St. Pete Begins Firestone Grand Prix Transformation

The 11th annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg doesn’t race into town until March 27, but work has already begun to transform a portion of the city into a speedway.

To that end, the city of St. Petersburg has announced that motorists and pedestrians will want to be mindful of street closings and detours downtown from Albert Whitted Airport to north of Pioneer Park through about April 10.

Construction began Monday morning on the stretch of Bayshore Drive to First Street South with Albert Whitted Park also affected, the city noted in an email to media.

Detours will be in place and motorists can expect both Beach Drive and Central Avenue to remain open during the construction phase and throughout race weekend, March 27-29.

“Albert Whitted Park will remain closed to motorized and foot traffic until mid-April,” the city advised in its email. “To ensure everyone’s safety, race officials and St. Petersburg Police urge observing posted signage warning against entering closed construction sites.”

Major attractions such as the Mahaffey Theater, Al Lang Stadium, Albert Whitted Airport and the Dali Museum will remain open and accessible to patrons throughout the first phases of track construction, the city stated.

However, “beginning Monday, March 23, parking lots at the Mahaffey Theater and Dali will close, tentatively reopening on April 2,” the email stated. “Dali Museum parking will relocate to the Dolphin lot from March 23-25 and March 30-April 1 with complimentary shuttle transportation.”

The 15-race IndyCar Series brings an estimated 100,000 visitors from all over the world to St. Petersburg.

For more information on this year’s event, visit its website.

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