Ascot boom or bust?

MORE used to dodging brickbats, City of York Council has been garlanded with bouquets this week.

Two years ago, when York Racecourse won the chase to land Royal Ascot, many said the city would not cope. There would be gridlock, mass trouble from drunken racegoers, the city's reputation shredded.

In the event, the traffic flowed almost as well as the champagne, the festival was noted for its civility and good humour, and York emerged sparkling in front of millions of TV viewers and newspaper readers.

The response of Brenda Hayhoe, from South Buckinghamshire, was typical. "I was there three days including Ladies Day, and I must pass on my compliments to both the York racetrack staff and the Yorkshire people," she wrote, in an email to the Evening Press.

"The event itself appeared to go off without a hitch, and I must admit the track setting is in a great place. If, because of building delays down south, it was suggested we come again I for one would have no hesitation."

Or try this, from Ernest Huck, who went to Ascot with a party from Thirsk and Sowerby Harriers. "It is a great credit to York to have planned such a large event so well and we all hope that Royal Ascot may return next year."

But while close to a quarter of a million partied on Knavesmire, York city centre was eerily quiet. Traffic was light, car parks half full. While the Theatre Royal and the Grand Opera House reported normal audiences, some restaurants and pubs suffered a significant drop in takings.

So did York lose out - or will we be reaping the rewards from Royal Ascot for years to come?

For Jim Hardie, landlord of the Blue Bell pub in Fossgate, York, talk of a possible £50 million Ascot dividend is laughable.

He had ordered in an extra 40 per cent of beer and hired more staff, but saw sales drop by 20 per cent. Part of the blame should be shouldered by greedy hoteliers who hiked room prices, he said.

"I was speaking to some racegoers wearing top hat and tails. One of them was quoted £300 a night.

"He said, 'I am fairly well-off but I am not stupid'. He was off for a meal in York and then returned to Leeds where he paid £45 for a room."

It is a theme echoed by James Butler, landlord of the Yorkshire Terrier, in Stonegate, York. He has spoken to a lot of fellow traders who were angry at taking a hit in a week that promised a boom.

Having attended the race meeting James congratulated "York Racecourse on a fantastic five days of racing in a superb atmosphere".

But he believes that those hoteliers who charged exorbitant fees sent what should have been York's custom elsewhere. "Most of Leeds city centre has had an absolute boom time, restaurants at capacity, bars full, hotels full at normal rates.

"Harrogate, Wetherby and many other surrounding areas have also capitalised and they deserve it because of York's mistakes."

Another problem was transport. While the Ascot traffic masterplan did a superb job at moving people in and out of the racecourse, it mitigated against people travelling into the city centre before or after the meetings.

Meanwhile, the buses were delivering people to the railway station: "Before they were aware of it," said James, "they were on a platform and probably on a train going home rather than being given directions to the city centre, or being dropped off there, to fill the empty restaurants and bars."

He is worried that if the transport system is repeated for the Ebor festival, traders could lose out again.

Nikos Monoyiou, owner of Mana Greek Restaurant in St Sampson's Square, called the week a disaster, with takings 50 per cent down. "They said to us, 'it's going to be extremely busy'. We employed extra staff, bought in extra stock.

"I had to lay off staff for the first time in 15 years."

With relatively few racegoers making it into the heart of York, he felt it was a missed opportunity. "The idea was to bring people into the city, to realise how beautiful it is and to come back for a day trip or weekend. But they didn't come."

Micklegate, on the route to the racecourse, was deserted for most of the week. So said Paul Abbott, who runs the post office on York's royal street. He had friends who came to York for the racing but they never made it into town to meet him. "They were directed in from the A64 and directed on their way home before they knew it," Paul said.

Businesses in Micklegate and around the city struggled. "On Friday night we were down Stonegate and it was absolutely dead. There were more policemen than there were tourists.

"If you are going to have Ascot again, the council should try to make sure that people who come are allowed into the city centre of York."

And tourist businesses fared little better. Keith Mulhearn is a tour guide and runs the Eboracum Roman Museum beneath the Roman Bath pub. How was his Ascot week? "It was pants," he said. "I did not one tour last week. As for the museum, it was the worst week ever, worse than anything in January."

Andrew Lindsay, President of the Chamber of Commerce for York and North Yorkshire, was far more positive.

"It was tremendous for the city and for those operating within the city. It was a great success.

"The city looks good. The traffic management was done very well. Sometimes the chamber and the city council don't see eye to eye, but I have got to congratulate the council for the way they managed the huge influx of traffic."

He praised the Royal Ascot experience.

"I was entertaining clients one day and a guest another day. The courtesy of every single member of staff - the car park people, the bar staff, the waitresses, the stewards - was exemplary.

"They delivered a fantastic image of York."

Andrew understood the feelings of those businesses that lost out last week. But he is sure that they will feel the benefit in the longer term.

"It's true that many visitors to the city centre didn't come during Ascot week. It's true that many retailers felt the pinch.

"But 225,000 people came to York Racecourse and had an overwhelmingly positive experience. Many of those were here for the first time and they will be thinking 'we will come back to York again'.

"They will spend money here, in the shops, in the visitor attractions. If we can demonstrate good, old fashioned Yorkshire hospitality to those people, there's no reason that they shouldn't come again and again."

And if the Ascot traffic plan were to be deployed for future race meetings, as is being considered, then it is likely to be good for the city centre.

"If the city decides to use the traffic management plan again, one thing it demonstrates is there's no need for congestion in the city again. It means people will be able to get in much more easily than they did in the past."

Looking to the future, York will benefit twice over. First from the "overwhelmingly positive image through the national and international press"; and second from the many "wealthy business people" who will now consider the city as a conference venue.

That view is corroborated by Adam Purser, marketing director of inward investment organisation york-england.com. It hosted both representatives of the Government's Valuation Office Agency and a business leader from Denver, Colorado, at Royal Ascot At York.

As a result, there is hope that 150 jobs from the agency could come here, and that the city will benefit from better US trade links.

Adam said that there were already signs that York's profile has been raised to new heights.

"Talking to our representatives from Chicago today, they felt that the Ascot races had made York a real talking point in America. This is the sort of incalculable benefit that you get from a profile on the international stage.

"It makes it so much easier to start a conversation, which we can then turn around to the possibilities of setting up a business in our area."

He added: "While we will have to wait a few weeks to see the results of the economic impact studies of Ascot, these studies do not tell the whole story.

"There are a number of Government departments who are very interested in moving their people to York. Ascot gave a real opportunity to talk to their representatives in the best of circumstances, at an event that showed off York at its best."

Updated: 10:51 Wednesday, June 22, 2005