Tickets for the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will go on sale next week, just two months after this year’s race — delayed from its usual April running because of the coronavirus pandemic — took over downtown streets following a nearly 2 1/2-year hiatus.
The pandemic was also the reason the 2020 race was canceled.
The three-day Grand Prix of Long Beach, set for April 8 to 10 next year, is the city’s biggest annual event, closing local streets, drawing thousands from across Southern California and contributing millions of dollars to the local economy. The 47th running of the main IndyCar Series event will take place on Sunday, April 10. It will be the third race of 17 on the IndyCar schedule — a little more than six months after the Long Beach street race ended the 2021 season.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29.
“We are delighted to return to our traditional April race dates in 2022,” Jim Michaelian, CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, said in a statement. “Two months ago, our 2021 event went off very successfully after being delayed due to the pandemic.
“Now we get to bring the excitement and family fun back to the streets of Long Beach in the spring,” he added. “It’s going to be a weekend full of activity for the entire family.”
Colton Herta, of Santa Clarita, won the 46th running in September in the season-finale. Alex Palou’s fourth-place finish was good enough for the 24-year-old to win the IndyCar Series championship, making him the first Spaniard to win the title.
It was the first time the Grand Prix of Long Beach decided the series champion, as it is typically one of the early races on the schedule.
Michaelian said he is ultra-confident his staff can handle putting on races within seven months of one another, and he was more than pleased with the turnout in September under the pandemic protocols that had to be followed for a mega-event in California. Attendees had to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test, and wear masks.
The three racing days brought 180,000 fans. That was down about 4% from the high-water mark of 187,000 in 2019, Michaelian said.
“Under the circumstances and the conditions and some of the uncertainties that were there,” Michaelian said in a Friday, Nov. 26, phone interview, “we were very satisfied with the way the turnout was.
“You can’t help but feel very positive about those types of circumstances going into next April’s event,” he added.
The Long Beach City Council has also given the Grand Prix Association permission to leave up 1,062 roadside concrete blocks along certain streets in the city, reducing set up time by three days for April’s event. The blocks can remain along Seaside Way, within the Elephant Lot and along Shoreline Drive east of Pine Avenue.
Doing so will save the association an estimated $89,000, according to a city staff report from October.
Details regarding what coronavirus protocols will need to be followed for April’s race will be announced in the coming months.
For ticket information and to purchase tickets, fans can go to gplb.com or call 888-827-7333. Single-day purchases, as well as three-day packages, are available. Seating for those with disabilities is available and prepaid parking packages can also be purchased, as can paddock passes.
All the IndyCar stars are expected to compete in April, including four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.