The Baltimore Grand Prix?
The news this week that Baltimore has been proposed as the site of a new IndyCar race starting in 2011 probably won't capture the imagination of Orioles fans, but I don't really see a huge downside if the city and race organizers can figure out the logistics.
I'm not a big motorsports guy, as everyone here knows, but I lived in Long Beach, CA, before I moved to Baltimore in 1990. I could walk down to the end of my block and see the Queen Mary and the hangar that housed Howard Hughes' famous "Spruce Goose" on the other side of Long Beach Harbor. The reason I'm telling you this is because the community where I lived bordered the course of the Long Beach Grand Prix (left), and I don't remember anybody complaining about the inconvenience caused by the event.
Not that there wasn't any. It's a huge event that requires a 2.4 mile road course that winds through downtown and along the water, much as it would in Baltimore. There would be a month of setup and a weekend of traffic issues, and there would be some noise, which might bother some nearby residents who actually like how quiet it is some nights at Camden Yards.
But what I remember most about it was how the Long Beach community geared up for it and turned it into the social event of the spring. The locals seemed to realize that it was a high-octane economic stimulus package for the city, and it would be even moreso for an East Coast location that would draw spectators from both Washington and Philadelphia.
Of course, they're Southern Californians, so they're used to noise and traffic, but it sounds like a pretty good idea to me.
Getty Images
Comments
I love IndyCar! I would find a spot to watch and spend some money. Especially to see Danica or Helio win!
Posted by: Frank | July 8, 2009 11:22 AM
I think this is great. Thank god they didn't propose building a NASCAR track. I was hoping when I saw the headline that they were proposing a sort of rally race. Maybe something where regular people could enter their cars and race
Posted by: Bryan, Pasadena | July 8, 2009 12:24 PM
I say let's go all out and hold the Baltimore Marathon simultaneously. Then traffic would be screwed up downtown one less weekend and we'd really have an attraction - would make Pamplona and the bull run look like indoor soccer.
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Pete's reply: Bob, clearly this is an idea that is ahead of its time.
Posted by: Bob W. | July 8, 2009 12:38 PM
Hey, I'm all for it if it means that they'll have pave all the streets Downtown....get the potholes out!!!
Posted by: Bill | July 8, 2009 12:40 PM
Hey, I'm all for it if it means that they'll have to pave all the streets Downtown....get the potholes out!!!
Posted by: Bill | July 8, 2009 12:41 PM
Why did you ever leave CA? Strictly work related? I guess I think it would be difficult to leave CA for Maryland. (I'm saying that even though I lived in Maryland for around 40 yrs).
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Pete's reply: I left California because the Sun offered me the Orioles beat and a raise in pay. There were some personal reasons, too, but I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out by now.
Posted by: rich | July 8, 2009 1:50 PM
Nice to see something other than the Orioles written here...though I do love the Orioles...reminds me, read Kevin Cowherd's column today about the big international soccer match coming to M&T Bank stadium. For me, soccer ranks right up there with insurance law in terms of fascination, but am making an exception here as I'd like to extend a hand across the waters to our friends in London, the Chelsea Football Club, for their wonderful "CAREFREE" chant...I've asked my cohorts at the Chesapeake Fencing Club here in Baltimore to see if we could adopt it (the expurgated version)...or the Chelsea team...since we share a common bond--a commitment to excellence, a love of achievement in sports, the thrill of victory, and of course, three important letters: CFC. Go CFC! Check us out at chesapeakefencing.com and our 10th annual all-night-of-fencing Oct. 16-17th, the FENCEATHON, to help support the Sisters Academy of Baltimore!
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Pete's reply: I've always heard that good fencers make good neighbors. Is that true?
Posted by: maxmorf | July 8, 2009 1:56 PM
people, people you REALLY only need to hit "post" ONCE. REALLY.
I love these types of grand prix races.
Posted by: bms | July 8, 2009 2:37 PM
~~Why did you ever leave CA? Strictly work related? I guess I think it would be difficult to leave CA for Maryland. (I'm saying that even though I lived in Maryland for around 40 yrs).~~
Presumably like all immigrants he just preferred to live in the United States :P
Used to go to the Miami GP. "Here they come and . . . there they go"
Posted by: Lucky Horseshoe | July 8, 2009 2:49 PM
cud u findout what the time table for Dennis Sarfate's return is? I feel like he would be a shot in the arm for the 0's bullpen.
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Pete's reply: He's probably a week or so away. He starts his rehab assignment at Bowie on Saturday.
Posted by: RV | July 8, 2009 3:05 PM
Probably have great lap times dodging the bullets, I mean Wizards.
Posted by: EC | July 9, 2009 7:51 AM
What a God awful idea.
Posted by: Kevin from Baltimore | July 9, 2009 8:49 AM
This is a joke. The Australian Grand Prix is losing money hand over fist and the organizers have admitted to grossly inflating attendance figures. The Spanish Grand Prix is seeing a major drop in attendance. Toyota is dropping sponsorship of the Japan Grand Prix due to economic pressures. The government of San Jose cancelled its $4 million a year sponsorship of its Grand Prix race, and that race has now bitten the dust.
This is a massive boondoggle waiting to happen, and I hope the city has the common sense to spike it before it goes too far.
Posted by: baltiecon | July 9, 2009 2:33 PM
Cars in Canton, Cool.
Hey Pete, I got your Spruce Goose for you. It's at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, OR
http://www.shrimptrawler.net/spruce.html
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Pete's reply: I know. They got tired of it in Long Beach and moved it up there. If you haven't seen it, it's probably worth walking through, though the Queen Mary was much more interesting when they were side by side.
Posted by: shrimptrawler | July 9, 2009 9:54 PM