Massachusetts gets involved with IndyCar Boston negotiations
| If the Boston Group has to pay for all the road improvements and municipal services there is a very good chance they will lose money on this event and it won't be around long. Boston is not 'partnering' with IndyCar like governments partner with F1 and Long Beach partners with IndyCar – a necessary ingredient for success. Maybe if IndyCar's TV ratings were not so low because of NBCSN, and the city received great exposure worldwide, they would be more willing to pay for some of the costs. |
Under pressure from City Hall to start inking key agreements, IndyCar promoters quietly huddled with representatives from several state agencies on Wednesday – ranging from T officials to state police – to break down specifics of the Grand Prix-style race they're planning for the Seaport District.
The confab, first revealed yesterday by Gov. Charlie Baker, was designed to give state officials what he called an "excruciating level of detail" on the promoter's plans aside from the various one-on-one sessions they've held with state and quasi-state entities they need to ink agreements with to put on the Labor Day event.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh, after strongly defending the race, told IndyCar in a letter last week that he's "concerned" about their lack of progress in getting needed approvals from other agencies and gave promoters a two-week deadline to secure those agreements, the Herald has reported.
"One of things we said – at this point about a week and a half ago – was, we really need all the players on the state side to sit down in one room with the folks from the IndyCar program and have them, in a great excruciating level of detail, work through what their expectations are about this, how they think it's supposed to work and what they think it is they're looking for from us," Baker said yesterday, adding he's still waiting to hear about the meeting's results.
"I think it's very important for us to get to the bottom of what's expected here as quickly as possible so we can respond appropriately … to the mayor's issue," he said.
A spokesman for Boston Grand Prix said the meeting was "productive," but couldn't say specifically what was discussed. Officials from MassDOT, the MBTA, Massport and the state police were all present, he said, and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority also had representatives on hand, according to a spokeswoman there.
Mike Verseckes, a MassDOT spokesman, said transportation and T officials were there to discuss logistics, ranging from plans for traffic detours, including on roads under the state's jurisdiction; potential effects on T service; and the potential for added T service "should the race advance."
"The race organizers would need to address these factors as part of their application for an access permit," which is issued by MassDOT, Verseckes said.
The Herald reported earlier this week that the Walsh administration is trying to rework its much-criticized deal with IndyCar promoters. The changes would force Boston Grand Prix to pay for all "municipal services" connected with the planned Labor Day race. Boston Herald