Avalon would be terrible, as ctjet said, the current location is brilliant as far as what it offers outside the track. I can't see attendance increasing at avalon, more likely to decrease if anything.
As for the comparing of times between Lowndes and Button, keep in mind how many times Lowndes has lapped Bathurst compared to Button.. His the similar time is good, but don't get too excited about him being in the same league as a driver that's not much chop in F1..
Scored a ticket for tomorrow, so I'll head down after work and watch some practice...Saturday/Sunday will be OneHD for me this year though