Bureaucracy moves rather slower than the Formula 1 world and the plans to get the World Championship back in Long Beach, where it used to have a race between 1976 and 1983. After that the City of Long Beach refused to meet Bernie Ecclestone’s fee demands and the race switched to CART in 1984. That continued until 2008 and since 2009 the race has been held for IndyCar. The loss of Long Beach is often seen as being one of Bernie Ecclestone’s biggest failures, as it meant that Formula 1 lost a solid foothold in the US markets – and gave the rival series a big event. In recent years, however, with Indycar relatively weak, the race has not lived up to expectations with few out-of-town visitors and very little international coverage for the city, which wants to boost its tourism, and draw attention to its attractions, including the Long Beach Convention Center, the Aquarium of the Pacific, its beaches and marina, its museums and art galleries, its shopping outlets and, of course, the Queen Mary liner. This is important because tourism is Long Beach’s second-biggest industry behind manufacturing and is responsible for nearly 7,000 jobs and substantial revenues.
The City of Long Beach has been pondering a return to F1 for a while, but is fearful that a race would cost too much. In order to find out what was possible in 2016 the City asked for bids from promoters willing to take on the event. This resulted in two rival bids, one from the Grand Prix of Long Beach organisation, which is owned by Aquarium Asset Management, a company that belongs to Kevin Kalkhoven; the other from an organisation called the World Automobile Championship of California (WACC), which is run by Chris Pook, the man who created the Grand Prix, back in the 1970s. Grand Prix of Long Beach’s contract with the city runs out after the 2018 race and so a change could take place in 2019.
Last week the city agreed to sign a contract with KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, a consulting division of one of the celebrated auditing firm, to evaluate the bids made and help in the selection process for the next operator of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, having concluded that it did not have the necessary expertise to make a decision. It has allotted $150,000 to get some help. KPMG will review the bids and assess what is achievable and whether the financial plans behind them are realistic. It will also assess the risks involved for the city.
According to the paperwork, KPMG will be working with Britain’s Apex Circuit Design to help with the technical assessments relating to the race track. KPMG and Apex have worked together for a number of years, it seems, dating back to 2009 when the FIA Institute appointed Apex as a partner in its Facility Improvement Programme and Apex then teamed up with KPMG, which provided commercial modeling and financial assessment for commercial sustainability for the projects that the FIA forwarded to Apex. This included a number of tracks around the world, including Silverstone, Bahrain, Sepang and others. Thus the partners have a decent track record in developing commercial plans for racing.
It is fairly clear that Formula 1 offers a much better opportunity for the city, in terms of bringing in revenues and giving Long Beach greater international exposure. However, the City is wary of the costs involved, even if WACC seems to be proposing a deal that will cost nothing, apart from a small piece of land on Shoreline Drive, in order to build a suitable pit building. However, as we have seen in Melbourne, such constructions can be used for other purposes for the rest of the year, so the city may also gain space for other events.
joeblogsf1 
Having attended the last few LBGP events, I struggle to see how Shoreline can fit a pit building. It’s a very tight pit lane even by INDYCAR standards, and construction of a building would reduce the space available for hospitality, fan activities, etc.
I also wonder if the FIA would approve a curved pit lane – releasing cars safely is difficult for INDYCAR teams due to the curvature, as the curve blocks the view of oncoming traffic.
But its all certainly possible if F1 is willing to change/lower its standards and/or spend the money. The city likely won’t have an appetite to spend the money.
It is all possible
As it’s only a car park there presently, you’d be able to build an Albert Park sized pit area without too much difficulty, maybe some encroachment onto the grass next to it.
The reality is that Long Beach was the best ( outside of Watkins Glen ) Formula One venue the US ever had .. making Detroit , Las Vegas and yes even CoTA look like Ted Mac’s Amateur hour in comparison . But the reality is the City of Long Beach as well as CA in general do not have the finances to stage an F1 race especially in light of the potential impending consequences being threatened by our present ‘ so called ‘ administration . Suffice it to say .. LaLa Land aint exactly been in a singing mood of late .
So is this pie in the sky pipe dreams and sabre rattling in the hopes of negotiating better terms with Indy Car ?
Or is this a real and viable consideration with the remote possibility that perhaps Liberty will offer more affordable terms than Uncle Bernie was willing to ?
Though I’l hope for the later … I’m betting its the former
Are you serious? COTA is far superior it’s a real racing circuit, but I respect your opinion 😊
It may be as you say a ‘ real ‘ racing circuit but real or not the reality is from the inane ‘ industrial park ‘ architecture to the Tilke overly homogenized circuit itself along with horrific access [ to and from Austin ] and terrible amenities .. not to mention a city which could not care less when the F1 Circus is in town [ for a blatant contrast attend SXSW sometime ] CoTA is a venue totally devoid of character or racing/passing opportunities [ for all racing ] better suited to its part time ‘ test track ‘ status than motorsports . So real or not Long Beach was by far [ after Watkins Glen ] the best F1 venue we ever had in the US .. my having experienced them all first hand and more often than not from behind the scenes[ having been ‘ Almost Famous ‘ for awhile ] as well as from the grandstands .
I honestly think that a race in Long Beach would be absolutely horrid without extensive and dramatic changes to the course.
More horrid than Monaco? I think it will be great! There are plenty of modern and supersafe tracks on the calendar. I’d love to see the LBGP reinstated as it was then.
As a wee lad in The Netherlands, I dreamed of one day visiting the LBGP because of the seductive drawings of Michel Vaillant.
Now, thirty years later, Long Beach is only a 20-minute drive, even with LA traffic. It would be a childhood fantasy come true 🙂
unfortunately the track is dull and tight with no real overtaking opportunities. the indycar races there are not pleasant to watch. as it is now, it is obsolete. i am not sure why you think i am comparing it to monaco. my comments are specific to this current layout. it’s also quite short. are you prepared for sub-1 minute lap times?
I attended F1 races there back in the day. I had photographer passes so could go anywhere, which made it worthwhile. My main recollection of things other than the races was how dirty and rundown Long Beach was, and how I quickly left after the events. Driving through the rundown neighborhoods I felt like I was gong to be mugged. Monaco it ain’t.
Having said that, the sound of the engines echoing off the buildings as you approached the track sure made the blood run faster. I seriously doubt Long Beach makes money off the races and if F1 plans to charge their normal $25 to $30 million (or more) for the weekend Long Beach will regret getting involved.
Yeah, Joe, I know, negative. But realistic. America is a tough market for F1, as they have pretty much no presence. I scanned lots of newspaper sports pages (online) looking for any mention of Alonso driving at Indy and saw …. nothing.
The place has changed
it totally has changed for the better. i LOVE the idea of a long beach race, but for it to happen the circuit has to be completely re-done. it just will not work with modern F1 cars and rules. this could be the biggest barrier, not necessarily figuring out how much the promoter would have to pay F1 to get the race scheduled.
Should they decide to opt for a Formule E race, would it then be called a
WACC e race?
Bravo sir
I would love to see F1 back at Long Beach again, the only thing is the tacks a little mick mouse in my humble opinion, as much as I attended many CART raced there in the eighties… what do you think Joe?
Please excuse typos old eyes 😊
Completely agree. A dull little track with no decent passing place. The old F1 circuit with a tight hairpin at the end of a long blast down Shoreline Drive was classic, but long gone due to changes in the city. F1 needs better, more challenging and iconic circuits, not a diminished Long Beach.
I read people insisting the track would have to be resurfaced. Is it really that bad?
No …. not any more so than say Monaco , Montreal or any other street based circuit .
Montreal’s circuit is in parkland on an island and little used by traffic. The cold Montreal winters likely play havock with the surface though, not use.
The track is open to the public for roller blading, skate boarding and cycling. I’ve cycled on the track, it may be rough by F1 standards, but it’s still smooth as a billiard table.
May you ever seen the surface of the streets used for the track in Monaco? They are much smoother than any in my home town. But in the total cost of setting Long Beach up for an F1 face the cost of resufaceing 3 miles of roadway is peanuts.
KPMG, $150,000! That’s two blokes for a week!
Less then that even. You forgot Friday is long lunch day……
$150k That’s exactly what I thought. …… Now said in your best Del Boy voice “You’re have’n a larf aren’t you”
Thanks for this reminder of Ecclestone’s stubbornness. This loss of the LB GP in the early 80s could be one of his worst decisions commercially. If I imagine how differently open wheel racing could have evolved oder the last decades if F1 hadn’t been too close-minded to succeed in the US … it boggles the mind.
So, the original layout from 1983 was not possible anymore ?
I thought it was but think there was something built at the end of Shoreline and to the right which would prevent reinstating the old right hand hairpin and quick spurt back up ro the left hander?
But hey there’s enough road in and around Shoreline to make a half decent 2.5 mile plus layout.
I just don’t see LB as being that much a better race than Monaco (tho it def is better), and it lacks the pomp of Monaco. I’d much rather Indycar stay at LB and F1 get its act together for Jersey/NYC, coordinate that with Montreal’s date. That’s a stage more appropriate for F1, imho.
how one can make a race profitable if even in evaluating stage they pay that crazy money to someone pretty distant to estimate it? Don’t they see it better themselves in their own town/city!??
I don’t think you understand the flows of cash involved in this story.
yes Joe, i don’t. Just trying to see some logic. But yes, F1 has some strange kind of logic altogether. Which i most of the times struggle to understand properly. That’s why i need You to help! And thank You for your effort to try and enlighten about all this matter the folk like me.
The printer will pay the city. The promoter will pay the Formula One group. The fans will pay the promoter.
a-ha! getting there! Just one thing – who is ‘the printer’? sorry if i ask stupid questions sometimes, an English ain’t my native tongue.
That should say promoter.
Being from the Long Beach area, I wonder how F1 will deal with the bumpiness of the roads around the convention center. Shoreline is smooth, but if they use the road between the convention center and the parking structure, the cars will shake apart. The city won’t pay to fix that road to make it smoother I bet.
It would be a great place to have a race, though.
So, with enough money all things are possible.
But…
They would have to change the track layout.
And as a Cali resident I really struggle to see big government $$ being spent on a race.
There are also a few other hurdles as well.
The reality from my POV is that F1 will have to invest in America if they want to establish a real foothold here.
Which would mean going to venues where the promoters do not lose $$$.
In light of decades of Bernie precedent they probably won’t want to take the $$ hit that would entail.
There would be no government money spent
I think it is great that F1 continues to explore other venues in the USA.
However, what is F1 doing to appeal to younger demographics ? It’s like a declining birthrate…….
Long Beach, and SoCal, have changed so much since 1983. Most of the people who go to LBGP are drunk and are there more for the concert after the race. There is no way they will pay F1 prices for tickets. I doubt it would be half full. The track is actually much better technically than the original (post Linden Drive plunge, which only lasted a couple of years) and a lot safer.
It would be a different crowd.
“are there more for the concert after the race”
Doesn’t seem to be a problem for Abu Dhabi or Singapore.
If F1 rocked up, they’d remove all the charm of the place.
How many other circuits have a corner around a fountain??
Pau, in France, has a fountain on the course and it is much more beautiful circuit as it is in a scenic public park
It’s not all in the park. It’s all over the town.
Is the thinking that this would be a weekend in addition to the Indycar / IMSA / PWC weekend? If not, would the idea be to simply swap F1 for Indycar and leave the sportscar series as the support races?
Let’s see if we can get that option considered, in this alonso at Indy post Bernie era…
Why not both?
F1 after the Indycar race – if you are going to do it, why not make it a complete racing event.
Bumpy as ‘F…
would rather it went to Laguna Seca.
Laguna is out in the boonies. F1 bigwigs would never go out there. Downtown New York, at night , which is being spoken of by Liberty. is more their style.
Lagunavis just not possible
Interesting choice of Apex. This might be the largest project Clive and the team have taken on. I wasn’t aware they’d worked on anything at Silverstone though; what did they do there?
I notice that Zak Brown is pouring cold water on this. Obviously, he doesn’t speak for Liberty, but even so…
Joe, has the situation changed since you wrote, or do you think Brown’s reported remarks are too pessimistic? Thanks.
I’ve no idea
Fair enough. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
Long Beach is a crappy track in a crappy part of LA. No overtaking opportunities whatsoever. Plus, CA has way too much red tape in the way of this happening. They would be better off at Sonoma or VIR or someplace like that.
It won’t happen anywhere else in California, unless someone builds année track