As Palmerston North's biggest event roars into life this weekend, stockcar fans will be the first to use the new south stand at the Central Energy Trust Arena.
Work continues on the arena upgrade but that hasn't stopped the Palmerston North venue hosting the Superstock Teams Champs this Saturday and Sunday.
The new stand at the Cuba St side of the Arena seats 1610 and the top level provides great views of the new speedway pits and the city.
Work continues on the entrance plaza on the corner of Waldegrave and Cuba streets and a pedestrian bridge.
Queues for toilets are likely to be much shorter when the new ablutions block under the south stand opens in three to four weeks – before the speedway season ends.
There will be 48 women's toilets in the new block, up from six or seven.
"We've gone above the requirement of the building code to make sure it's a good experience for the womenfolk," Palmerston North City Council venues and events manager John Lynch says.
He led a site tour of the construction work for media on Friday, who were intrigued by the newly installed toilets yet to be screened into cubicles.
The men are also catered for with room for 48 at one time in the ablutions block, up from 15.
The Superstock Teams Champs is New Zealand's premier speedway event.
"This is the biggest annual event on the speedway calendar, which generates over $6 million of economic benefit for the local economy," Lynch says.
"We'll be welcoming more than 16,000 visitors to our venue each night. Over 80 per cent of these are visitors from outside our region."
Visitors and teams come from throughout Aotearoa including Auckland, Gisborne, Waikato, Nelson and Canterbury.
And this isn't just for teams champs; throughout the speedway season competitors and fans travel from across New Zealand to attend meetings.
"Speedway is estimated to generate $30 million worth of economic benefit annually for our city," Lynch says.
Storyboards at the new arena entrance will tell the history of the site. The showgrounds were established in 1886 with trees and bush cleared for stock shows.
The showgrounds were used for military purposes during World War I and World War II, including being the home of the Māori Battalion.
City at the Centre: A History of Palmerston North says Palmerston North's ambition to be a centre of national, rather than simply regional, significance has been realised to no small degree in motorsport.
A reported 12,000 spectators attended the first stockcar opening night on February 23, 1963.
"Whereas motor racing has faced concerns over noise levels elsewhere, notably in Auckland, there has been very little public opposition to motorsport in Palmerston North," City at the Centre says.