Race track construction begins for Acura Grand Prix in downtown Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- After a year off, the Acura Grand Prix will take place this Fall on the streets of downtown Long Beach.

"The track never gets bigger but I would say the grand stands definitely do," said Andrew Myorga with the Laborers' International Union of North America.

Over the course of eight weeks, some downtown streets will be transformed into an 11-turn racing circuit.

"Don't forget this will be our 46th version of this race. We've been doing this since 1975 and I can tell you the landscape this event takes place in has changed considerably over that period of time," said Jim Michaelian, who is the president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.

Last year, the race was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. It normally takes place in April, but this year it will happen Sept. 24-26.

"Obviously, we're going to be cognizant of what's going on with regard to the pandemic. We're going to work with the Long Beach Health Department and other health officials to make sure we have a safe environment here," added Michaelian.

The race attracts people from all over and officials say they're expecting more than 180,000 people in September.

A big event needs a lot of man power which is why up to 15 workers are outside, sometimes seven days a week, building the race track and grand stands.

"It could be anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a day because of the limited amount of time we have to build the track. It really fluctuates our scheduling because we only really have eight weeks to do it," shared Myorga.

You can expect to see around 100 drivers in the heart of downtown Long Beach this fall.

All of the ticket and race details can be found on the Grand Prix website, gplb.com.

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