{"id":805361,"date":"2026-07-16T09:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/805361\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:40:16","slug":"markham-is-hosting-an-indycar-race-next-month-is-the-city-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/805361\/","title":{"rendered":"Markham is hosting an IndyCar race next month. Is the city ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After nearly a year of planning, Markham, a city with a population of just over 330,000 is getting set to do something usually reserved for cities like Toronto, Montreal, Las Vegas or Chicago: host an internationally televised motorsports race on streets that local residents drive on every day.<\/p>\n

The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham will take place in the city from Friday, Aug. 14 to Sunday, Aug. 16, and the city says it\u2019s ready to welcome the drivers along with tens of thousands of race fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the city of Markham, we think big and we act big\u201d, said Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti. \u201cNo doubt Markham is going to be on the international stage. It\u2019s a moment for us to shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race was previously held in Toronto on the grounds of Exhibition Place and was a staple of the NTT IndyCar Series calendar for nearly 40 years. Last September, organizers announced a five-year deal to bring the race to the streets of Markham.<\/p>\n

The 3.52-kilometre, 12-turn course will take place partially on the grounds of the Unionville GO station and will also see drivers race around the York University Markham Campus and the Markham Pan Am Centre. <\/p>\n

\"AThe 3.52-kilometre 12-turn course will take place partially on the grounds of the Unionville GO station and will see drivers race around the York University Markham Campus and the Markham Pan Am Centre. (Credit\/Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham)<\/p>\n

In the last 10 months, the city says it has completed all construction activities it is responsible for, \u201cincluding pit lanes, access road widening and road resurfacing,” City of Markham spokesperson Cindy Watson told CBC News.<\/p>\n

Race promoters began erecting grandstand seating for fans this week, and further track construction will get underway in the coming days.<\/p>\n

“We knew once that agreement was signed, we had to work like heck to get things done and we did,” Scarpitti said.<\/p>\n

\"GrandstandGrandstand construction for the event began this week. Organizers say they will begin placing barriers along the track in the coming weeks. (Pelin Sidki\/CBC)<\/p>\n

While working with a new city on a large-scale event like this comes with challenges, organizers say the relationship between them and the city has only gotten better over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s probably been the closest municipal relationship I\u2019ve ever experienced in my 20-year plus career,\u201d said Jeff Atkinson, president of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city of Markham cares very deeply about its residents and the people that are coming into the city. [We\u2019ve been] working closely with the local municipality and the tourism arm, Destination Markham, and making sure people can enjoy themselves beyond just race days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Race weekend \u2018close to a sellout\u2019: hotel association<\/p>\n

The three-day event is projected to draw approximately 150,000 visitors throughout the weekend, with the largest crowd on Sunday, according to the city of Markham. The event is free to attend on Friday.<\/p>\n

While official attendance won\u2019t be known until closer to race weekend, Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which hosts the race, is positive about what it’s seeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are beyond thrilled with how things are shaping up,\u201d Atkinson said.<\/p>\n

\"UniversityThe city of Markham repaved all roads along the track route. Roads that will be used for the event include Enterprise Blvd., Kennedy Rd. and University Blvd. Some other streets will be closed to residents during the race weekend. (Tyson Lautenschlager\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The Greater Toronto Hotels Association says bookings are trending in a positive direction, with occupancy rates in the northeast areas of the GTA at about 60 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople make their decisions a little bit closer to the event date,\u201d said Sara Anghel, president and CEO of the GTHA. \u201cIn general with tourism, people are making decisions a little bit later than in past years due to different economic times.”<\/p>\n

“In speaking with some of the hotels recently, they’re expecting that a lot of them will be sold out for the Indy during that time,” she added.<\/p>\n

The city is hopeful hosting the event will create an economic boom for restaurants, local businesses and hotels across York Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Canada\u2019s only Indy race and it\u2019s going to bring 150,000 people to this community. We look forward to welcoming everybody to the city of Markham,\u201d Scarpitti said.<\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor Frank Scarpitti says hosting the NTT IndyCar Series is a moment for Markham to ‘shine’ as the city expects the event to create an economic boost for the community. (Pelin Sidki\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Anyone attending the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham is encouraged to take GO Transit, use York Region Transit or drive to the event via Highway 407. Parking will be available to the west of the event grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several roads will be closed in the days leading up to the event. Residents can find a full list of closures on the city\u2019s website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-805361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}