Miami: Formula One (F1) announced Wednesday that it wants to stage a street race in Miami starting in 2019 and the city commission has scheduled a vote on the proposal next week to formalise plans for a 10-year deal.
If approved it would be the second race in the US joining US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas and fourth in North America including Canada and Mexico City.
“Miami’s status as one of the world’s most iconic and glamorous cities, combined with its robust tourism infrastructure, makes the city the perfect destination for Formula 1 and its fans,” F1’s managing director for commercial operations Sean Bratches said.
He also added that if approved the Miami race could be targeted for October 2019 which would place it close to the current calendar spot of the Texas and Mexico City races.
Meanwhile Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has termed next week’s vote as the ‘first step’ to working out details, with a final vote more possible over the summer. The city has held good talks with F1 officials about the need to map a downtown race course that wouldn’t be too disruptive to neighborhoods, Suarez added.
The Texas race gets about $25 million annually in state and local tax money to pay F1’s rights fees and other expenses. Suarez said he expects ’99 percent’ of financing for a Miami race to come from private sources with any city funds coming it at $500,000 or less.
However, a Miami street race would be the first F1 street race in the US since 1991. The US was barred from the F1 extravaganza from 2008 until 2012. It only returned with the US Grand Prix in Texas at the Circuit of the Americas, a $300 million facility built specifically for F1.
Bobby Epstein, president of the Circuit of the Americas, meanwhile did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has said in the past adding more races in the US will help the sport grow.
Agence france-presse