More Boston GP details emerge

Boston circuit will be fabulous

A 47-page "Stakeholders Info Deck" from the Grand Prix of Boston, obtained by the Herald, is targeting young, smartphone-wielding, rich professionals.

Amenities featured in the flashy pitch include:

• Nussli Suites — "the most unique hospitality offering in motorsports" — above the track and straight down the "side-by-side pit lane," allowing racing to go underneath spectators. The cost is $120,000 per group of 40, including food and drink packages for all three days.

• Finish Line Double Decker Suites, going for $90,000 for a group of 50 spectators for a three-day package, with Pernod Ricard beverages and beer.

• The "exclusive, climate controlled" Pit Lane Club that includes "a money cannot buy ticket to the Grand Prix of Boston private concert with a national act on Saturday night of race weekend." A "top-shelf open bar" and "VIP food menu" is also included in the ticket for all three days of the event. The cost is $2,000 per person.

• Organizers are also planning a "Lifestyle Expo" at the Convention Center, three music stages, beer gardens and Lamborghini races on Saturday and Sunday.

One critic said he would rather see more details about the impact the three-day series will have on the neighborhood than the big-ticket items.

"It's still missing all the critical information about traffic, noise, construction, public safety, and costs to the taxpayers that should have been made public before the city struck its secret IndyCar deal," said David Lurie, an attorney who represents the Seaport Lofts Condo Association.

Also, one "sky suite" goes right on top of the South Boston Bypass Road, which will require a permit to use because it's governed by the state.

Jana Watt, spokeswoman for IndyCar, said the Nussli Suites detailed in the document are already "out of date," though the document does contain the LogMeIn logo, and the sponsor wasn't announced until Oct. 14.

Watt was unable to give an estimate yesterday of how long it will take to set up and break down the structures.

"It's not a simple answer as it (is) done in pieces — many components are preassembled so we don't interrupt traffic flow during the pre-assembly stage and then it will be a matter of assembling the beams into place during an overnight shift," she said.

The document does say they are going after deep-pocketed spectators. IndyCar Series attendees typically have a household income of $96,000, according to the document. They are also 65 percent more likely than the general public to make a household income of $100,000 or more.

Attendees also spend more time on social networking sites, time and money on the Internet and use their smartphones more per week than the general public, according to the document. The event will also target college students, "lifestyle entertainment seekers" and Brazilian-Americans.

The Herald obtained an emailed letter this week from Mayor Martin J. Walsh's chief of operations, Patrick Brophy, giving IndyCar just 14 days to reach financial and other agreements with agencies that control most of the planned course on the waterfront.

"It is expected that your team will finalize agreements with all interested parties within the next two (2) weeks," Brophy said in the email sent Oct. 30 to Jim Freudenberg, chief commercial officer for the Grand Prix of Boston. "Please be advised that the Mayor grows increasingly concerned with the progress (or lack thereof) of those discussions." Boston Herald