It’s looking more and more like the city of Baltimore, Maryland will become a stop on the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.
According to Julie Scharper of the Baltimore Sun, the city’s spending board is expected to approve a race contract with Baltimore Racing Development that would pave the way for a street race in the heart of Charm City. Scharper has IRL commercial division president Terry Angstadt on record stating that was “every expectation” that a subsequent agreement between BRD and the League would follow.
The Baltimore Business Journal’s Ryan Sharrow breaks down the contract, stating that BRD would pay the city a race fee of $1.25 million over a five-year period. The contract also has $7.5 million marked for road upgrades to the proposed 2.4-mile route and the stipulation that BRD must donate at least $100,000 every year to local non-profit organizations. Props to Will McCarty of IsItMayYet.com for pushing this piece yesterday on Twitter.
Interestingly enough, Scharper’s article also has a quote from Richmond (Va.) International Raceway’s Aimee Turner. As you know, RIR went off the IndyCar schedule following last year’s event at the 3/4-mile bullring — a race that, quite frankly, stunk. Turner tells Scharper that RIR ended their deal with the League due to lacking ticket sales and race interest, adding that “the IndyCar Series wasn’t able to provide the kind of entertaining race our fans have come to expect.”
I know some fans that are still sore over Richmond’s exit are probably going to say that RIR’s parent company, ISC, was looking for any excuse to dump the race and that the boring 2009 running (plus the loss of Suntrust as a sponsor) was as good as any. But Turner’s right in saying that last year’s event was a bomb. Take her comments for whatever you think they’re worth.
Anyway, it looks like Baltimore will replace RIR as the league’s Mid-Atlantic stop. What are your thoughts?
UPDATE: The city’s Board of Estimates have signed off on a five-year contract with BRD and according to the Baltimore Sun, road preparation along the proposed Charm City street course will start by the end of this month.
Here’s the IRL’s story on the approval, with comments from league commercial division president Terry Angstadt, Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and Baltimore city councilman William Cole IV.
BRD’s Baltimore Grand Prix web site is telling fans to “get ready for the biggest, fastest, most exciting thing to ever happen to Downtown Baltimore.” According to the city’s official press release, the race is expected to “generate $11 million in direct city tax revenue, create nearly 2000 full-time equivalent jobs, and $250 million in spending injected into the city’s economy” over the life of the five-year deal.
