Yahoo Autos City Council Approves IndyCar Race Move from Belle Isle to Streets of Detroit
The Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar race is getting off the island in 2023.
On Wednesday, the Detroit City Council gave the OK for the race to move off Belle Isle and onto the streets of downtown.
The City of Detroit played host to Formula 1 downtown from 1982 through 1988. From 1989-91, Indy cars raced in on city streets. The race weekend, anchored by the NTT IndyCar Series, raced on Belle Isle in Detroit from 1992-2001, 2007-08, and since 2012.
According to Grand Prix officials, the race spearheaded by Roger Penske has returned more than $13.5 million in improvements since 2007 to Belle Isle, which is classified as a state park in Michigan.
The 2022 Detroit Grand Prix weekend, featuring the NTT IndyCar Series, is scheduled for June 3-5 on Belle Isle.
Here's the full text of Wednesday's announcement:
"Today, the Detroit City Council granted its approval for the relocation of the Detroit Grand Prix from Belle Isle back to the streets of Downtown Detroit, beginning in 2023.
Over the last five weeks, Grand Prix representatives have participated in numerous listening sessions and information sharing meetings with Detroit residents, business leaders, community groups and individual district representatives on the idea of returning the race to its roots on the streets of Detroit. The positive reaction and the excitement that we have seen from the community about the Grand Prix coming back Downtown reinforces our belief that this relocation will provide a significant benefit to the City, its residents and our local businesses for the future.
We thank Mayor Duggan, the City of Detroit team, Council President Brenda Jones and everyone on the Detroit City Council for their input and their support through this process. In addition, we appreciate the support of the business community, including the efforts of Jim Campbell of General Motors, Eric Larson of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Dan Loepp of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Sandy Pierce of Huntington Bank and Cindy Pasky of Strategic Staffing Solutions, for helping to bring the Grand Prix back Downtown.
We will celebrate the 2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Belle Isle, June 3-5, and we are so excited to begin a new era of the Grand Prix beginning in 2023, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to experience the energy of our street festival in Downtown Detroit. In the coming weeks, we look forward to sharing our vision for the future of the Grand Prix in the Motor City!"
