The Burt Munro Challenge will be held on February 9-13, 2028, and Southern Field Days on February 9-11.
Great South tourism and events general manager Mark Frood said discussions were ongoing with the affected parties and it was acting as an independent intermediary, aiming to reduce overlap between major events.
Great South was ‘‘trying to map out things that work for everybody as much as we can’’.
‘‘When you’ve got big scale events ... the opportunity to spread it out is too good for the community.’’
The key issue with the clash was the region’s ability to host the influx of visitors without impacting on their experience in the region.
Mr Frood believed Southland could cope when it was busy, but said overlapping large events reduced the opportunity to maximise benefit over time, undermining the events’ long-term benefits.
‘‘It’s better to spread events across the line rather than have them put together.
‘‘Local business are better supported and you deliver a better experience for attendees.’’
‘‘We have a regional event strategy... and we kind of work with all events and hopefully get to the situation where we don’t have things double up.’’
Invercargill Licensing Trust chief executive Chris Ramsay said the trust’s accommodation bookings were usually at capacity for both Southern Field Days and the Burt Munro Classic and it was already receiving bookings for 2028.
‘‘Having them coincide does place some real pressure on accommodation across the city.
’’From our perspective, it would be great to see a solution that avoids the clash, ultimately to ensure visitors can enjoy everything the region has to offer.’’
Burt Munro Classic committee chairman Bill Moffatt said he acknowledged Southland’s February event calendar was becoming more congested, but the impending clash was an exception.
The 2018 decision to move the annual Burt Munro event from its once traditional November date to February, which offered a more settled weather pattern, was well-researched, Mr Moffatt said.
The 2028 event had been slotted into the only weekend the Southland Sports Car Club had free at its Teretonga Park track.
Mr Moffatt believed neither group was digging their heels in, but were constrained by other events.
Southern Field Days chairman Steve Henderson said the Southland event, which happened every second year, was part of a larger national circuit calendar.
‘‘If we were to ever change, it would hinge on the suppliers and the site builders being able to handle that.’’
While the committee had not yet met to make a decision, he did not expect the 2028 event would be rescheduled.
Southern Field Days attracts about 700 exhibitors and more than 40,0000 attendees to the 57ha site for the three-day event.
Mr Henderson said visitor accommodation was often sourced from outlying towns, including as far away as Balclutha.
Other events taking place in Southland that month include the Oceania Track Cycling Championships, Next Gen National Championship Series, Classic Speedfest, Edendale Crank Up, and Southern Grilles and Gasoline.
- Toni McDonald
