Southern California’s 200-MPH Beach Party is just around the corner! Construction has begun on the city streets comprising the world-famous Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race circuit in preparation for the April 14-16 race weekend.
Over 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 188,000 fans attended the race in 2022, returning the event’s attendance to pre-pandemic levels.
On Wednesday, Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian, newly elected Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and LiUNA Local 1309 Business Manager Mario Suales commemorated the start of track construction in what will become Turn 10 of the race course in the Long Beach Arena parking lot.
“Coming off a very successful event last year, we are looking at providing an even more attractive weekend in April,” said Michaelian. “We will soon be announcing some exciting additions to our schedule including the Saturday night concert, inductees into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame and a possible preview event during race week.”
“Every year, our city has the unique opportunity to welcome more than 180,000 people to our downtown, support our local restaurants, engage with our beautiful waterfront and see what makes Long Beach so very special,” said Richardson. “I look forward to welcoming the Grand Prix back to Long Beach for its 48th year to continue this incredible tradition of community and highlighting the prosperity of our city.”
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 April 7-8, and part of the circuit will be used as a running course for the Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach’s 5th Annual G & M Grand Prix 5K Run on Sunday morning, April 2.
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 F1 Challenge and the Porsche Deluxe 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 $38 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $175 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday 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 follow the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook (GrandPrixLB), Twitter @GPLongBeach (#AGPLB) and Instagram @GPLongBeach.
