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Promoters pull out of Boston Grand Prix – Metro US

Promoters pull out of Boston Grand Prix

Promoters pull out of Boston Grand Prix
File

The promoters of the Boston Grand Prix had a lot of colorful things to say about city hall after announcing Friday that they were canceling their planned Labor Day race in the Seaport.

“I feel like I got out of an abusive relationship,” Grand Prix head John Casey told the Boston Herald Friday night. “We’ve done everything that the city and the state agencies have asked us to do. They made us jump through hoops. If there was any situation where we asked for something back — and we’re not talking about any funding or anything like that — but a concession, the answer was always no.”

“They engage the community, too,” he said of other cities, according to the Herald report. “That didn’t happen in Boston. The city and the state didn’t bring one sponsor to us. … Never in the history of street racing has there been an event where the host city didn’t have any skin in the game.”

“I’m writing a book about this whole process,” he told The Boston Globe. “It’s so ridiculous, it’s hysterical.”

The group faced opposition on Twitter and from some Seaport residents.

“The City of Boston will always be open to opportunities that will positively showcase our city, however as we continued to work with Boston Grand Prix they were unwilling or unable to meet the necessary requirements to hold an event of this size,” the city of Boston replied in a statement. “The Mayor feels strongly in protecting the taxpayers and limiting the impact to residents, and we are not shy that we held them to very high standards.”

The Herald reported that the race will now move to Providence. The 2.2-mile race was scheduled for Sept. 2-4 this year.