ShareMoney-losing race set to get new promotion group
It’s common knowledge that the Honda Indy Edmonton has lost a lot of money in the last two seasons and that the city of Edmonton has had to absorb the hit. Since Northlands became the promoter of the event starting in 2008, it’s bled $9.2 million and another $3 million may be gone after this year’s running.
With those numbers, you’d think at least some people on the Edmonton City Council would be skittish about Indy money and how it’s used. Indeed, five Council members voted against having the city negotiate with a potential new promoter, Montreal-based Octane Racing Group, after they found out that Octane needed more cash than they expected.
From Edmonton Journal columnist Dan Barnes (with a quote on the matter from Council member Bryan Anderson):
“Councillors expected the Octane sponsorship group to ask for about $1 million per year, for a $3-million total. Anderson said that number had been proffered by Mayor Stephen Mandel in the months leading up to the vote. It is certainly the number Anderson touted when it became obvious that the answer to Indy longevity was a switch from Northlands to a private promoter.
“Had that ($1 million) dollar value been floated, it would have been unanimous,” said Anderson. “It was more. The ask in the first year will come in at about $1.5 million.”
But fortunately for race fans north of the border, Edmonton’s City Council voted 7-5 in favor of working with Octane to create a new three-year sponsorship agreement that would keep the race on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule through the 2013 season. That means Northlands is on its way out as promoter after Sunday, even though it may remain involved as a sponsor for future races in Edmonton. Even more importantly, the new deal means that the city would no longer be responsible for the losses that the race incurs.
Octane has built up a decent rep as promoter of Formula One’s Canadian Grand Prix. But it seems that the big key to Edmonton’s survival on the IndyCar circuit is whether or not it can land Canadian government funds.
Fortunately, Octane has some experience with that — the group managed to attract $75 million over a five-year period from federal, provincial and local governments to revive the F1 race at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. While it’d be presumptious to think that the Honda Indy Edmonton could get that amount of money as well, the race nonetheless stands a better chance now at a solid financial infusion with Octane’s arrival — which, according to Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun, will be officially announced at a pre-race press conference on Sunday.
After two years’ worth of troubling headlines, it’d be nice to see some positive energy go back into the IndyCars’ second Canadian race. We’ll see if Octane can do the job.
Share
