[CaddyRich]

Boat race draws 80,000 to 90,000 spectators to Michigan City

Officials hope to bring race back to region in 2010


Stan Maddux - Times Correspondent | Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009 1:15 pm | (2) Comments



MICHIGAN CITY | Tourism officials estimate 80,000 to 90,000 people attended the first power boat race hosted along Michigan City's shoreline.

The three-day Great Lakes Grand Prix, which began Friday with time trials and ended Sunday with racing, far exceeded the 20,000 to 30,000 attendance expected.

"It got us by surprise," said Jack Arnett, executive director of the LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Arnett said the bulk of the attendance was Sunday with an estimated 60,000 with many onlookers perched on both sides of the catwalk extending out to the historic lighthouse.

Traffic from people going to the race Sunday stretched from Washington Park to U.S. 12 with overflow parking directed to a lot across from Blue Chip Casino.

Lake Michigan conditions were choppy Sunday forcing some boats that can reach speeds of more than 200 miles per hour to races at 30 to 40 miles per hour slower.

"We couldn't get close to those speeds. We were shocked at how rough it was," said Jay Muller of New Jersey, the throttle man in one of the racing boats.

Greg Smith of Syracuse, N.Y., was among the crew aboard Aquamania, a 50-foot speed boat with 1,850 horsepower.

He said all of the necessary safety precautions are taken including helicopters flying above during the race in what he acknowledged was a dangerous sport.

"There have been a lot of deaths but usually it's from equipment failure," Smith said.

Arnett said contracts have already been signed that create the possibility the Great Lakes Grand Prix will be held for at least the next two years.

He said negotiations will soon be held to firm up those plans and Arnett sees no reason the race won't return in 2010.

Arnett said a lot of out of towners at the race were from the Chicago area but some came from as far away as Canada.

He said work still has to be done to calculate the economic impact the race had on the area but many area hotels and motels were completely booked for the event.

Michigan City was added this year to the series of nearly a dozen races by Super Boat International, which stages competitions in places like Key West, Fla., and New York City.

"You always hope you exceed what you're hoping for and it did by far," Arnett said.



60,000 on Sunday? Here? I know I didn't start celebrating that early...

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=25078

Super boats
Great Lakes Grand Prix a success

Editorial

Michigan City had a super weekend with the Super Boat International boat races in Lake Michigan. Visitors jammed the Washington Park beach to see the huge, powerful racing boats roar back and forth, in what looked like the largest crowd here in modern history.

Bringing the boat races to Michigan City was a huge success for the La Porte County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Director Jack Arnett and sports development manager Jason Miller are to be commended for attracting the boat race, and we hope it becomes part of the annual circuit.

The Great Lakes Grand Prix, was the only race in the Super Boat International series on the Great Lakes. Most are in Florida, with the others in New York City and North Carolina. That puts Michigan City in some exclusive company as a host to what the Super Boat Web site describes as "Boat Racing of the Rich and Famous."

And that's exactly where Michigan City deserves to be, showcasing its beautiful Lake Michigan and awesome sandy beaches.

Not only were beaches lines with spectators, scores of boaters watched from the lake side. "It was the largest spectator fleet for a first-time event he's ever seen," media contact Rodrick Cox said Super Boat Interenational President John Carbonell said.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau is preparing an estimate of the economic impact of hosting the boat races, but whatever the finding, the Grand Prix definitely brought a lot of visitors and their money to Michigan City, which is exactly the mission of the bureau.

Boating and recreation on Lake Michigan, at Washington Park and on the beach are what make Michigan City unique. Surely our visitors will take great memories with them, spread the word around the region and the nation, and come back again to enjoy our hospitality.






Our Opinion:
The Issue:

The La Porte County Convention and Visitors Bureau's mission is to bring visitors.

Our Opinion:

The bureau did a terrific job bringing thousands of visitors this weekend.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=340718&FS=

OSS: Peppers Racing Michigan City summary
Racing series BOAT
Date 2009-08-14

August, 2009: Indianapolis, IN: The dynamic father and son team of George and Michael Stancombe continued their offshore race domination at the first annual Superboat International event in Michigan City, IN. With 40,000 plus spectators on Sunday morning, Lucas Oil racing was looking forward to conquering Lake Michigan, in Lucas Oil Products and Lucas Oil/ PEPPERS racing home state. As the winds shifted from Saturdays testing, Lake Michigan reared it ugly head and turned unpredictable. " We set up the boat after Saturday's great test session. When Sunday morning rolled around, it was time to change the set-up" stated Lucas Oil driver George Stancombe. An early morning change was made by our crew and we were ready to bring home a checkered flag
for our team"

The tight course challenged all the boat entries as fans from all over the Midwest and Canada watched in amazement along the beachfront viewing areas. . GREEN FLAG! GREEN FLAG ! Throttleman, Mike Stancombe said "After the drop of the flag we were washed down and had to get into another lane. 8 laps later we were finally in the lead and never looked back!"

Check your local CBS listings for SBI racing on the CBS Sports Spectacular starting October 3, and succeeding Saturdays at 2p.m EST

-credit: www.peppersracing.com

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=45620.98

City great venue for boat races
I was excited when I first read about the Super Boat races coming to Michigan City, happy when I read how successful they were, and disappointed that I could not be there. I went to Saugatuck, Mich., for several years when they had the offshore races there and thoroughly enjoyed it.

These races are a winning combination because they draw a lot big spenders but still provide great spectator action for little or no dollars, an all-around great boost to the local economy, not to mention the national and world-wide exposure the community gets.

I always felt that Michigan City had an excellent venue for these type of races, mainly because of the close access to the lake from the pit area, plus the long stretch of beach area available for people to watch from. The biggest problem with the races being in Saugatuck was the long distance the high powered race boats had to travel from the pits out to the lake. This is not good for the high performance motors in these type of boats.

I hope that this will become a regular event on the circuit, because both the racing organization and the community will benefit from it.

Barry Young

Green Valley, Ariz.

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=39915.43

Area briefs for Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009
Boat race will air Oct. 31

on CBS

MICHIGAN CITY - The 2009 Great Lakes Grand Prix offshore powerboat race run Aug. 9 in Michigan City will air on CBS at 1 p.m. Saturday Oct. 31, the La Porte County Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced.

The race will be aired as part of an eight-episode run on CBS that will feature each of Super Boat International's nine 2009 races. The CBS schedule begins with coverage of the season's first two races, in Miami and Marathon, Fla., on Oct. 2, and will feature episodes on races in Fort Lauderdale and Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 10 and 24, respectively.

Airing after the Great Lakes Grand Prix will be the New York Superboat Grand Prix on Nov. 7, the Crystal Coast Grand Prix, from Morehead City, N.C., on Nov. 21, the SBI National Championships from Clearwater, Fla., on Nov. 28 and the SBI World Championships from Key West, Fla., on Dec. 19.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/56369667.html

Great Lakes Grand Prix boosts Michigan City's economy
Michigan City, IN
Over 80,000 spectators attended the three day event earlier this month. The money was made through dining, shopping, gaming and lodging

The Great Lakes Grand Prix did more than make a splash in Michigan City.

It gave the local economy a big boost.

The LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau says the powerboat race injected more than $6-million into the local economy.

Over 80,000 spectators attended the three day event earlier this month.

The money was made through dining, shopping, gaming and lodging.

This was the first year for the Great Lakes Grand Prix in Michigan City.

Race officials say they've never seen such huge crowds for a first time event.

[taxthedeer]

The boat race was truly an overwelming success, everyone involved with it deserves a big pat on the back.

[ChickenCityRoller]

I wonder how they were able to extrapulate the number six million? Is it a guess?

[Southsider2k12]

I wonder how they were able to extrapulate the number six million? Is it a guess?

That sounds like almost $100 per person. They must have figured out an average of what people did while they were here...

[leo36]

That sounds like almost $100 per person. They must have figured out an average of what people did while they were here...

Good guess 29.
We have a company that provides this service for organizations such as ours all over the country.
We use very solid numbers from that company to come up with our numbers.