IndyCar/IMSA: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Racetrack Construction Begins

Construction began today on the world-famous Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race circuit in preparation for the April 8-10 race weekend.

Over the next 50 days, more than 2,400 concrete blocks that anchor the safety system around the 1.97-mile, 11-turn racing circuit will be placed along with 14 large grandstands that line the racecourse. More than 180,000 fans attended the race in 2021, which was run in September instead of its normal April date due to the pandemic.

The first full day of track construction kicked off today with Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame member and Indy car driver Oriol Servia accompanying Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian to commemorate the day. Management and workers from the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), alongside Grand Prix Association of Long Beach personnel, were also on-hand.

“It’s great to be back on our traditional race date,” said Michaelian. “We’re coming off a very successful event just five months ago and we’re looking forward to doing it all over again. We’ve got six world-class races lined up, a great title sponsor partner in Acura and a number of other activities for the whole family in a first-class facility that our team builds every year.”

“The Acura Grand Prix is such an exciting event,” said Servia. “When you have a venue that attracts 180,000 people and you see that it’s families – grandparents bringing grandkids – that family tradition, you feel you’re a part of something really special. It does have a special energy that not every race can accomplish.”

In total, Grand Prix Director of Operations Dwight Tanaka, LIUNA and Grand Prix Operations staff will put in more than 33,000 working hours installing the safety system – more than 14 million pounds of concrete blocks, four miles of fencing and 17,000 bolted-together tires – along with grandstands, six pedestrian bridges and eight giant vision boards for full-circuit TV coverage.

Tanaka’s staff will also install 45 high-end hospitality suites, three hospitality clubs, tents, electrical lines and equipment, phones, porta-johns, trash containers and a myriad of other items around the track.

The eastern portion of the racetrack (Turns 9, 10 and 11) will also be used for Round One of the eight-event 2022 Formula Drift season on April 1-2, and part of the circuit will be used as a running course for the Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach’s Grand Prix 5K Run on Sunday, April 3.

All businesses along the race circuit, which includes Shoreline Drive, Aquarium Way and Pine Ave., will remain open during construction of the racetrack.

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be headlined by the third round of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, as well as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In addition, the weekend will include the Super Drift Challenge under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights, the SPEED/UTV Stadium Super Trucks, Historic IMSA GTP Challenge and the new-for-2022 Porsche Carrera Cup North America.

Fans can select and pay for their Grand Prix seats, parking and paddock passes online at gplb.com. Ticket orders can also be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 827-7333.  Also featured on gplb.com is the latest Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach news and racetrack information, photos and ongoing announcements of special race week activities.

Ticket prices range from $37 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $168 for a three-day ticket that includes Sat./Sun. reserved seating in grandstand upper levels.  Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, NTT INDYCAR SERIES Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a wide variety of hospitality packages.

Fans can also follow the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook (GrandPrixLB), Twitter @GPLongBeach (#AGPLB) and Instagram @GPLongBeach.