Maura Healey: Boston Grand Prix organizers have ‘until the end of the day’ to develop refund plan
Attorney General Maura Healey says organizers of the flubbed IndyCar race in Boston have until the end of Monday to present a plan to reimburse ticket buyers—or else the state will move forward with legal action.
“We have given the companies until the end of the day to come forward with a plan,” Healey told WGBH’s Boston Public Radio in an interview Monday afternoon.
The Massachusetts attorney general said her office has been “working very hard” with both the local entity, Boston Grand Prix, as well as the national IndyCar organization, to make sure those who bought tickets for the since-canceled Labor Day weekend race are fully reimbursed.
“Otherwise they’ll be held accountable and there will be consequences,” she said, calling it “outrageous” that fans who bought tickets have not had their purchases refunded.
According to Healey’s office, Boston Grand Prix officials have until the end of the business day Monday to present a refund plan. As of 1:30 p.m., the attorney general’s office had yet to receive any such plan.
Representatives for Boston Grand Prix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Healey first threatened to sue organizers if they didn’t develop a plan to refund all ticket sales by Monday earlier this month.
“No company in Massachusetts is allowed to market a major event, sell tickets to thousands of people, and then pull up stakes without giving people back the money they are owed,” Cyndi Roy Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Healey, said on June 16. “Consumers were promised a quick refund, but were instead left high and dry.”
Boston Grand Prix, the local race organizing franchisee, is already being sued by IndyCar over alleged breach of contract and the failure to reimburse ticket buyers. Boston Grand Prix has reportedly exhausted the money they had—about $400,000—to pay back total ticket sales, which are estimated to be up to $2 million.
Much to the chagrin of city officials, organizers have expressed interest in attempting to hold another IndyCar race in Boston to help repay the funds they owe ticket buyers of the canceled race.
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