Grand Prix push speeds up
Promoters cite tourism impact in drive to get money for Lauderdale event
A group that wants to bring Grand Prix auto racing to Fort Lauderdale’s beachfront plans to ask Broward County commissioners Tuesday for bed- tax money to help market what’s billed as a mega- tourism event.
County Mayor John Rodstrom said he backs plans for the race to be held yearly in October or November, months typically slow for tourism. Andhe’s upbeat that bed-
tax funds would be replenished, as tourists flood into hotels for what’s expected to be the final leg of the popular IndyCar circuit.
“Events like this, I’m told, are comparable to a Super Bowl for tourism,” Rodstrom said Wednesday. “And whereas a Super Bowl you may get every five years, this you’d get every year.”
Promoters at Andretti Sports Marketing estimate their weekend racing event would bring more than $ 70 million in economic impact to Fort Lauderdale yearly, not counting TV exposure worldwide. They figure more than 120,000 people would attend annually, with at least 20 percent from outside Florida.
Plans call for staging the event along beachfront A1A for an initial five years, with an option for three more. Besides the IndyCar race, the weekend also would include an American Le Mans sports- car race, plus a charity gala and possibly a concert, said John Lopes, president of the Andretti group.
How much promoters will seek from bedtax funds is not yet finalized. Rodstrom expects a request of $ 3.5 million to $ 4 million. Promoters would raise much more than that from private backers for the event.
Racing league IndyCar already is on board and supports Andretti’s “efforts to bring an IndyCar race toFort Lauderdale,” said spokeswoman Amy Konrath. The league now holds downtown races in such cities as Baltimore and Florida’s St. Petersburg.
Still, there are hurdles to project.
Promoters see the need for millions of dollars in road improvements, which involve permits. Obtaining approvals and finishing work in time could make it tight to pull off a race in autumn 2013, they concede.
Plus, $ 4 million in bed- tax funds cannot be freed up in one lump sum for next year, said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau usually spends $ 14 million to $ 16
the
ambitious million a year on tourism marketing. Supporting the Super Bowl with $ 2 million in bed- tax funds in 2010 took the bureau four years of saving up about $ 500,000 a year, she said.
“Spreading out payments over four or five years is do- able,” if bed- tax help is approved by County Commissioners, Grossman said. “And the event will need a whole lot of love from the private sector.”
Dates also must be coordinated not to conflict with the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, already a major tourism draw. “It would not be able to work with two major events in the same month, “said Dane Graziano of boat show producer Show Management.
Then, there’s the detours and road closures for an event thatwould need nearly aweek to prepare and stage. “We’d have to make sure there’s a good plan for residents to get in and out of their homes, so they’re not too inconvenienced,” said Mayor Rodstrom.
Properly planned, the tourism potential of the Grand Prix has many hotel and sports executives thrilled.
Ron Gebhardt, director of sales of the B Ocean Fort Lauderdale hotel on A1A, said the race would be “absolutely fantastic” for Fort Lauderdale and “worth the inconveniences” that come with staging a world- class event. Gebhardt used towork in California and raves about the success each spring of the Grand Prix street race in Long Beach, which draws a big, high- end crowd.
“The hotels really benefit from the teams and the sponsors: tire companies, oil companies, auto and parts makers,” said Gebhardt. “Andthere’s tremendous advertising and public relations” for the destination.
Kathleen Davis, president of West Palm beach- based SportManagementResearch Institute, said she loves the concept for Fort Lauderdale, a city known for international visitors and with strong opportunity to lure European and South American racing enthusiasts.
“Depending on how they price the tickets and howthey market the event,” saidDavis, “it could be hugely successful.”