Sports Boss Angry Live Music Might Impact Gambling Event

A Bruno Mars concert in October is reportedly set to clash with a major horse racing event and Racing NSW boss Peter V'landys is very angry about it. 

V'landys is fuming after learning of plans by the NSW government to stage a Bruno Mars concert at the recently renovated Sydney Football Stadium on October 15... clashing with the $15 million Everest, a race event that he thinks will attract the same market as Mars, taking money away from his gambling bonanza. 

Speaking on 2GB, the Racing New South Wales Chief Executive labelled the plan as "stupid". V'landys made the comments in a bizarre outburst on Ben Fordham Live. 

V'landys was on the war path to defend the Everest, saying "We developed it ourselves … why would you undermine us?! I’m just in disbelief. You would never see the Victorian Government put a pop concert on the same day as the AFL Grand Final.” This drew a retort from NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres who states “Global cities can do multiple things at once. New York wouldn’t cancel the Yankees because Billy Joel was playing at Madison Square Garden.” 

This comparison only served to further enrage the V'landys who shot back saying  "New York has the infrastructure, and New York has the population. Sydney does not have the population of New York and it does not have the transport infrastructure. We've got a world class stadium that they've built. Why would you have all the residents offside early, by causing them maximum inconvenience?"

“Why would you divide Sydney into deciding where to go? We’ve worked very hard to bring an event to Sydney, it’s a home-grown event. We’ve established it, we’ve got interstate visitors, international visitors,” V’landys adds. 

V'landys is not alone in his criticism of the plan, with 2GB broadcaster and football identity Ray Hadley joining the backlash to the plan. Hadley believes it'll make the precinct a "living nightmare" for fans, doubting the ability of transport infrastructure to deal with the sudden influx of people. Hadley even went so far as to suggest that the decision could lead to Ayres losing his job. "You may cling to the idea that you’ll still be Tourism Minister after March of 2023 but the way things are lining up old mate, you’ll be sitting on the sidelines.”

The Bruno Mars concert is yet to be announced. 

Bruno Mars last toured Australia in 2018. The hitmaker responsible for Locked Out Of Heaven, When I Was Your Man, 24k Magic and Grenade is renowned for his captivating, full-scale live performances. His latest full-length release is 2021's An Evening With Silk Sonic from his celebrated project with Anderson. Paak, Silk Sonic.