The St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday night approved a contract extension that "will keep" the Verizon IndyCar Series' annual race there through '20, according to Charlie Frago of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The hour-long discussion "took a few detours," as council member Jim Kennedy "unveiled a proposal for the city to strike its own deal with IndyCar and operate the race itself." Council member Wengay Newton "argued along similar lines" as Kennedy, saying that the race's promotional firm, Green Savoree, "should pay $1 to the city for each person who buys a ticket." Mayor Rick Kriseman was "visibly angry" at the proposal. He said that IndyCar had "no interest in partnering with the city, and he cautioned against the city assuming all the financial risk." Race promoter Kevin Savoree in September "reacted angrily when council members questioned why the company wouldn't open its books and pondered whether the city had outgrown the race, which shuts down some waterfront neighborhoods for several days while the track is being set up." The promoters "agreed to set the March dates for the next three years." Aside from the attendance-based profit sharing, Green Savoree also said that it "would get the track ready four days more quickly than in past years" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 11/13).
SPRINT TO THE FINISH: In Boston, Joe Battenfeld reports IndyCar promoters are planning a "last-ditch sprint to beat" Friday's deadline to secure Massachusetts approval for a street race there beginning in '16. However, a "new obstacle has surfaced" in Boston-based marketing firm HubSpot's Inbound conference, which "already has a signed contract with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority" for Labor Day weekend in '18. MCCA interim Communications Manager Rachel Weiss said that the conference "would 'most likely' sideline IndyCar" in '18 "unless race promoters move it to a different date or location." City officials are scheduled to meet with IndyCar on Friday (BOSTON HERALD, 11/13).
