The push to bring the V8 Supercars to the Central Coast has stalled at the starters’ flag.

Central Coast Council today announced it would not continue investigations into the opportunity following advice that disruption to traffic and freight would be too great and ratepayers would potentially be left with significant costs to host the event.

Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rob Noble, said it was disappointing that the Coast would miss out on such an amazing opportunity but in the end the numbers simply did not stack up.

“On paper this looks like a fabulous opportunity for the Coast,” Mr Noble said.

“Then you drill down and realise we would have to close one of the main arterial roads on the Coast for more than four days.

“I know residents would rather we spent the money on roads they actually drive on every day.

“In the end it just didn’t stack up for us.”

Mr Noble also expressed his gratitude to Destination NSW and the NSW Government for their desire to bring the opportunity to the Central Coast.

“It demonstrates that the tourism potential of the Central Coast is recognised by Government,” Mr Noble said.

“We know that discussions regarding other opportunities to grow the profile of the region will continue.”

A priority for council is to support, develop and grow major events which are an important catalyst for economic development and offer positive experiences and economic contributions to local businesses and the wider community on the Central Coast.

The Central Coast is well equipped to host events utilising the natural assets in the region as well as the wealth of existing infrastructure available. The Central Coast’s strength is its ability to host events across a variety of categories including nature based events, a variety of extreme and team sporting events as well as cultural, lifestyle and arts events.

Around 100 events are held annually on the Central Coast with varying involvement from council.

Council will continue to work with existing and potential stakeholders to secure significant events for the Central Coast to increase tourism numbers and opportunities for the community.

According to According to Tourism Research Australia (TRA) data nearly 5 million tourists visited the Central Coast in 2015.