Here’s the proposed IndyCar race route in South Boston
It’s official: Indy car racing is coming to the streets of South Boston.
City officials and representatives from INDYCAR and IndyCar Boston announced Thursday that a Labor Day weekend race in the Seaport district has been added to the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
The proposed route for the Grand Prix of Boston will be an 11-turn, 2.25-mile temporary course, which will wind around the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Race organizer IndyCar Boston already has a website inviting visitors to “see America’s most beautiful city at 230 mph.’’
The Sept. 2-5, 2016 Boston race will be the first in an agreement lasting until 2020, and will mark a return to New England for the motor sport. The last Indy car race in the Northeast took place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2011.
Labor Day usually marks the end of the Indy car racing season, but officials said that may not be the case in 2016.
Mayor Marty Walsh’s office first contacted INDYCAR last summer as part of an effort to bring more high-profile events to Boston.
“This event has great potential to bring an influx of tourism and support our local businesses during what is traditionally a challenging holiday weekend for hospitality,’’ Walsh said in a press release.
The Grand Prix of Boston will be similar to other Verizon IndyCar Series street races in Detroit, Toronto, and Long Beach, California.
Track construction will take “approximately 18 to 21 days’’ according to officials, and will be completed in overnight shifts from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The track will feature four-foot concrete barriers, topped with 10-foot fencing with a four-foot overhang.
Race organizers described the track design as being “minimally invasive,’’ and emphasized that INDYCAR and Grand Prix of Boston would engage with the area’s business and residential communities to address any concerns. A series of meetings where input from the community will be taken into consideration will be announced at a later date.
Ticket prices and sale dates have not yet been announced, but those interested can sign up on the IndyCar Boston website to get a notification when tickets go on sale.
The event will be privately funded. IndyCar Boston spokeswoman Kate Norton said that cost estimates were not available at this beginning stage of the process.
Here are some more detailed views of the proposed track layout:
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