Newcastle residents can buy general-admission tickets at a discounted rate at the family day on Saturday, April 29, between 10am and 2pm, before all tickets go on sale online to the wider public on May 8. 

It is understood ticket prices for the season-ending Newcastle 500 from November 24 to 26 will be similar to those at the Gold Coast and Townsville street races.

A three-day “trackside” general admission pass is $118 in Townsville and $123 at the Gold Coast. Single-day passes for Saturday and Sunday are $77 (Townsville) and $82 (Gold Coast), and a three-day grandstand pass in Townsville costs from $225 to $296. Paddock passes, giving access to the back of the pits, add $30 to the cost of tickets.

The Newcastle 500 tickets include entry to a Delta Goodrem concert on Friday night, November 24, and another the following evening, believed to be Cold Chisel.   

Organisers expect at least several thousand people at the Foreshore Park family day next week and possibly far more. A similar event in Townsville eight years ago attracted a crowd Supercars estimated at 10,000.

The child-oriented day will include stunt-driving displays, the Disney Pixar truck, face painting and appearances by Supercars drivers Shane van Gisbergen, Craig Lowndes, Mark Winterbottom, Simona De Silvestro, Nick Percat, Garth Tander, Scott Pye, Lee Holdsworth and David Reynolds.

Hunter residents must bring proof of their address, such as a driving licence, to buy the discounted track-side tickets. They will also get first pick at the grandstand seats on April 29.

Meanwhile, preparatory work on Wharf Road, Watt Street and Nobbys Road will start in late May or early June and last about three months.

A Supercars spokesman said traffic controls would be in place during the construction but the roads would be completely closed for only brief periods.