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MONTREAL — The Canadian Grand Prix officially received the green light to rejoin the Formula One circuit.
Officials from the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as Tourism Montreal, on Friday announced a five-year, $75-million deal had been accepted by F-1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to bring the race back to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, beginning next year.
This year, the Canadian race was dropped from the F-1 calendar for the first time in more than 20 years following a contractual dispute between Ecclestone and former promoter Grand Prix F1 du Canada under CEO Normand Legault.
Next year’s race will be held June 13 and will be the eighth of 19 races on what is still a provisional schedule for 2010.
“The return of the Grand Prix was very important for Montreal,” said Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay. “Important for the international notoriety of Quebec’s metropolis. Important for the economic benefits. Important for the hotels, the restaurants, the retail outlets and their workers, but also important for our fans.
“Today, Formula One says ‘Yes’ to Montreal and Montreal says ‘Yes’ to Formula One, but not at any price,” Tremblay added. “We wanted a world-class event, but we wanted our investment [to] respect the capacity of our taxpayers to pay.
“We succeeded because throughout our negotiations we were very prudent, very patient, but we spoke with one voice. This is really a win-win situation for all parties, and it’s truly a great day for Montreal because we are in the pole position for the 13th of June 2010.”
The federal government and Tourism Montreal each will contribute $5-million annually for the duration of the deal, the provincial government will provide $4-million each year, and the city $1-million annually. In return, all parties will split a 30% share of ticket sales.
Federal Public Works Minister Christian Paradis said the Conservative government was committed to supporting the country’s foremost recreational tourism event, one which Nicole Menard, Quebec’s tourism minister, said “delivers some $89-million in economic fallout each year, along with 75,000 overnight hotel stays.”
Said Paradis: “Acting on behalf of our taxpayers has always been one of our prime concerns and this agreement advances that goal. The funding in question will provide direct and tangible leveraging support to our economy. This is an excellent outcome for all concerned.”
Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand also called it “a win-win situation” for Quebec and Canadian taxpayers.
“For the province itself, it results in annual tax revenues of more than $10-million,” Bachand said. “It’s a pretty good return for a $4-million investment, minus the revenues from ticket sales.”
For Tourism Montreal, a commitment of $5-million a year as a principal partner in the deal is unprecedented.
“Tourism Montreal already invests in many major events in Montreal, festivals, big conventions,” said Charles Lapointe, president and CEO of Tourism Montreal. “But $5-million, it’s the first time we go to that amount.
“But it has been done in close consultation with the membership, after all we are an association of members,” he added. “We first got agreement from the hotel association because there will be an increase of half per cent on the room tax, so I needed the blessing of the hotel community before being able to invest the amount we did.
“The half per cent will bring in to Tourism Montreal $3-million, and the additional $2-million is coming from my operating budget.”
Lapointe said the absence of the Grand Prix this year resulted in $22-million in losses to hotels.
“That, of course, included the restaurants and [retail] stores, but overall the losses were quite significant without the Grand Prix,” Lapointe added.
The $75-million deal, which includes an option to renew for an additional five years, is $100-million less than what Ecclestone initially demanded for a new five-year guaranteed contract when efforts to save the race began in earnest a year ago, following a decision by Ecclestone to drop Montreal from the 2009 calendar.
It’s believed Ecclestone agreed to drop his asking price for a variety of reasons, including the worldwide economic crisis, a new profit-sharing scheme contained in the sport’s top-secret Concorde Agreement, as well as pressure from F-1 teams and car manufacturers wanting to return to a potentially lucrative market in North America. In addition to the economic spinoff locally, the race here has a history of being one of the most watched by a worldwide television audience.
Officials from the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as Tourism Montreal, on Friday announced a five-year, $75-million deal had been accepted by F-1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to bring the race back to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, beginning next year.
This year, the Canadian race was dropped from the F-1 calendar for the first time in more than 20 years following a contractual dispute between Ecclestone and former promoter Grand Prix F1 du Canada under CEO Normand Legault.
Next year’s race will be held June 13 and will be the eighth of 19 races on what is still a provisional schedule for 2010.
“The return of the Grand Prix was very important for Montreal,” said Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay. “Important for the international notoriety of Quebec’s metropolis. Important for the economic benefits. Important for the hotels, the restaurants, the retail outlets and their workers, but also important for our fans.
“Today, Formula One says ‘Yes’ to Montreal and Montreal says ‘Yes’ to Formula One, but not at any price,” Tremblay added. “We wanted a world-class event, but we wanted our investment [to] respect the capacity of our taxpayers to pay.
“We succeeded because throughout our negotiations we were very prudent, very patient, but we spoke with one voice. This is really a win-win situation for all parties, and it’s truly a great day for Montreal because we are in the pole position for the 13th of June 2010.”
The federal government and Tourism Montreal each will contribute $5-million annually for the duration of the deal, the provincial government will provide $4-million each year, and the city $1-million annually. In return, all parties will split a 30% share of ticket sales.
Federal Public Works Minister Christian Paradis said the Conservative government was committed to supporting the country’s foremost recreational tourism event, one which Nicole Menard, Quebec’s tourism minister, said “delivers some $89-million in economic fallout each year, along with 75,000 overnight hotel stays.”
Said Paradis: “Acting on behalf of our taxpayers has always been one of our prime concerns and this agreement advances that goal. The funding in question will provide direct and tangible leveraging support to our economy. This is an excellent outcome for all concerned.”
Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand also called it “a win-win situation” for Quebec and Canadian taxpayers.
“For the province itself, it results in annual tax revenues of more than $10-million,” Bachand said. “It’s a pretty good return for a $4-million investment, minus the revenues from ticket sales.”
For Tourism Montreal, a commitment of $5-million a year as a principal partner in the deal is unprecedented.
“Tourism Montreal already invests in many major events in Montreal, festivals, big conventions,” said Charles Lapointe, president and CEO of Tourism Montreal. “But $5-million, it’s the first time we go to that amount.
“But it has been done in close consultation with the membership, after all we are an association of members,” he added. “We first got agreement from the hotel association because there will be an increase of half per cent on the room tax, so I needed the blessing of the hotel community before being able to invest the amount we did.
“The half per cent will bring in to Tourism Montreal $3-million, and the additional $2-million is coming from my operating budget.”
Lapointe said the absence of the Grand Prix this year resulted in $22-million in losses to hotels.
“That, of course, included the restaurants and [retail] stores, but overall the losses were quite significant without the Grand Prix,” Lapointe added.
The $75-million deal, which includes an option to renew for an additional five years, is $100-million less than what Ecclestone initially demanded for a new five-year guaranteed contract when efforts to save the race began in earnest a year ago, following a decision by Ecclestone to drop Montreal from the 2009 calendar.
It’s believed Ecclestone agreed to drop his asking price for a variety of reasons, including the worldwide economic crisis, a new profit-sharing scheme contained in the sport’s top-secret Concorde Agreement, as well as pressure from F-1 teams and car manufacturers wanting to return to a potentially lucrative market in North America. In addition to the economic spinoff locally, the race here has a history of being one of the most watched by a worldwide television audience.
Code:
http://www.canada.com/travel/Montreal+gets+Grand+Prix+back/2276269/story.html
