Miami will host a Formula One Grand Prix in May 2021, subject to local government approval, after the sport’s governing body announced a deal on Tuesday with the city’s Hard Rock Stadium.
F1 and local organisers in April abandoned plans to hold an annual race in downtown Miami after local businesses and residents objected.
Organisers then turned their attention to building a racetrack on the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium – home to the Miami Dolphins and owned by the NFL team’s owner Stephen Ross.
The real estate mogul will fund construction of the estimated $40 million custom track and cover all race costs, the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday.
A company owned by the American billionaire has been lined up as the potential promoter.
“We are thrilled to announce that Formula One and Hard Rock Stadium have reached an agreement in principle to host the first-ever Formula One Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium,” Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel and Sean Bratches, F1’s managing director of commercial operations, said in a joint statement to the media publication.
“With an estimated annual impact of more than $400 million and 35,000 room nights, the Formula One Miami Grand Prix will be an economic juggernaut for South Florida each and every year…
“We look forward to bringing the greatest racing spectacle on the planet for the first time to one of the world’s most iconic and glamorous regions.”
The plan is expected to be met with opposition from Miami Gardens residents and businesses and will need the approval of the Miami-Dade County Commission to go forward.
The race would be a second grand prix in the United States, with the other in Austin, Texas.