If you haven’t already read David Bernstein’s new article on Marty Walsh and the Grand Prix in Boston Magazine (“Is the Grand Prix Taking Boston for a Ride?“), I highly recommend that you do.
If you’ve been following the drama around Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, many things in this article will sound familiar.
A complete disregard for public consent and engagement:
In mid-May, without public hearings, Walsh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Grand Prix of Boston, clearing the way for the city to host five annual IndyCar road races on the South Boston waterfront, each Labor Day weekend from 2016 to 2020…..
Grand Prix representatives held an informational meeting with South Boston elected officials on May 14, I have learned—a day after Walsh signed the contract. A meeting with Fort Point neighborhood residents wasn’t held until nearly a week later: May 19, the night before the news went public.
(emphasis added)
A disregard for the risk of spiraling costs and inconveniences:
Surprisingly, Walsh’s memo with the Grand Prix provides no payments, subsidies, or other “linkage” in exchange for the use of Boston’s streets—while leaving City Hall on the hook for a fair amount of ancillary costs and inconveniences, which have the potential to balloon as the Waterfront finally blossoms and fills in with people and businesses.
Cronyism:
Before Norton was spokesperson for the Grand Prix, of course, she was Walsh’s press secretary. And the connections between Walsh and the Grand Prix don’t end there. Consulting work for Grand Prix Boston is being done by CK Strategies, which is also consulting for Boston 2024; Chris Keohan of CK Strategies was Walsh’s 2013 campaign strategist. Also consulting for the Grand Prix are Dino Difonzio, Dan Passacantilli, and Kenny Ryan – all with close connections to Walsh, mostly through his 2013 campaign.
Unrealistic economic promises that completely belie available data:
In its community outreach, the Grand Prix has suggested that the event can be expected to draw at least 250,000 total spectators over the course of three days….That talking-points memo, which I’ve obtained, claims that “similar urban events in the IndyCar Series traditionally produce… 250,000+ spectators over three days.”…From what I can tell, that statement appears to be an unadulterated lie: The only IndyCar event that purports to draw 250,000-plus spectators is the iconic Indianapolis 500, which is not at all similar to anything like the event being planned in Boston…Conveniently, the national IndyCar Series sanctioning corporation, Indy Racing League, does not allow attendance figures to be released—how’s that for a transparency issue?—but I have been shown marketing materials, intended for sponsors, that indicate the average attendance has been under 100,000 in recent years….If the Grand Prix’s claim of 250,000 total spectators doesn’t hold water, then it’s unlikely the economic benefit claims will, either…
In that same one-page fact sheet I obtained, Grand Prix organizers claim that similar IndyCar events produce upwards of $40 million in direct spending, and $75-$80 million total, including indirect impact….One of the very few independent, post-Grand Prix economic impact studies available—in 2012, for Baltimore, the race Grand Prix of Boston is ostensibly replacing—found a direct impact of $24 million in 2012, with a total impact of $42 million…..That’s barely half of what the Grand Prix of Boston info sheet claims is typical…
Bernstein says:
That’s right, this corporate spectacle is going to give the city $0.00 for using of part of its downtown to generate profits.
I’m not a car-racing hater; in years past I went to Formula One, drag-racing, SCCA and various kinds of motorcycle races, and enjoyed them. Every one of them was held on a dedicated track. If I lived anywhere near this thing, I’d be pretty upset. It’s LOUD, and three days of it would have me going out of town for the duration. Yet another Olympic parallel.
Maybe the city should think about cancelling the Boston Marathon. I mean, who pays for all the extra police, and the inconvenience of having street shut down?
Get off our damn lawn!
That for-profit marathon, with its deafening noise, profligate use of fossil fuels, and complete lack of association with Boston’s history and traditions, is just the same as Indy car racing. Also, it sets a really bad example for the state’s pedestrians.
…and it does seem odd that this event would be on city streets (Is that even safe?) rather than a racetrack.
I’m also wondering, however, whether it is the contention of some the public hearings need to be held before any decision is made by single officers such as the Mayor where open meeting laws do not apply rather than allow our leaders to do the jobs they were elected to do and exercise their judgement. If so, I don’t agree.
Yes, the course is set up on the streets. I attended the Miami Grand Prix many years ago (it was a GT race then) and was on Belle Isle in Detroit last year where they held their race last weekend. Note that they don’t race in the pot-holed conditions that we experience. On Belle Isle, it was easy to tell where the race course was (without any of the barriers in sight) by the nice, fresh, smooth concrete. That leads me to wonder who will foot the bill for paving the course.
It would be nice, however, if we could come up with a way to build roads that did not need this constant maintenance and repair. I sometimes think the Romans did a better job.
…I wasn’t thinking about the pothole issue. What I had in mind were what speed streets were built to handle and what obstacles there might be along the sides. Is there a map of the proposed course available?
http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/05/21/indycar-grand-prix-of-boston-race-route-circuit-runs-through-seaport-map/
Here.
economic impacts of the Olympics, I see the same phenomena write on a lesser scale: 1) the exaggerated predictions of turnout 2) the unstated costs–in this case–security 3) the likely displacement of other tourists, not to mention Bostonians, as tens or hundreds of thousands of people converge on Boston. 4) Jammed up public transportation
Another issue that might crop up: increased prices at restaurants and hotels to take advantage of the influx of people.
We want the hospitality industry to make their money on events like this one, so that they can weather the tougher times when they’re out of season. As a resident, I want a variety of restaurants, I want hotel rooms for when people come to visit me, I want more flights out of Logan for my own convenience when I fly, etc. Thriving tourism is good for Boston metro and the Commonwealth — and part of thriving tourism is gettin while the gettins good.
The costs seem more or less minor– police details and some paving– so, wages and actual infrastructure. Big whoop. Contrast that with building a stadium that costs hundreds of millions, and most thereafter be torn down.
And gets the hotels and restaurants fully booked for a weekend? Sounds good.
It’s a much lower scale.
There are unstated costs, but by mentioning “the likely displacement of other tourists, not to mention Bostonians, as tens or hundreds of thousands of people converge on Boston. 4) Jammed up public transportation” I may have exaggerated. If Boston empties out on that weekend, there may not be very much displacement of tourists or jammed up transportation.
And if it’s only a weekend, it’s unlikely hotels and restaurants will jack up their prices affecting people who live in Boston. That’s a distinct possibility for people doing business or eating in Boston during the Olympics.
I over-reacted from reading Circus Maximus. I’ve been busy, and in a lousy mood, and have been dilatory in correcting my original comment.
I am not sure I get your objection to hotels, restaurants, etc. boosting prices to meet extra demand. This is a good thing, no? And also brings in some extra meals and hotel taxes for the Commonwealth?
live in the community where prices go up. It’s somewhat like the price increases for rent. People who live there end up having to spend more.
Sorry, this is a big walk back from what I originally said. I did a little searching the book, but can’t find anything more useful.
(1 more week of school, annual town meeting in a week, then some down time)
But events of this scale have been held in cities before without a hitch, I know Montreal just concluded a big F1 race this weekend.
when the decision being made without community input is a stupid-ass decision.
I’m pretty sure that if my town government announced that my street was going to be filled with high-speed race cars for a weekend, I’d characterize it as a “stupid-ass decision”. As I read the agreement it contemplates multiple occurrences over a five-year period.
In my town, and most towns, I need the approval of abuttors to build a non-conforming porch addition or garage-roof deck. It seems to me that declaring my street to be a race course is a far more significant event than a deck on my neighbor’s garage.
Like I said upthread, I’m glad I don’t live there.
Looking at the map, I’m not sure that many people live there– its a mostly commercial area. Anyway, this seems less like building a porch and more like setting up a tent for a backyard wedding. If it turns out that the Commonwealth is on the hook for a billion dollar support infrastructure, as for the Olympics, my view would be different. When I lived in town, they blocked off our street fairly regularly for “events.” AIDS walk, the breast cancer race, veteran’s day parade, Pride. Its part of living in the city.
A charity walk, parade, marathon, etc., doesn’t kill people when events go astray — we’re talking about vehicles traveling at high speeds around unbanked curves on roads not designed for racing.
My city (Somerville) closes major thoroughfares frequently for the kind of things you mention. It does so with overwhelming public support. I can’t imagine Joe Curtatone trying to shoe-horn in a multi-year commitment to bring Grand Prix racing down Highland Avenue, Elm Street, Somerville Avene or Broadway.
Grand Prix racing, especially like this, is most certainly NOT part of living in the city — that’s why Mr. Walsh is being as secretive as he is.
Unannounced and undiscussed Grand Prix racing through the narrow and crowded streets of South Boston and the waterfront. Multi-year non-compete agreements. The city commits to “make commercially reasonable efforts to facility the use of the Boston Harbor … with Massport and all other regulatory agencies.”
There is no way that this can be as safe as if the event wasn’t scheduled. This will have an enormous negative impact on South Boston residents — residents unlikely to benefit directly or indirectly from the event. All with ZERO public comment or notice. I don’t care WHAT the open meeting laws say, this is an abuse of whatever “discretion” the Mayor has.
I’m glad I don’t live in Boston or South Boston. I’m glad that Marty Walsh is not my mayor. I’m glad that Somerville doesn’t do shenanigans like this.
electric vehicles.
Formula E is for electric open-wheel race cars. All the speed, none of the noise or (directly-generated) pollution.