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The Miami Herald reported that a discussion on
a race contract had been scheduled for July 26 but will now have
to wait until after the City Commission's August recess.
It said the delay was to get more input from downtown residents
but quoted City Manager Emilio Gonzalez as saying plans to hold
a grand prix in October 2019 had not been derailed.
"We want to make sure we do this right," he said. "It's a big
event."
Gonzalez was authorized by Miami commissioners in May to
negotiate a 10-year contract with Formula One on a layout yet to
be determined.
The Herald said many downtown and Port Miami residents had
expressed concerns about the proposal and potential road
closures, noise and traffic problems.
Formula One currently has only one race in the United States, at
the purpose-built Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, but
commercial rights holders Liberty Media see the region as a key
growth area.
A fan festival is already scheduled for Miami this year, in the
same week as the Oct. 21 U.S. Grand Prix.
A group calling itself the Better Florida Alliance
(www.betterfloridaalliance.org) has already organized a petition
headlined "Say no to Formula One closing Miami streets".
The south Florida city has never before hosted a Formula One
championship grand prix, although it has hosted a round of the
all-electric Formula E series.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Hockenheim, editing by Clare
Fallon)
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