Baltimore Grand Prix is not happening next year.

[Chive Driver]

Its sad to say, but the Baltimore Grand Prix is not happening next year.

[dorfmac]

Whew. You are probably one of the few that will miss it. It lost so much money for the city last year (haven't seen any official numbers yet this year) and was such an inconvenience for anyone who lived/worked downtown. Can't say I am upset :(

[Chive Driver]

Originally Posted by dorfmac

Whew. You are probably one of the few that will miss it. It lost so much money for the city last year (haven't seen any official numbers yet this year) and was such an inconvenience for anyone who lived/worked downtown. Can't say I am upset :(

The traffic isn't "that" bad...

Besides for a motorhead it is not important. You have exotics made into track cars (referring to the Le Mans series) to go 180mph on city streets. I will take traffic any day for that.

[z28-conv]

I just found out about this today. Very disappointed with that decision! I watched it the first year and thought it was great. I was not able to go this year but did get to watch it on the TV. It was a great race. I don't think the city will be able to fill that date with anything more profitable than a race series like that. It is Labor day weekend. Most people don't think about, Oh, lets go take a ride to the city this weekend, NOT! Oh wait this is the BAltimore Grand Prix weekend. We have to go for that. For us car/race fans this is a great opportunity to see a couple race series in our home town. It is too bad for most it is an inconvenience for one weekend out of the year! I bet you check some of the other cities that host car racing they are probably not complaining about the temporary inconvenience. It is something that takes time to develop into a world renowned event. It could have been. Who knows, maybe the convention center can fill that date with a quilting convention. Just saying

[z28-conv]

Originally Posted by dorfmac

Whew. You are probably one of the few that will miss it. It lost so much money for the city last year (haven't seen any official numbers yet this year) and was such an inconvenience for anyone who lived/worked downtown. Can't say I am upset :(

Did you loose so much money because of the Grand Prix? Who keeps saying the city lost so much money from it? Did they show the public their books on the loss? Just saying? There are more people that are going to miss it than you think. I think the city will regret this decision. Just remember if you want to see Baltimore on the map you need to give people a good reason to come. Baltimore does not have a stellar reputation, just my 2 cents.

[dorfmac]

Originally Posted by z28-conv

Did you loose so much money because of the Grand Prix? Who keeps saying the city lost so much money from it? Did they show the public their books on the loss? Just saying? There are more people that are going to miss it than you think. I think the city will regret this decision. Just remember if you want to see Baltimore on the map you need to give people a good reason to come. Baltimore does not have a stellar reputation, just my 2 cents.

No I didnt lose money, but I did sit in the miserable traffic that was a result of the event.

The city lost so much money the first two years that they canceled their contracts with the event organizers and brought in a new team, who as of late August, projected losses for the third year in a row. You would think that those organizing would do anything they could not to admit defeat before the event even occurred, but obviously the writing was on the wall. (http://www.foxbaltimore.com/news/fea...0#.Ujemiaa9K0c)

Their may be more people who will miss this than I think, but that's probably more reflective of how little I think it will be missed. This is a very niche event that most people have no interest in, and those who would be tacitly interested are probably turned off by all of the negative publicity.

If you want to put Baltimore on the map, host an event that people care about. The Os working on getting the All Star Game in 2016 is a good example (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/201...er-the-orioles). People and media from across the country would come to that. Meanwhile, I don't even recall seeing BGP highlights on ESPN at all - a reflection of its national appeal. If the country cared about Grand Prix, you'd see some coverage.

If Baltimore wants to improve its reputation, it can do more work on crime prevention, stabilizing inner city neighborhoods, and education. Not on the roads for these race cars. People hear baltimore and think of the Wire for a reason. No one thinks of Baltimore and is like "Oh wow, that Labor Day weekend car race is awesome!"

If you're worried about what to do downtown on Labor Day weekend, you shouldn't - the city sure isn't. Obviously, officials see more value in hosting the OSU-Navy football game and a freaking American Legion convention the next two years than this race. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/sp...eled.html?_r=0)

[z28-conv]

Originally Posted by dorfmac

No I didnt lose money, but I did sit in the miserable traffic that was a result of the event.

The city lost so much money the first two years that they canceled their contracts with the event organizers and brought in a new team, who as of late August, projected losses for the third year in a row. You would think that those organizing would do anything they could not to admit defeat before the event even occurred, but obviously the writing was on the wall. (http://www.foxbaltimore.com/news/fea...0#.Ujemiaa9K0c)

Their may be more people who will miss this than I think, but that's probably more reflective of how little I think it will be missed. This is a very niche event that most people have no interest in, and those who would be tacitly interested are probably turned off by all of the negative publicity.

If you want to put Baltimore on the map, host an event that people care about. The Os working on getting the All Star Game in 2016 is a good example (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/201...er-the-orioles). People and media from across the country would come to that. Meanwhile, I don't even recall seeing BGP highlights on ESPN at all - a reflection of its national appeal. If the country cared about Grand Prix, you'd see some coverage.

If Baltimore wants to improve its reputation, it can do more work on crime prevention, stabilizing inner city neighborhoods, and education. Not on the roads for these race cars. People hear baltimore and think of the Wire for a reason. No one thinks of Baltimore and is like "Oh wow, that Labor Day weekend car race is awesome!"

If you're worried about what to do downtown on Labor Day weekend, you shouldn't - the city sure isn't. Obviously, officials see more value in hosting the OSU-Navy football game and a freaking American Legion convention the next two years than this race. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/sp...eled.html?_r=0)

Actually it was televised live on Sunday.( That is how I was able to watch it I think it was NBC or FOX) I cannot remember because usually it would be on SPEED,but the channel does not exist anymore

That is my point about an event that everyone would want to come to Baltimore for. I dont know about you but I have no interest in the OSU/Navy game or the "freaking" American Legion convention. The problem with the all star game is it cant be in Baltimore every year? Can it?

Anyway it just sucks. I will just continue to go to the states that hold the different racing events as I have in the past. No big deal.

I did hear that after 2015 the organizers will reevaluate Baltimore to see if they can bring it back in the future? We will see.

[PIPE]

As someone who works in the POS city of Baltimore everyday and travels through the horrendous traffic more then I want , I can most surely say you couldnt pay me to come to the city on the weekend. For me its so bad anymore I wont even attend a Ravens game even if the tickets are free.

[Joe Trib]

Originally Posted by PIPE

As someone who works in the POS city of Baltimore everyday and travels through the horrendous traffic more then I want , I can most surely say you couldnt pay me to come to the city on the weekend. For me its so bad anymore I wont even attend a Ravens game even if the tickets are free.

WHAAAAAAT? I hate the city as well but i only go down for ravens games. lol

[dorfmac]

Originally Posted by Joe Trib

WHAAAAAAT? I hate the city as well but i only go down for ravens games. lol

Well this Sunday is a good one to go down for!

[PIPE]

Originally Posted by Joe Trib

WHAAAAAAT? I hate the city as well but i only go down for ravens games. lol

Love my Ravens and bleed purple. I used to love going to games and tailgating. Over the years it has changed so much its not even enjoyable anymore. Between the dumbass drunk kids, the Bullshit stadium rule changes, Ignorant people and the traffic. I ended up pissed off everytime I went. MORE then 5 times have I had beer spilled down my back from some jackass kid. So in order to avoid going to jail for throwing someone off the upper level or ramming someones head into a curb I just stay home in the confines of my home where I can enjoy the game much better.

[MJanowich]

I'm sad to see it go because it was a cool race. I understand the frustration of the people who live and work near downtown Baltimore though. My wife and I went the first year to see the ALMS race and it was one of those experiences I will never forget.

I'm not surprised that it has been canceled though. Given the Grand-Am/ALMS merger for next year, they had a pool of tracks for both series and a limited number of races. So with the unavailability of Labor Day weekend in Baltimore next year, the complaints about this past year's mega wreck, etc it seems the stars have aligned and the race got canceled.

I can bet that the race teams aren't sad at all about not going to Baltimore. It's less of a chance to have to deal with completely smashed race cars a few months before the final race.

[wkid1le]

The promoters were trying to turn the Baltimore Grand Prix into the East coast version of the Long Beach, CA Grand Prix. I have attended these events and enjoyed both of them.

The Long Beach Grand Prix is the single largest event in the city of Long Beach. Attendance for the weekend regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000 people. The Long Beach Grand Prix is the longest running major "street" race held on the North American continent. It started in 1975.

The Long Beach event is a huge success for the city and the many businesses who benefit from it, but it did not start out that way. I believe the Baltimore race through time could have been developed into a successful event for the city, but it requires great vision and time to accomplish that. In my opinion, they did not do a good job of promoting it and they need several more years for it to become financially successful.

Many people who attend the Long Beach Grand Prix are not big race fans, but enjoy the many other activities which surround the event. Its the place to be on that particular weekend. But it required years for it to reach its current popularity.

Baltimore has a great deal to offer and its a shame they are giving up on trying to make this a successful event. I for one will miss it.

[atma]

the Baltimore Grand Prix used to happen every single time I headed up 83 from downtown to Mt. Washington