Long Beach, Calif., will serve as the home of one of the races in the inaugural Formula E series.
It’s been known as the home of Grand Prix of Long Beach for more than 40 years, but can Long Beach, Calif., sustain three weekends of motorsports activities? The answer will become clear in April 2015.
As part of Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s inaugural Formula E series, the Long Beach ePrix will take place April 4. The one-day event will be followed by Formula Drift the following weekend, and rounded out with Grand Prix of Long Beach April 17-19.
Formula E reached out to Grand Prix Association of Long Beach initially to ask for site recommendations around Southern California. There were serious discussions about three locations, including Los Angeles, but “in the end, everything led back to the venue here in Long Beach,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.
On July 25 it was announced that Formula E has retained GPALB to facilitate operations of the inaugural Long Beach ePrix. When you look at the successful history of the association’s annual IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, it’s easy to see why Formula E decided to bring on the experts.
In 2013, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach celebrated its 40th year April 11-13. An estimated 180,000 spectators came out over three days of events, drawing an economic impact of about $35 million.
Last year, ticket prices for Grand Prix of Long Beach began at $28 for Friday admission. Reserved seating for all three days ranged $72-$135.
Drivers in the Long Beach ePrix will race zero-emission Spark-Renault SRT01E vehicles.
Michaelian isn’t worried that the addition of Formula E will affect attendance at Grand Prix of Long Beach, in large part because attendance to the ePrix will be free.
“We were looking to have them come here only on the basis that it would, in fact, be a free event so that it wouldn’t cannibalize our races or confuse the public with regards to the sales that we’ll be conducting for our events,” said Michaelian.
He added that, with tickets for ePrix being free this year, it would afford the community the opportunity to be introduced to something new without having a high economic barrier to overcome. In this way, it can only help continue to establish Long Beach as a premier racing destination.
“For the last two years there have been two weekends of activities centered around motor racing with the focus on downtown Long Beach including sightlines, television coverage and photographic displays,” said Michaelian. “With the announcement of Formula E coming two weekends prior to the Grand Prix, it really does afford the city of Long Beach to be the focus of attention as far as motor racing events are concerned for three consecutive weekends.”
“I think it’s a very positive development,” he added. “It takes advantage of our having local expertise in the market and operations, yet brings Formula E as an overlay with the uniqueness of having electric cars racing in Long Beach.”
The track layout for Long Beach ePrix.
Long Beach’s established racing credentials helped secure the race in another way, too. There will be cost savings on the track itself since, instead of constructing a raceway from scratch and managing all of the permits and regulations with the city, ePrix can modify the track that Grand Prix of Long Beach uses.
Though the circuit will require some modification, Formula E will benefit from “a significant portion of the infrastructure — not just the circuit — locations of the grandstands, hospitality, power and necessary equipment to host a race.”
“Overall, it will certainly be more cost-effective than to set up a separate circuit,” added Michaelian.
It was important to Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag for the track to be set up in the middle of a city, which he called “the preferred environment for electric vehicles.”
In urban areas with high percentages of vehicle traffic, reducing pollution is key. Racing in an area that would be conducive to more electric vehicle traffic, Formula E plans to educate consumers in hopes that they will consider sustainable automobiles for personal use. “Switching to the use of electric cars is by far the most practical solution,” added Agag.
Though Michaelian said he doesn’t expect ePrix to reach the economic impact numbers of Grand Prix of Long Beach, at least in its first year out, he believes the event will be a success.
“If they can put 20,000-30,000 people here for an event like this and introduce the cars to a new audience, whether they become repeat customers or it’s just based on intrigue, they’ll have people walking away thinking these cars are pretty spectacular,” he said.
Interviewed for this story: Alejandro Agag, +44 (0) 77 5694 3899; Jim Michaelian, (562) 490-4514
Learn more about Formula E in our August issue of Venues Today magazine, the Green issue.