Long Beach Grand Prix Up for Bid??

[Rommey]

Council May Consider Opening Long Beach Grand Prix To Bid
Long Beach’s City Council will meet in closed session Tuesday, apparently to discuss whether to put a contract for the annual Grand Prix of Long Beach out for bid.
The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach has contracted to put on the race for the last 39 years, and will present the 40th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 11-13. The GPALB currently has a contract with IndyCar to be the marquee race of the weekend, and is contracted with the city through 2015 to use the streets of Long Beach to put on the race.
Last May, Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone wrote a letter to Mayor Bob Foster saying that his organization is interested in bidding on the right to put a race on in Long Beach. At the same time, Formula One contracted with Chris Pook – the founder of the Long Beach Grand Prix as a consultant to bring the premiere open-wheel series back to the United States.
Plans at that time were for a race in New Jersey, with a second possible in Texas. The firs United States Grand Prix took place in 2012 in Austin, Texas, and a second ran Nov. 17, 2013, with a reported crowd of more than 113,000.
Ecclestone’s May letter said, “Please be advised that Formula 1 is interested in returning to your city, and we will consider the appropriate entity to make such a bid if you decide to permit such a process.”

more at link...

link

Bernie wanting to come back or playing the entities against each other and using Long Beach as leverage?

[Grizzlor]

Obviously hope it doesn't go to Bernie, although who on Earth is going to spend $100 million to put on an F1 race there?

[Colin Grigson]

I'll be shocked if it became an F1 race again. Needs way too much improvement to meet the Bern's standards.

[Mr. Bean]

The track is too short for F1 standards and due to the layout, an expansion is impossible. So unless they make an exception as they do for Monaco, they won't race Long beach. The state of the art garages to be built and the amount of track updates needed would make this a bad idea for Long Beach. They are already making tons of money off the IndyCar race.

The long beach Grand Prix is owned by a company called Aquarium holdings LLC or something along those lines. Last I remember, kevin Kalkoven and Forsyth owned that. Did they sell it?
(Nevermind, saw the link after I posted)

[vigo003]

I'll be shocked if it became an F1 race again. Needs way too much improvement to meet the Bern's standards.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. So is the street race in New Jersey definitely not happening now?

[FourCamFord]

http://www.presstelegram.com/article/20140228/NEWS/140229377?source=jBarPopUp

A longer article than linked above.

The Grand Prix Association has been hoping to secure a five-year extension on its long-standing lease with Long Beach, but organizers with the FIA Formula One World Championship want the city to open up the bidding process for the sought-after contract when it expires in 2015.
Chris Pook, who was retained by Formula One owner and CEO Bernie Ecclestone to help him find a venue for Formula One in Southern California, said that having the bidding process would open the door for other entities, including Formula One.

Pook contends that a Formula One can return to Long Beach.“It’s not that much more expensive to put on compared to IndyCar, but the revenue numbers are completely different,” he said. “Since F1 was in Long Beach 30 years ago, the whole F1 picture has changed drastically. It’s become such a huge, huge sport.”
Opening the bidding is something to consider, said Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, whose 2nd District encompasses the seaside event.
“The Grand Prix of Long Beach has been a wonderful partner to our city over the years, but I think it’s our responsibility as council members to consider whether other proposals can deliver greater benefits to residents and businesses,” she said.

GPALB would be cut out of the deal if the city went with F1.

[cinemafunk]

Couldn't both Indycar and F1 run the same weekend?

[race chaser]

Couldn't both Indycar and F1 run the same weekend?

Do we really want them to?

[debris on the track]

link

Bernie wanting to come back or playing the entities against each other and using Long Beach as leverage?

NASCAR would bid for it just to be a jerk.

[jabba19]

NASCAR would bid for it just to be a jerk.

[Z28]

Couldn't both Indycar and F1 run the same weekend?

You must have a vivid imagination.

A better question would be, why couldn't the city contract to hold races on two different weekends, the traditional Spring date and add one in the Fall?

Indycar fans seem able to recite why other series can't do things, just maybe Chris Pook has enough knowledge of Long Beach to change the course and make the location meet the standards of the guy who has hired him, Bernie E.

Pook contends that a Formula One can return to Long Beach.“It’s not that much more expensive to put on compared to IndyCar, but the revenue numbers are completely different,” he said. “Since F1 was in Long Beach 30 years ago, the whole F1 picture has changed drastically. It’s become such a huge, huge sport.”

Opening the bidding is something to consider, said Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, whose 2nd District encompasses the seaside event.

“The Grand Prix of Long Beach has been a wonderful partner to our city over the years, but I think it’s our responsibility as council members to consider whether other proposals can deliver greater benefits to residents and businesses,” she said.

A lot of divergent things are in play. Admitting that Eccelstone really would like a second F-1 race in the US, when you look at New Jersey becoming less likely with every delay the obvious second choice would be Southern California. Then when you realize how much bigger F-1 is now than when they were last at LB, the city council could well get stars and $$$$ in their eyes when considering a change. Combine that with INDYCAR isn't what it was 30 years ago. When someone asks where will Bernie find someone to pay the sanctioning fee, the moneybags that built C0TA came out of left field and not only spent to build the track but paid F-1 with who knows how long before they recoup the investment. And if they should suddenly decide they want a better deal, Long Beach would provide Bernie with time to look for a replacement.

[Formula Indy]

No one is going to promote a F1 race there without state handouts and I do not see that happening. The real danger here is Nascar. They do not have a 25 million dollar sanction fee and some could make a lot more money off one of their races with all their tv money. I am sure Toyota might like it better as well.

[Since83]

NASCAR would bid for it just to be a jerk.

Forget about being a jerk - why would they not bid on it?

[lyrictenor1]

Quoted from the quote in post #6: "Pook contends that a Formula One can return to Long Beach.“It’s not that much more expensive to put on compared to IndyCar, but the revenue numbers are completely different."

I am having a very hard time believing the statement that putting on an F1 race isn't "that much more expensive compared to IndyCar."

[Jed]

They are already making tons of money off the IndyCar race.

i don't know whether that's true or not, but judging by the obviously huge decline in attendance over the last several years, the race is now substantially underperforming from the days of CART. That is patently obvious to folks like me who have gone to the race many times over the past couple decades.

There is no doubt in my mind that the F1 race would bring the massive crowds back (and beyond) and with it higher ticket prices and a lot more revenue. That alone would be huge for the city, and they would be foolish not to look at this as an option. Whether it would make sense for a promotor is another question.