St. Petersburg has been dropped from the Grand Prix race schedule, ending the city's dream of landing a spot on the 2004 circuit.
By CARRIE JOHNSON and BRANT JAMES
Published February 26, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - After months of delays, twists and setbacks, hopes for a 2004 Grand Prix were officially dashed Wednesday when the race's promoter announced St. Petersburg was dropped from this year's schedule.
Open Wheel Racing Series, the Indianapolis company that would have staged the event, said it couldn't gain approval of rights to the race.
Under the original contract, former general manager Tom Begley had the right to approve a change in ownership. Despite lengthy negotiations, Begley refused to drop his objections to the deal.
"The city of St. Petersburg, under the leadership of Mayor Rick Baker, provided phenomenal support as we tried to reach an agreement to hold the race," said Dick Eidswick, Open Wheel's president. "Unfortunately, individuals unrelated to (Open Wheel) kept that from happening."
City officials expressed disappointment at the loss, but remained hopeful that a Grand Prix race could still be in the city's future.
"I think the more Open Wheel has looked at St. Petersburg, the more excited they have become about this city," Baker said.
St. Petersburg hosted its first major Grand Prix in February 2003. While not a financial success, the event drew more than 50,000 fans for the weekend and was broadcast internationally. The course, which wound through downtown streets past the city's waterfront, drew raves from drivers, who praised its size and speed.
But plans for the 2004 race soon ran into obstacles.
Dover Motorsports, former promoter of the race, removed Begley from his post as general manager and appointed him head of the Grand Prix Foundation, the charitable branch of the event. Begley called it a "figurehead position" and hired Tampa attorney Jonathan Alpert to represent him.
Then Dover pulled out of the event, intending to leave it in the hands of cash-strapped Championship Auto Racing Team. In December, CART officials announced they were filing for bankruptcy and postponing St. Petersburg's 2004 race indefinitely.
The city won a reprieve in January after a U.S. bankruptcy judge awarded CART's assets to newly created Open Wheel, which announced its intentions to stage a race in St. Petersburg this year. The event was tentatively scheduled for May 14-16.
But this month, Open Wheel announced it wouldn't move forward with the 2004 race unless Begley dropped a lawsuit and gave up his rights to the race. Begley refused, saying he was doubtful a successful event could be staged by May.
Begley on Wednesday referred questions to his lawyer, Alpert, but said he was not concerned by Open Wheel's decision.
Alpert said Begley will press forward with his lawsuit, in which he is seeking recovery of losses in excess of $750,000. Despite Open Wheel's accusations, he said Begley did not block the race: He only questioned whether Open Wheel could put on a successful event.
"Basically, nobody discussed it with us from Dover or Open Wheel," Alpert said. "It wasn't a question of preventing, it was a question of the old television commercial, "Where's the beef?' Where's the commitment? Where's the money?"
But Begley may have some debts to settle, too. Begley still owes the city about $40,000 for space he rented to store equipment for earlier races. Council member John Bryan said it might be time for Begley to pay that bill.
"The city has done a lot for Tom Begley over the years," Bryan said. "It's too bad a resolution to this couldn't have been worked out."
Meanwhile, Jerome Miraglia, Dover's executive vice president, flew to St. Petersburg on Feb. 17 to fire four people hired to oversee the Grand Prix, including general manager Timothy Ramsberger, who left a law practice to assume control of the race.
Now the office is deserted, except for several cardboard boxes filled with green beads bearing the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg logo.
"I got into this thinking it was going to be Thunder Road," Ramsberger said."It turned out to be the boulevard of broken dreams."
