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4/7/08 St. Petersburg Welcomes INDY Through 2013
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg “I am INDY”
returned for a fourth season, racing the streets of downtown from April
4-6, 2008, welcoming over 125,000 attendees. The city’s scenery, good
feeling and racing vibes created a great event for the entire region. On
April 6th, Andretti Green Promotions and the City of St. Petersburg announced the Grand Prix’s contract commitment had been extended and
will run through 2013, subject to approval of City Council.
In 2008, the CART series reunified with the INDY cars for the
first time this season, which transpired into a heated race track featuring
25 cars at once on the circuit competing for the win. The LeMans race held
on Saturday,  April 5th,
was televised nationally live on ABC and the INDY race held on Sunday,
April 6th, was featured live on the ESPN network and broadcasted
to over 200 countries worldwide.
The staging site of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg’s
“street track” has been referred to as the “best
circuit” second only to the Indianapolis 500 - featuring 14 turns and
a 1.8 mile waterfront stretch. Over twenty-six, 50 to 164 foot yachts were
docked to attend Grand Prix, resulting in positive comparisons to Monte Carlo .
Dan Wheldon, INDY driver and St. Petersburg resident stated
“It’s one of the top events on the circuit and a great venue
facility!”
The event is a great economic driver for the City of St. Petersburg. Each year the city’s 1,048 hotel rooms are fully booked during the
Honda Grand Prix race dates, providing pedestrian activity to the
city’s restaurants and retail shops. The Michael Andretti Foundation
gives back to the community by hosting a silent auction gala, with proceeds
benefiting three local children charities. There are over 24 million
impressions annually via Andretti Green Racing Transporters displaying St. Petersburg along the world-wide racing circuit. Lastly, the strong celebrity
participation of such well-knowns as Gene Simmons and others over the years
has provided coverage in numerous ancillary publications on behalf of the
city.
To learn more visit the City of
St. Petersburg on the web or the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
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