am sure the crowd will get behind our magnificent Australian team. It is a festive, raucous and exciting atmosphere. It also immediately follows Wimbledon, which means the Aussie players will be up against the world’s best at Wimbledon and will come straight to Darwin from there.
The Northern Territory government is unapologetic for investing $600 000 for this quarterfinal. This is the kind of first-class event we are happy to pay for to benefit Territorians. It is part of the Festivals NT calendar.
The government is not just investing dollars. The minister for Transport and I are pleased to announce today that all ticket holders for the Davis Cup quarterfinal can travel on Darwin bus routes which lead to Marrara via the Casuarina Interchange for free over that weekend. It is another way we are making it easy for Territorians to access great events.
As for the ticket sales, the temporary grandstands will accommodate about 4500 tennis fans. I am urging honourable members and anyone wanting to see this quarterfinal tie, if you do not have your tickets yet it might be time to book them. The sales have been strong but there are still some good ones available, so log on to Ticketek and buy your tickets now. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it is worth it.
It was wonderful to catch up with Todd Woodbridge the other day and show him the site for the proposed NT Regional Tennis Centre. As members would know, we have committed $8m towards this project and Todd is just as excited as we are about it. We are investing in real projects for real outcomes.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016