The South Australian government says ticket revenue for the Adelaide 500 is up 60 per cent on the last Supercars race in the city two years ago, but the cost of the race has not been disclosed.
More than 258,000 fans went to the four-day Supercars event in the Adelaide CBD over the weekend — a 25 per cent increase on the last time the event was held.
No dollar figures, though, have been released for ticket revenue or the cost of holding the event.
The 2020 race attracted the lowest crowd since 2003, with 206,000 people over the event's four days.
The former Liberal government declared it over, blaming the crowd downturn on the bushfires, the coronavirus pandemic, the demise of Australian manufacturing and the traditional Holden versus Ford rivalry.
It was brought back by the new Labor government after the March state election.
South Australian Motorsport Board chair Andrew Daniels said most of the fans went for more than one day.
He said set-up costs were higher than expected and the final bills were still being finalised.
"Our aim was not just to bring the event back, but to bring it back at a much higher level and really restate that bar," he said.
"So a lot of new infrastructure was put in and brought a lot of new development — our aim now is to continue that growth."
Win for Labor and Holden
Premier Peter Malinauskas was happy with the attendance numbers.
"I was pretty confident that Australians and South Australians were going to back this event in," he said.
"There's a lot of people here from New Zealand in fact, as it turns out.
"We had expectations and they've been exceeded — for me that's a relief and for the state that's a good thing."
Ticket prices were lowered to help attract interstate visitors.
"I think keeping the ticket sales at a more reasonable price did generate more activity, and to make sure we got that balance right because ultimately we want to make it more affordable for families; there is a cost-of-living crisis at the moment," Mr Malinauskas said.
Holden driver Broc Feeney won his first Supercars race yesterday, on the same day the Holden brand was farewelled from the code.
The 20-year-old led for more than 50 laps to take the win, crossing the line ahead of Holden's Chaz Mostert and Ford's Anton de Pasquale.
"It's been an awesome year, but I felt like the win was always so close and to get it at the last race in front of all these fans for Holden it means so much," Feeney said.
Shane van Gisbergen celebrated winning the overall championship for Holden -- and becoming a three-time Supercars champion.
"I've just had a great car all year [and the] team's been awesome," he said.
Most roads through the Adelaide Parklands will reopen tomorrow morning, apart from Wakefield Road, which will open on Thursday.
Robbie Williams will perform at next year's Adelaide 500, five years after his last concert at the event.
