By Terrence Voon

SHOPPING malls in the Marina Bay area are determined to win the fight for the retail dollar during the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix this month.

Suntec City, Marina Square and Millenia Walk are all rolling out a slew of racing-related promotions and deals to woo shoppers who may be deterred by the road closures.

Discounts, autograph sessions by Formula One drivers and even go-kart racing are part of the battle plan to keep the cash registers ringing during the world's first night F1 race.

The aim is to avoid a repeat of the retail slump during the 2006 International Monetary Fund and World Bank meet, when shoppers stayed away from the heavily secured Marina Bay area.

Suntec City, for instance, is organising a month-long series of events, including go-karting at the mall's outdoor carpark and an indoor electronic slot car racing circuit (see box).

At Millenia Walk, Williams F1 driver Nico Rosberg will drop by during the race week to meet fans. There will also be a life-sized F1 simulator car, and the participants who clock the fastest times will get to challenge Rosberg himself.

At Marina Square, there will be late-night shopping on the three race days (Sept 26-28), and F1 ticket holders will get discounts at shops and food and beverage outlets.

To further boost shopping traffic, one of the ticketing gates around the circuit perimeter will be deliberately placed at the Marina Square entrance, facing Raffles Avenue.

Over 100,000 spectators, of whom about half are overseas visitors, are expected during the Grand Prix.

Tan Swee Lin, senior manager of advertising and promotions at Marina Centre Holdings, is optimistic that retailers will do brisk business.

She explained: 'The F1 race is unlike the IMF, which was more of a 'closed door' event for delegates that restricted public access to several areas.'

Some hotels around the circuit are already fully booked, and this could add to the shopping buzz, said Millenia Walk's building managers Pontiac Land Group.

'With Millenia Walk located just a few minutes away from the hotels, we are expecting their guests to shop and dine at the mall,' said Carolyn Lee, Pontiac Land Group's assistant vice-president of corporate communications.

But the nearby Esplanade Mall will be relying solely on F1 ticket holders.

Only those with passes to the Singapore GP can access the building during the race, said Esplanade's director of operations, Ravi Sivalingam.

There will be no theatre performances at the Esplanade during this period, though shops there will remain open, he added.

The rest of the malls, however, are pulling out all the stops to make sure shoppers can visit with minimal fuss.

To combat the road closures, which will start in phases from Sept 20, Suntec City is providing complimentary shuttle bus services from heartland areas like Ang Mo Kio and Bedok.

This is in addition to the Land Transport Authority's free shuttle buses from City Hall and Bugis MRT stations.

Those who insist on driving can still reach Suntec City via Nicoll Highway, while visitors to Marina Square can enter the mall via the CityLink Mall underpass and the overhead pedestrian bridge from the Suntec Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Several taxi stands in the area will also remain operational.

Said a Suntec City tenant: 'I hope all these plans will be good enough to attract shoppers.

'For now, we're keeping our fingers crossed.'

SUNTEC CITY

• Go-kart racing (Sept 19-28)
• Indoor electronic slot car racing (Sept 19-28)
• Citispa Playeur Race Queen Search (Sept 19-21)
• Citispa Playeur party, including car displays and live F1 screening (Sept 26-28)
• Citispa Manulife Singapore Race Festival (Sept 15-21)

MARINA SQUARE

• Kids Rev-up @ Marina Square, featuring an Xbox and PSP racing game competition.
• Contests like 'Build a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Car' and 'Draw Your Dream F1 Car' (Sept 27-28)
• Late-night shopping till midnight (Sept 26-28)
• Special discounts for shoppers and F1 ticket holders (Sept 19-Oct 5)

MILLENIA WALK

• Oris Air Asia Grand Prix Challenge, featuring a life-sized F1 simulator (Sept 17-30)
• Meet-and-greet session with Williams F1 driver Nico Rosberg (Sept 23)

GETTING THERE

• Free shuttle buses to Suntec City from Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Bedok and East Coast (Sept 5-30)
• Free shuttle buses by LTA from City Hall and Bugis MRT stations to Suntec City and Millenia Walk (Sept 23-29)
• Car parking available at Suntec City via Nicoll Highway or Rochor Road, and at Millenia Walk (Sept 26-28)
• Taxi stands at Millenia Tower, Centennial Tower, Suntec Towers 1, 2, 3 and 4 will remain open (Sept 26-28)
• The CityLink underground shopping mall will be open throughout, linking the area to City Hall MRT

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sep 5, 2008.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.

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