The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg stalled 3 times. Now it’s on Year 20.
ST. PETERSBURG — Three versions of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg had already failed, and the fourth was in danger.
The latest attempt lost money its first two years, and there was no contract beyond the third checkered flag. Racing legend Mario Andretti tried to be optimistic.
“I want us,” Andretti said in 2007, “to be here talking about this race 20 years from now.”
Close enough.
When the IndyCar Series returns next week for its March 10 season opener, it will mark the 20th consecutive running of what’s now called the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Of IndyCar’s 17 other races, only one has lasted longer without interruption: the iconic Indianapolis 500 (the 2020 Grand Prix of Long Beach was canceled because of the pandemic).
Similar events have folded in Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, San Jose, Calif. and Edmonton, Alberta. Just two weeks ago, Titans stadium construction led IndyCar to move its finale from downtown Nashville to a track 30 miles away.
The Grand Prix hasn’t merely survived. It has thrived. St. Petersburg and Indianapolis are only must-attend events for the Swedish family of defending race winner Marcus Ericsson.
“I think that says a lot,” Ericsson said.
A lot about IndyCar, which took a chance on a semi-novel idea in 2005. About the promoters, who withstood economic droughts and a literal downpour. About the city, which has established a vibrant downtown.
And about all three, which concocted a winning formula, together.
Bumps in the road
St. Petersburg has always had the characteristics for a great street course, like the perfect weather and picturesque waterfront team owner Bobby Rahal remembers from 2003.
“I just thought, ‘What an ideal place for a race,’ ” Rahal said.
That race lasted one year. Its headlining series (CART) declared bankruptcy, joining the Trans-Am events of 1986-90 and 1996-97 in the city’s figurative junkyard.
Except the idea never went away. Veteran team owner Kim Green agreed to try for 2005 with another series, the Indy Racing League.
As if restarting an event that had already flopped three times wasn’t risky enough, the racing itself was also an unknown. IRL’s first 105 races were on ovals. This was a 14-turn course on city streets.
“I think the enlightenment of adding street courses and road courses to the IRL at that time was huge,” said Scott Dixon, who drove in that event and every one since.
On the track, the risk paid off. The long straightaways and big braking zones created passing opportunities in Turns 1, 4 and 10. There were more lead changes (nine), leaders (six) and wrecks (four) than IRL’s future road courses.
Green looked like a winner. His Andretti Green Racing team, led by St. Petersburg resident Dan Wheldon, swept the top four spots. But...
“We lost our butts,” Green said.
$1.7 million.
He and his partners weren’t the only ones reeling. Businesses griped about the street closures. Residents complained about the noise.
The locale was still ideal. Everything else wasn’t.
Yet.
Building a winner
The Grand Prix built itself up on two parallel tracks. The first was individual.
The event’s owners, Green Savoree Racing Promotions, figured out a financial model that withstood the rough start, the Great Recession and a 2010 rainout. They scaled back on unnecessary grandstands and invested in amenities. They raised revenues with an expanded marina and new sponsors. The floating bar stuck. The Ferris wheel didn’t.
IndyCar stabilized in 2008 when IRL and rival CART (then called Champ Car) merged. Last year was its most watched season since 2011.
And the city kept growing. The Dali Museum opened. Condos sprouted. Restaurants and boutiques did, too. The Mahaffey Theater was renovated, the St. Pete Pier torn down and rebuilt.
“It’s not a sleepy, dying town,” said Rosalee Fortune, a St. Petersburg resident and Grand Prix regular. “It is thriving because of the race.”
Which leads to the second, more important part of the Grand Prix’s evolution: The race, series and city have fueled each other.
When locals were frustrated at how long it took to set up and tear down the track, organizers listened. The contract gives organizers two months, but the Grand Prix trimmed it to 26 days — with quieter equipment, too. Nearby businesses benefit.
Those businesses, in turn, boost the series through a downtown atmosphere IndyCar’s rural stops can’t match. Iowa Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America are in towns with a combined population of 18,000. The two nearest shopping options to Barber Motorsports Park are Bass Pro Shops and Buc-ee’s.
St. Petersburg, meanwhile, offers plentiful hotels and restaurants within walking distance. Sponsors want to come, and teams want to schmooze them at the marina or Parkshore Grill to forge the deals that make the sport go.
“It’s easy to entertain people…” said 2005 pole-sitter Bryan Herta, now a race strategist for Andretti Global. “The overall experience of the weekend is just top-notch.”
IndyCar has done its part, too. Thirteen races were axed after the 2008 merger. Not St. Petersburg, which has become the traditional season opener. That consistent spot on the calendar boosts the Grand Prix’s drama as teams adjust to offseason changes and drivers channel pent-up energy into a long race on a tough course.
“There’s not a colder blast of proverbial air in your face than starting your season off that way,” NBC analyst Townsend Bell said.
Since 2009, the Grand Prix has averaged almost 185 passes. That’s 18 more than Long Beach and 33 more than Toronto.
Add them together — an entertaining product, a steady series and fun environment — and you can understand the changes Derek Krout has witnessed in the crowd over19 years as a volunteer.
“It went from just the local people to a much more national, and then international, crowd of people coming,” Krout said.
David Abbey has seen the same thing from his annual perch near Turn 1. The group to his right is from Vermont. The one to his left is from Maine. His contingent has swelled to 32 people — a mix of locals and visitors who come up from Homestead or down from Indiana.
It’s hard to gauge how much the exposure has affected the city, but a study commissioned by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater pegged last year’s economic impact at $61 million.
“It’s more than just an annual event,” said Mayor Ken Welch, who leads the fourth administration to work with the race. “It’s really become engrained in the fabric of what St. Pete is about.”
What’s next?
As the Grand Prix prepares to celebrate its 20th consecutive running, organizers are already looking toward the next 20 years. The footprint is fixed, but maybe they can squeeze a few new vendors or activities onto the grounds. Perhaps Poison frontman Bret Michaels’ March 9 show leads to more concerts.
While Green and business partner Kevin Savoree joke about their graying hair, they know they can’t lead the event forever. They’re grooming the next wave of salespeople and promoters to keep it going through whatever comes next.
There will be surprises, like in 2020 when the seats were built, the shops were set up and the cars were on the track … and COVID shut it all down.
The Grand Prix recovered because everyone pivoted. The series moved the race from its opener to its finale. The city, once concerned about track construction, didn’t mind if the grandstands remained. The track delivered — six cautions, seven lead changes, no reported outbreaks, a dramatic duel that ended in Dixon’s sixth series title and, for Savoree, a realization that resonates as the 20th consecutive green flag nears.
“Come rain or shine or whatever else God may have in store,” Savoree said, “there’s going to be a Grand Prix.”
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
March 8-10, downtown; 1.8-mile, 14-turn track uses streets circling Pioneer Park, Duke Energy Center for the Arts and The Dali Museum, and extends onto runways at Albert Whitted Airport
Main race: 12:30 March 10 TV: NBC
More info: Tickets, parking, event schedule and more at gpstpete.com
