Austin Metoyer, 36, remembers the sounds when he was growing up in Long Beach — the pervasive, bee-like hum that filled the air across the big city by the sea.
When his dad took him to his first Grand Prix of Long Beach, the sounds were bigger.
And louder.
“Too loud,” he declared to his dad.
Today, Metoyer is president and CEO of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance — which means he’s engulfed in everything Grand Prix this time of year. The race event now, he said, “is a well-oiled machine.”
Over the course of 50 years, the Grand Prix has roared its way into becoming the biggest annual event in the city, which was once humbly known as “Iowa by the Sea” and for its Midwest-themed picnics.
Will it endure for another half a century?
That’s impossible to say.
But no one seems to be betting against it.
There is some consensus that the springtime weekend filled with race cars — drawing close to 200,000 people these days — is here to stay and will likely be around for a very long time.
It also now bears the famous name of auto racing icon Roger Penske.
In November, Penske Entertainment acquired the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, buying it from Gerald R. Forsythe, and giving the event one of the most recognizable name brands in car racing.
“This race and its loyal fans matter so much to everyone across the IndyCar community,” Penske said in November, “and we’re looking forward to a very special 50th anniversary celebration in April.”
Penske owned the Ontario Motor Speedway in the 1970s and was instrumental in constructing and developing California Speedway in Fontana. He also owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Brickyard 400.
As for Long Beach, the immediate future will be busy, with the 2028 Olympics descending on Long Beach just a few months after the that year’sGrand Prix, requiring some advance logistical planning for the two events that already is underway. Long Beach is set to host 16 games, including sailing, rowing and other water events. Neighboring San Pedro, however, continues to press its case to bring some of those events to the other side of the harbor.
The separated timing of the two events, however, should help make setting up and planning for both the Olympic Games and the Grand Prix feasible to pull off, said Jim Michaelian, 82, the president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.
“The 2028 Grand Prix will conclude in the early part of April,” he said, with the Olympics coming in August of that year.
As it stands now, the Grand Prix has an agreement with the city that runs through 2028, Michaelian said.
“Then we’ll sit down and discuss what the future looks like,” he said. “We have a stable of sponsors — 38 of them — so that forms a fairly substantial base.”
From its humble beginnings to a metamorphosis — of both the city and the event — the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach has become a defining part of the town, with a 1.968-mile street course that surrounds the Convention & Entertainment Center. It is the most prestigious and longest-running street course race in North America.
As time went on, Michaelian said, the event grew to attract far more than just “hard-core” race fans. Most attendees, he said — around 65% to 70% — typically attend one race a year, filling up the rest of their weekend stay with family-focused events that include the Family Fun Zone, mini go-carts, interactive games, food and life entertainment. The weekend offers the kind of attractions that gives it staying power, supporters said.
Last year, Michaelian said, the Grand Prix drew 194,000 people over the course of the weekend, “a record high for the modern racing era. We’d like to beat that number this year. All bodes well for the continuation of the programs we’ve put into place and new ones so the event can continue to be fresh.”
The race is also keeping pace with technology and the greening of the environment, he said, with hybrid cars competing this year and vehicles that will be testing out new fuels “that are almost 100% carbon free. That’s the future where we’re headed.”
Tire technology is also part of the evolution, Michaelian said, with tires sourced from more sustainable products other than byproducts of rubber.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, meanwhile, is a relatively new fan — though that’s still more than a decade — having become aware of the Grand Prix in college.
“We’d hear the cars all over town,” he said. “But I never bought a ticket to go until I was working for the city in 2010 and 2011. I was blown away.”
The race, Richardson said, is all part of the city’s rapid growth and legacy that includes a revamped waterfront and a soon-to-come amphitheater, a “walkable downtown, great restaurants, an entertainment legacy from War to Snoop Dog and Warren G and Sublime.”
Long Beach, he said, is becoming a “world-class entertainment destination.” And the Grand Prix is part of that.
The race draws fans, drivers and news coverage from all around the world, the mayor said, and gives residents “a chance to see our city in a different light.”
Still, over time, Metoyer said, it’s conceivable that the city’s growth and other changes could tweak the race layout.
“There’s always room for flexibility and evolution,” he said. “There could certainly be some opportunity and rethinking on how the circuit could be laid out.”
Long Beach City Manager Tom Modica said the city looks at the race in “five- and 10-year increments” in terms of the permits and planning needed. It is, he said, creating “a city within a city.”
Among future planning that could have connections to the race will be how the city decides to use the 13-acre, so-called “elephant lot,” nicknamed for its earlier use in hosting circuses. The undeveloped parcel near the waterfront also serves as a staging area for race crews and for parking, and brainstorming about how it can or should be used is ongoing in the city.
The race itself, said Steve Goodling, president and CEO of Visit Long Beach, has become a “badge of honor” for the city — since it draws far more than just race fans.
“It reminds me of the people who go to college football games but love the tailgate parties,” Goodling said. “It’s not so much about the game, it’s about the party. Some people go for the socialization.
“There are the cars, the crowds, the food, the drinks, it’s just a big day out with the kids,” Goodling said. “It’s a fun day out in Southern California and on the Pacific Ocean. And it doesn’t get any better than that.”
How long will it last?
“I believe it’ll outlive all of us,” Goodling said.