Motorsport: New hotel to be built at Hampton Downs

Toyota Motorsport opened their new facility at Hampton Downs on Monday. Photo / Matthew Hansen

Hampton Downs Motorsport Park have announced plans to build a hotel on their premesis, with construction expected to reach completion in the first quarter of 2019.

Confirming the plans at today's launch of Toyota Racing New Zealand's new headquarters, Hampton Downs Chief of Operations Josie Spillane said that the hotel would be a four-star establishment with more than 70 rooms.

"A hotel was actually a part of the original [Hampton Downs] concept, which a lot of the apartment owners bought into in terms of the promises that had been made," said Spillane.

"The commercial reality of that for the previous owners was something that they could never actually quite realise.

"We're working with one of the main hotel developers in New Zealand to realise the vision of having a four-star, 70-room hotel here on sight. It's fair to say that we're in our final stages. There are a few boxes to be ticked, 'i's to be dotted, and 't's to be crossed, but certainly the negotiations are going incredibly well."

Spillane says that the move is part of the facility's drive to cement itself as a tourist destination, alongside being a marquee Australasian motorsport venue. Its creation also helps combat a lack of local acomodation near the circuit.

"Our team has been pushing on hard to ensure that as a motorsport and entertainment facility that we have all of the offerings that are expected; a restaurant is one, a cafe is another, and having more accomodation was something high on the cards.

"We are putting the stake in the ground as Australasia's premier motorsport and experiences facility. And as part of that we're not just motorsport. There's a massive tourism aspect to our business. We've taken the strength of what we've done at Highlands from a tourism perspective, and we've put some of those elements into Hampton Downs.

"With an i-SITE coming on site, our go-karts, and Auckland bursting at the seams, having Hampton Downs as the gateway to tourism in the Waikato is just smart and innovative way of going 'hold on a sec, what are the assets we've really got, let's realise that potential' and not just be framed in a motorsport direction."

The hotel facility will be created towards the top of the circuit, between the two apartment blocks that line the outside of the front straight - giving guests a prime view of the track. ​