CEO says Massport won't fund Indy Race in Boston

Boston Grand Prix sputters as Massport vows it won't pay for course fixes

By: Joe Battenfeld, Jordan Graham and Matt Stout

In what could be a coup de grace to Grand Prix racing in Boston, Massport and the Baker administration are refusing to spend public funds on road fixes and other costs event organizers say they need for the planned IndyCar race.

“I think it is a stretch to pull this off,” Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn told the Herald. “Certainly from a financial point of view they (event organizers) have to show they have all these resources available.”

Glynn said Boston Grand Prix representatives asked for changes in roads and sidewalks along the proposed race course in the Seaport District that he estimated would cost $500,000 — and that security and staffing would siphon off several hundred thousand dollars more in public funds.

The Massport CEO’s bracing comments deal a serious blow to plans by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and race organizers to stage a first-of-its-kind IndyCar road race in one of the nation’s oldest and most historic cities.

Glynn also seemed to contradict Walsh’s and race organizers’ claims that they aren’t requesting public money and that the event would be totally “privately funded.”

Glynn’s doubts about the ability of organizers to pull off the event come as Baker administration officials also distance themselves from the race and put the brakes on any public financing talks.

“The governor’s office has had no substantive discussions with Grand Prix organizers about public expenditures ... and the governor believes tax dollars should only be used to benefit the people of Massachusetts,” Baker spokesman Billy Pitman said.

Walsh signed a contract with Boston Grand Prix in May with no public input to stage an annual Labor Day road race, predicting it would draw up to 250,000 people to watch the IndyCar drivers battle it out on the streets of South Boston at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour. Walsh and Grand Prix’s consultants, including two former top Walsh aides, say the race won’t cost taxpayer money and that the city will be reimbursed for any costs of fixing the roads, building stands and providing security.

But the Herald reported this week that race organizers are negotiating with several state agencies that control jurisdiction over much of the course, and refuse to rule out the use of public money to support the event. The Herald also reported that other cities that have hosted similar road races have ponied up as much as $4 million in public money to cover costs of the event.

Kate Norton, a spokeswoman for Boston Grand Prix, disputed Glynn’s assessment of the financing, saying any cost estimates were “premature” and that “we are not requesting money from Massport.”

But Massport’s CEO, in the wide-ranging interview with the Herald, provided detailed descriptions of what race organizers are requesting, including cutting back sidewalks, eliminating a median strip on Congress Street, repaving streets and even removing lamp posts from the tourist-heavy Seaport District.

“I think there’s a number of things here that have to get sorted out, but we’ve said, what you’re asking us to do on the capital side is very elaborate and we think will cost $500,000,” Glynn said.

And Glynn made clear he won’t approve any public costs for the event, despite claims by Walsh and race organizers that it will make up for any costs by injecting millions of dollars into the economy.

“I don’t see any argument for us subsidizing a private for-profit. There are a lot of things that people want to do around town,” he said.


Boston Grand Prix is also talking to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation about the use of state roads and have met with state tourism officials to help promote the event, the Herald has reported.


But officials from MassDOT and the tourism office yesterday emphasized they have made no commitments and issued no permits for the venture.

Walsh, meanwhile, continued to defend the race, despite mounting opposition from some residents and criticism from public watchdogs about the cost.

“I think in the city, if we start fighting every single issue that we’re bringing in here, it’s going to be a problem,” Walsh said. “People are excited about it ... It’s not the Olympics, it’s not a big venue where the city is going to be slowed down for four weeks. We’re talking about a three-day weekend, Labor Day weekend.”