Grand Prix racing working on plan for downtown OKC race

[Pete]

The City of Oklahoma City has been approached by a promoter to enter into exclusive negotiations for the purpose of possibly conducting and hosting a Verizon IndyCar Series motorsports race event sometime in 2017 or 2018.

In 2010, the City Council voted down a measure which would have brought a race to the streets of downtown. The event would have required the city to make $6.9 million in improvements.

Mayor Mick Cornett was the main advocate for the Grand Prix in 2010, telling the council he had worked for 5 years to bring racing downtown. Cornett and Meg Salyer were the only council members to vote in favor of the event, with 6 votes against.

The IndyCar Series (known as the Verizon IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons) is the premier level of open wheel racing in North America and this season's series features 15 races, four of which will be on the downtown streets of cities: Long Beach, Boston, St. Petersburg and Toronto.

The Long Beach race has been a staple in Southern California since 1975 and routinely draws around 175,000 spectators.

All the races are nationally televised by NBC or one of its affiliated cable channels.

Boston will be hosting a race for the first time later this year, after the city evaluated the pros and cons on the heals of Baltimore choosing not to renew their race agreement
after their first foray into IndyCar racing met with mixed reviews from business owners who questioned the final economic benefit to the city.

The Oklahoma City Council will vote tomorrow on the measure that would allow the City Manager to begin negotiations with Mark Perone, who has been the promoter for many of the other IndyCar races in North America.

Any final plans for expenditures or street closures would have to be subsequently approved by city council as well.

[gopokes88]

Awesome. Hope we can get it done.

[Teo9969]

Fascinating timing with the street car and all that.

[sooner88]

Will it require a similar $ amount of improvements?

[Pete]

Will it require a similar $ amount of improvements?

Way too early to tell, as this step would only be to enter into negotiations.

This is the baby of Mayor Cornett and you can bet this time around a better package will be put together and he'll work hard to secure the needed votes on City Council.

This is a different promoter as well.

[Laramie]

Can't hurt to negotiate; nothing is binding on the city's part.

[Zuplar]

This would be awesome. I would absolutely attend such an event.

[gopokes88]

We'd have at least a few well paved streets with no bumps. That alone is worth it.

[Pete]

I've been to the one in Long Beach and it's a huge deal.

The rub with this sort of thing is how much cash you have to lay out in return for collecting increased sales tax and other income, and that's always a crapshoot.

Also, there is a pretty big disruption to downtown for a few days but for the most part that could be overcome if people turn out and spend money.

[TU 'cane]

I will be down there for the entirety of the event if this happens. I'm putting a stamp of guarantee on that right now. I've always thought if Tulsa could somehow land an F1 racing event which streets would be used, etc. just a day dream. Now, it could be coming true to OKC!

This is really exciting.

[bradh]

I'm all in for this, would love it.

[Pete]

Could be very cool if done right.

They key is going to be public subsidy because that's what killed it last time.

[Plutonic Panda]

I would fly from LA and stay at a hotel in downtown OKC(if I could even get a room) even though I have family in Edmond to see this. This would be a dream come true to see this in OKC.

[Bill Robertson]

I'd take the week off and spend all of it there. I miss live racing without having to drive to it so bad it hurts.

[OkiePoke]

I hope Indy doesn't ask for too much / cost too much to organize the event.

[OKCisOK4me]

Love to see it but this part of the above sticks out in my mind...

"after their first foray into IndyCar racing met with mixed reviews from business owners who questioned the final economic benefit to the city"

Just hoping our city council is bold enough to get past that kind of challenge.

If negotiations are met, and as another poster mentioned, it will be very interesting to see how they work it around the streetcar project.

I could see it being held in part of downtown but extending out either to the SW or SE using wider streets.

I can't see these cars going high speeds down 2 lane Project 180 streets. $9.6 million, or there abouts, would only pay for a fraction of P180 costs considering the way they budget, lol.

[Pete]

Today, City Council approved the agreement for the city manager to begin negotiations for this event.

[Plutonic Panda]

I really hope this happens.

[MadMonk]

I hope it happens this time. That would be a very nice event to have. I've never been to any kind of race other than NASCAR and would love the opportunity to experience it so close to home.

[Eddie1]

For those of you that know, could you give me a quick lesson in the differences in types of open wheel racing...Indy vs. NASCAR vs. Grand Prix, etc.

[Brett]

I honestly do not see it ever happening. The World of Outlaws racing got the old heave-ho from the State Fair Grounds along with the race track. That decision branded OKC as anti organized automobile racing. The only place, that I know of, in Oklahoma for road racing is Hallett. Mayor Cornett needs to focus on sustaining the public interest in water sports on the Oklahoma River now that Aubrey McClendon has passed.

[Pete]

For those of you that know, could you give me a quick lesson in the differences in types of open wheel racing...Indy vs. NASCAR vs. Grand Prix, etc.

IndyCar and Grand Prix are pretty much the same thing... Grand Prix usually refers to racing on streets but it's the same cars as the Indy 500 and that entire race track circuit.

NASCAR is not open-wheel... It's an acronym for National Association for STOCK CAR Auto Racing, meaning they take the bodies of regular street cars and modify them. But in reality, the cars in NASCAR are now nowhere close to stock cars but they are still made to vaguely resemble them.

IndyCar courses often times have many more twists and turns and thus the cars place a premium on cornering and handling while almost all NASCAR events are just on big ovals, and thus NASCAR vehicles are bigger/heavier than the stripped down IndyCars.

[OkiePoke]

IndyCar and Grand Prix are pretty much the same thing... Grand Prix usually refers to racing on streets but it's the same cars as the Indy 500 and that entire race track circuit.

NASCAR is not open-wheel... It's an acronym for National Association for STOCK CAR Auto Racing, meaning they take the bodies of regular street cars and modify them. But in reality, the cars in NASCAR are now nowhere close to stock cars but they are still made to vaguely resemble them.

IndyCar courses often times have many more twists and turns and thus the cars place a premium on cornering and handling while almost all NASCAR events are just on big ovals, and thus NASCAR vehicles are bigger/heavier than the stripped down IndyCars.

And then you have Formula 1 (F1). Which is considered the premier racing/driving in the world. Indy cars and F1 cars will look similar as they are both open wheel.

Indy is a blend between F1 and Nascar in the sense that the F1 and Indy cars are open wheel and Indy cars race on oval track with a few street/road courses throughout the season.

A few years ago, American Le Mans (ALMS) was looking at an even in OKC. It never came to fruition.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

While I would LOVE to see this, and they'd get a chunk of my money in several places...

...I'm not holding my breath. Again.

I'd sell one of my cars to be able to photograph a GP race too

[LeBiddy]

Also, there are the other series that follow IndyCar races. Like Pirelli World Challenge & IMSA. I went to Austin to see PWC at Circuit of the Americas last month. They put on an awesome show. I'd love to not have to drive 6hrs to see some great racing