There's a bid on to establish a Formula 1 race in Miami but organizers have scrapped a plan to host the race on a street circuit located in the city's downtown area.
F1 owner Liberty Media and stakeholders of the potential Miami race, a group that includes local businessman Stephen Ross, the principal owner of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, have mutually decided to scrap the downtown race due to the disruption it would cause to local businesses and residents.
“We want to do something great for Miami, but unfortunately when we finally received the detailed report of what it would take to build out a street circuit each year, the multiple weeks of traffic and construction disruption to the port, Bayfront Park and the residents and businesses on Biscayne Boulevard would have been significant, which (Stephen Ross) and I felt defeated the purpose,” Tom Garfinkel, vice chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, said to Miami Herald in an interview published Wednesday.
The good news is that the organizers aren't abandoning plans for the race. An alternative would be hosting the race at a site adjacent to the Hard Rock Stadium located in the north of Miami. The stadium has already undergone a $700 million renovation to become an entertainment destination.
Organizers of the Miami F1 race last year were given preliminary approval from City of Miami Commissioners and the Economic Development and Tourism Committee (Miami-Dade County) to host the race through to 2028. They had previously hoped to host the first race this year.
A second U.S. race to join the United States Grand Prix held annually in Austin, Texas, has been rumored for some time, though typically the location centered on New York City. What isn't clear is whether a current race will need to be eliminated to fit a potential Miami Grand Prix, as the 2019 F1 calendar already spans 21 races and in 2020 there will be a new Vietnamese Grand Prix. A possibility could be alternating the Miami race with the one in Austin, though this would be counter to Liberty Media's aim to increase F1's exposure in the U.S.
