Marty Walsh gives IndyCar two-week ultimatum
Mayor Marty Walsh is losing patience with plans to bring IndyCar to the streets of South Boston next year.
In an email obtained Monday by the Boston Herald, the mayor’s chief of operations, Patrick Brophy, gave race organizers a two-week ultimatum to “finalize agreements’’ with the groups that control areas along the planned Seaport district race course.
“Please be advised that the Mayor grows increasingly concerned with the progress (or lack thereof) of those discussions,’’ Brophy warned, noting the inability to solidify deals with local community and business groups, in an email to Jim Freudenberg, the chief commercial officer of Grand Prix of Boston.
Grand Prix of Boston responded in a statement Monday afternoon.
“This request from the Mayor is an impetus to get the agreements in place and put everyone at ease on the future of the Grand Prix of Boston. We are in complete agreement with the Mayor and his wishes for all contracts to be finalized,’’ said the group in an email.
The Herald recently reported that the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Convention Center, and the state’s Department of Transportation have all signaled little to no progress on race-related agreements, such as infrastructure improvements and permitting.
Residents of a Seaport condo building also sent a letter to Walsh in September asking for the mayor to move or cancel the event because of potential negative effects on the community and the specter that taxpayer money will pay for the event.
In his email, Brophy also asked that tickets for the event (which were planned to go on sale in November) not be sold until agreements were reached with all parties.
Grand Prix representatives have maintained no taxpayer money will be used in organizing the race.
“As we have stated in the past and is in our agreement with the city, there will be no municipal dollars used to support the event,’’ said the group’s statement. “We have already signed a significant number of partners and sponsors all who are eager to move forward.’’
In May, Walsh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Grand Prix of Boston for the city to host five annual Labor Day weekend IndyCar races from 2016 to 2020. But local skepticism has given the mayor pause.
“As you are aware, a predicate to agreements and permit acquisition is the outcome of your discussions with local neighborhood, civic and business associations,’’ Brophy wrote in the email, via the Herald. “Mayor Walsh feels strongly that overall community ‘buy-in’ and timely resolution of all financial terms for this proposed event are paramount to his final approval.’’
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