A second Formula 1 race in the United States could happen as soon as 2019, with a potential return to Long Beach for the first time since 1983 currently under consideration.
In 2015 the Long Beach City Council opened up a tender process to gather proposals from parties interested in holding an event on the streets of the city. When the tender closed in 2016, two viable responses had been submitted. One from the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, which currently organises the IndyCar race in the city, and another from World Automobile Championship of California LLC.
WACC's proposal is to bring F1 back to the city for the first time in more than 30 years.
The council has now enlisted the services of KPMG to act as consultants, with the firm tasked with analysing the financial advantages of the two proposals, as well as the technical aspect of each proposal.
Currently IndyCar has a year remaining on its current deal, meaning F1 could return as soon as 2019 if the proposal is chosen by the city.
The founder of the race, Chris Pook, is behind the attempt to get F1 back on the streets of Long Beach and is confident it can be done with minimal funding from the city itself, with the main request a piece of land along Shoreline Drive for construction of a pit and paddock complex, which would be gifted back to the city for use outside of race weekends.
City mayor Robert Garcia is hopeful of a quick decision to ensure the city, sponsors and other operators isn't impacted.
"Clarity for our current partner and other possible folks that are interested, I think, is really important," he told the Long Beach Business Journal. "I know that I – and others – will be ensuring that we stay on track and get this done as soon as possible."
