Hotels signal Grand Prix will be held in October
Grand Prix could be held in October
Montreal’s hoteliers seem to know something we don’t.
While organizers of the Canadian Grand Prix have declined to comment on a report that the postponed Formula One race will be held over Thanksgiving weekend with a limited number of spectators, hotels are already preparing to welcome deep-pocketed race fans.
The city’s major hotels have already jacked up their prices for the anticipated race weekend — Oct. 9-11 — in some cases more than doubling what they would normally charge.
The Marriott Chateau Champlain is charging an average of $517 a night for a three-night stay on Thanksgiving weekend, while the average price for the weekend before is $176.
The Renaissance Montreal has boosted its rate to $370 from $185 for Thanksgiving weekend, and if you want to stay at the Hotel Bonaventure and swim in its heated outdoor pool you can do so for about $600 a night, a boost from the normal rate in the $225 range.
The big question facing hoteliers is whether there will be fans available to fill those rooms. While organizers are counting on easing of the COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings — the current limit in Quebec is 50, which is far removed from the tens of thousands who normally populate Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on race weekend — there’s no guarantee tourists will be able to get to Montreal.
The closure of the U.s.-canada border has already been extended twice and with COVID -19 cases on the rise south of the border there have been suggestions the border will remain closed well into the fall. Travel within Europe is opening up, but fans may be reluctant to travel to North America if it is viewed as a hotbed of infection.
The Canadian Grand Prix was originally scheduled for June 1214, but was postponed after the government imposed a ban on large gatherings. The F1 season was put on hold, but is now scheduled to resume on July 5 in Austria with the first of eight European races. All those events are expected to be held without spectators.
The Montreal organizers have deflected questions about the rescheduled race, saying they are waiting for the official word from F1 on additional races.
Quebec-based Pole-position Magazine reported Tuesday that the Montreal race has been rescheduled for Oct. 9-11. It cited well-placed sources in Europe as their source of the information. The Montreal race would be the 11th on this year’s calendar and is expected to be the second race this year with fans in attendance. The Russian Grand Prix, slated for Sept. 25 in Sochi, is also planning to welcome fans.
This would mark the second time the Canadian Grand Prix would be held in Montreal in October. Gilles Villeneuve recorded his first F1 win on Oct. 8, 1978. It was the first time the race was held on the track that now bears his name.