3rd annual race weekend wraps up, downtown streets to fully reopen by July 14
Live streaming newscasts, breaking news, weather & original, local programming.The NASCAR races are all finished up as their contract with the city comes to an end. Now, Chicagoans and city officials are wondering whether or not the race will find its way through downtown once again.
Negotiations could involve moving the race to a new date. Meanwhile, the NASCAR deconstruction is well underway, but the process could take two weeks. The impact on Grant Park and the surrounding area is a big consideration for some downtown alders in determining their support for bringing the race back for another two years.Local leaders are already planning a post-race meeting with NASCAR this week to find out what it will take for NASCAR to brought back next year and while most have said things were smoother this year, the goal is to get moved off of Fourth of July weekend."It's such a great thing," Colleen Ritter, who lives downtown, said. "For me, I literally walked down here today just to see the cars."This past weekend marks an end to the final year of the three-year NASCAR contract in Chicago. But there are options included to possibly extend the race to 2026 and 2027. "It's good for the city. city makes a lot of money," Chris Coffey, who lives downtown, said. "I mean, it's kind of a win-win for everyone." The main thing that folks downtown... say is... 'Can we please not have this on July Fourth weekend?'... Will the city recoup its costs for having the event?Just last week, 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins sent a letter to the NASCAR Chicago president requesting a post-race meeting. He touched on the prospect of bringing the race back for two more years. "I think it's greater than 50-50 right now," Ald. Hopkins said. "But I think from the city's perspective, we're not quite at the level where the revenue generated from NASCAR justifies the inconvenience to residents downtown, residents in particular.""The traffic was done significantly better," Alderman Conway said. "And, you know, overall, NASCAR reduced their setup and take down time from about 40 days to about 25 days... They're kind of less inconvenience than they thought they'd be, and I give a lot of praise to NASCAR for how they've really reduced the setup time this year so far. You know, the main thing that folks downtown, though, say is, they say, 'Can we please not have this on July Fourth weekend?'" Over the years, one of the biggest complaints was the traffic overload. The 34th Ward alderman says convenience is the first step towards a potential new contract. "We have to see how this all comes together as far as fees that NASCAR be willing to pay, as well as how we can look at adjusting the race moving forward," Alderman Conway said. Last week, Mayor Johnson steered clear of indicating what he thinks the road ahead might look like for NASCAR and Chicago. Increasing the payout to the city could be an important factor. Conway said city leaders will want to recoup the $5.6 million cost it took to host the event from NASCAR. "Will the city recoup its costs for having the event?" Conway said. "That's about $5 to $6 million. I think it's important NASCAR pays that amount so we have this event." He stressed the importance of finding a different weekend outside of the Fourth of July, so those who live along Grant Park actually get a chance to enjoy it. "There are events about every single weekend in the park," Conway said. "It's not just Lolla and Sueños and NASCAR. There's kind of events every weekend. So it's important that we give them some accessibility to it." Ald. Conway said the post-race meeting will include several aldermen, the Chicago Park District and the mayor's office and will likely happen later this week. The city and NASCAR have until the end of September to come to an agreement on whether or not to extend the contract for another two years. Downtown alders are hoping the mayor will take their opinions and input into consideration before making a decision.
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