If You Do Not Pre-Book Parking, Be Prepared For Minimum Extra 10 Minute (750m) Walk To Air Show

When the ticketing arrangements for Airshows Downunder Shellharbour were announced on 1st November last year, it was revealed that general admission ticketholders who are driving to the air show need to pre-book their car parking online at a cost of AUD$10. The car park, linked by a free shuttle bus to the event, is at Albion Oval.

So what happens if someone shows up at the car park without a pre-booking, especially someone who is planning to buy an event ticket at the airport gate?

First & foremost, you will be turned away and redirected to another car park.

But where is this car park?

There are 2 possible car parks but which one we cannot be sure until event day. The Business Paper from the 7th of February 2024 Shellharbour City Council Traffic Committee reveals 2 car parks:

• Shellharbour City Stadium
• Parsons Paddock

Parsons Paddock would be the most familiar to previous attendees of the formerly named Wings Over Illawarra air show. This was the former general admission ticketing car park. However, for 2024, it has been relocated to the larger Albion Oval with Parsons Paddock now instead going to be the event’s staff, exhibitor & volunteer car park. Therefore, organisers have added an additional label to this car park: Potential public paid/unpaid.

This indicates Parsons Paddock is only to be used if there are vacant spots once it has been ascertained no more staff, exhibitors or volunteers are parking there but then the question is will it be paid or unpaid?

Albion Oval is nearly 47% larger than Parsons Paddock & we cannot recall Parsons Paddock ever reaching capacity so there is a good chance Parsons Paddock will not be used at all for general admission parking so that all but rules out pre-booked paid parking. They also could always decide to charge an in-person-only AUD$10 fee at the last minute if Albion Oval does reach capacity & there are no more pre-booked drivers looking for a spot, however unlikely that is. But what about unpaid parking? What about those who show up at Albion Oval without a pre-booking?

Well, they definitely will be directed to Shellharbour City Stadium, a 3-minute drive away. This car park has been labelled Unpaid Overflow Parking so it will definitely be used for those redirected from Albion Oval because they did not pre-book their parking online.

This car park is free but there are 2 (or 3) disadvantages:

• It is not on the shuttle bus route &,
• You will have to walk a minimum 10 minutes (750m), 20 minutes (1.5km) maximum to the shuttle bus or,
• Alternatively, walk the full 28 minutes (2.1km) to the air show event gate.

From the Shellharbour City Stadium car park, the closest the shuttle bus route gets is at the intersection of Croome Road & Cedar Street, a 10 minute or 750m walk away. However, there is no designated stop for the shuttle bus there so if the shuttle bus does not stop for you, which is likely, you will need to walk an additional 10 minutes to Southlake Illawarra BMX Club, which is where the shuttle bus picks up staff, exhibitors, volunteers & if any, air show spectators. In the event you need to go to Southlake Illawarra BMX Club, which is likely, if you end up parking in the western end of the Shellharbour City Stadium car park, it is actually quicker (11 minutes) to walk direct to Southlake Illawarra BMX Club instead of via Croome Road to check whether the Shuttle Bus will stop at the intersection with Cedar Street. Also, take into account that, if the shuttle bus does stop at the intersection of Croome Road & Cedar Street for you, it’s next stop is Southlake Illawarra BMX Club.

The shuttle bus takes 3 minutes to travel between Southlake Illawarra BMX Club & the main event gates. From Albion Oval, it takes 8 minutes (as it also stops at Southlake Illawarra BMX Club). Lastly, the shuttle buses’ frequency & the delays in stopping to pick up passengers will naturally add time to the above durations (unless it is a very frequent shuttle bus!)

Remember, the flight path of the air show is actually above you when walking to Southlake Illawarra BMX Club & to the immediately west if walking all the way to the event gate so if you think you are going to miss something, remember to just look up (but do not head to the runway perimeter as you will be turned away by security/traffic managers).

If Shellharbour City Council Stadium car park reaches capacity, those intended for that car park will be redirected to Parsons Paddock if not already redirected there from Albion Oval. Parsons Paddock will then likely be free parking (but with the additional benefit of a shuttle bus) if Albion Oval has not reached capacity for pre-booked parking.

As all parking is pre-booked online, organisers should have a good idea of how full Albion Oval could get by air show day & will be monitoring it in real-time if a late surge in bookings or unbooked spectators wanting a car parking spot arises. Based on previous editions, Albion Oval should handle the demand.

If you do park at Shellharbour City Stadium and decide to walk the full 28 minutes (1.2km) to the main event gates, head to the intersection of Ceder Street & Croome Road, then the next intersection north (the northern Croome Road Sporting Complex entry) & then follow the shuttle bus route to the main event gates.

A last alternative if you really want to park at Albion Oval is to pull over in a nearby street, stop the car engine, get your smartphone out, book the car park online & then rejoin the queue (but it’s best to pre-book before you join the queue the 1st time).

Lastly, also remember this is The Aerospace, Maritime & Defence Australia Foundation Limited‘s 1st edition at the helm of this Illawarra air show, the closest to Sydney. Their last air show, the biannual Australian International Airshow, Aerospace & Defence Exposition at Avalon Airport near Melbourne in March last year had serious traffic management issues.

In the end, train is still the recommended way to travel to/from the air show with Albion Park Railway Station less than 100 metres from the main event gates. The Station can connect spectators by rail from Shellharbour, Wollongong and Sydney & by coach from the Southern Highlands via an additional train to Canberra, Griffith and Albury.

Airshows Downunder Shellharbour, now held every 2 years, is on 1-3 March 2024. Tickets can be bought here & merchandise can be bought via click & collect (at the event) here.