A Baltimore City councilman told the Baltimore Business Journal that if a new race promoter for the Baltimore Grand Prix is not selected by mid-February, per IndyCar's wishes, the race may meet a “point of no return.”
William H. Cole IV has engaged in discussions with IndyCar officials and said the city can't afford to wait much longer to put a new promoter in place. The city broke off its contract with Baltimore Racing Development on Dec. 30.
“You probably still need at least a good four months of ticket sales, if not more, to be successful,” Cole said. “The actual putting on the race part is actually the less complicated part of the whole thing.”
The need to attract a title sponsor and ticket sales, as well as having to pay off vendors from the 2011 race, are all mounting issues that would need to be addressed for 2012.
Dale Dillon, an Indianapolis construction company owner who's also been involved in race promotions at St. Petersburg and Toronto, leads one of the groups vying for the city's new contract. He has backing from two investors, one of whom, Felix Dawson would be tasked with managing and funding the race.
IndyCar is expected to address the Baltimore race's status as a part of its “State of the Sport” on Feb. 13.