Located only a short seven minute walk from Batman Station and 10 minute walk from Sydney Rd trams, the newly created business Velodrome Events is comprised of Chris Mitchell and Garrath Holt, who were previously partners in Red Bennies on Chapel St.
“Garrath and I were working on a music video at a studio around the corner from the velodrome earlier this year when he pointed it out to me during a break,” Mitchell told Beat. “He first discovered the space walking his dog through the industrial estate a few months earlier and had been on my case to check it out, as we were looking for a new project after selling Red Bennies a couple of years back. The space blew me away, it has this ’80s concrete apocalyptic American high-school ‘bleachers’ kinda vibe. You just have to stand in the middle of the space to fully appreciate what I mean.”
The Coburg Velodrome, which is home to unique convex architecture, was first built in 1976. Events held there will also include boutique food vans, while the first party will also be powered by the notorious Heartical HiFi.
“I’ve only found two other velodromes used for concerts from my research,” stated Mitchell. “One being The OneLove music festival in NZ at the Hataitai Velodrome in Wellington, and the other at Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. That being said I’d be surprised if velodromes throughout the world have not been used many times before for concerts. The convex architecture of this style of velodrome makes for a fantastic amphitheatre style setting.
Their 2016 events calendar is set to be unleashed early next year, and punters can expect an extremely diverse program. “The space suits all forms of events outside of music concerts, so we are currently talking to companies from food and drink festivals, performing arts, outdoor cinema, markets and much more.
“We’re working closely with the Coburg Cycling Club, Moreland City Council and Shadow Electric to curate an events program that is community inclusive and culturally relevant.”
And, before you ask, the organisers are asking attendees to try and avoid getting their Lance Armstrong on at events. “The velodrome operates as a racing track with some great events held by the Coburg Cycling Club throughout the year, but for the time being we’re going to ask our punters to save their energy for the dance floor only,” laughed Mitchell.
Photo: Andee Frost and Edd Fisher getting acquainted with the space on a tandem bike, taken by Cesur Sanli.
