{"id":268335,"date":"2026-04-15T02:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/268335\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T02:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:23:12","slug":"the-grand-prix-of-long-beach-is-getting-a-makeover-whittier-daily-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/268335\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grand Prix of Long Beach is getting a makeover \u2013 Whittier Daily News"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s Grand Prix of Long Beach<\/a> may look a little different.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, with help from the event\u2019s new owner, Penske Entertainment, is taking steps to remodel and touch-up various aspects of the massive event concourse, ranging from replacing old grandstands to planting new flowers and everything in between.<\/p>\n

But the many upgrades the Grand Prix\u2019s organizers have in mind won\u2019t happen all at once, according to association CEO and President Jim Liaw, who said in a Tuesday interview the changes are planned over several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be an overnight renovation,\u201d Liaw said. \u201cOver the course of the next few years, we\u2019re going to start to assess and address everything to make sure that our patrons are walking into a top-notch facility where they can enjoy the weekend or the day that they spend here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penske acquired the Grand Prix of Long Beach in November 2024,<\/a> just a few months before the 50th anniversary edition of the event was set to get underway in April 2025.<\/p>\n

The company, at the time, announced its plans to help enhance the experience of the Long Beach race\u2019s fans, but because planning for the 2025 event was nearly complete at the time of the Penske purchase, there was little opportunity for new additions to the three-day racing fest.<\/p>\n

\"Worker<\/p>\n

Worker dismantle grandstands along Shoreline Drive the day after the 50th Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"For<\/p>\n

For the first time, the 2024 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach\u2019s Lifestyle Expo will feature an advanced simulated racing tournament, called the \u201cDyn X Challenge,\u201d for fans to participate in during race weekend. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Indycar<\/p>\n

Indycar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou making his way through the streets of Long Beach during the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Race<\/p>\n

Race fans will notice improvements this year around the course. People move past the grandstands along Shoreline Dr. during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 4<\/p>\n

Worker dismantle grandstands along Shoreline Drive the day after the 50th Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, meanwhile, marks the first iteration of the event with full Penske involvement.<\/p>\n

And this year, the company stuck to its promise of making upgrades to the event, some of which will be on display during the Grand Prix this weekend, Friday to Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Grand Prix in itself has operated for over 50 years and is foundationally quite solid,\u201d Liaw said. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty well-oiled machine. But with that, I think the challenge becomes (how we can) enhance the look, the feel, the experience for eventgoers.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, work has already begun on a three-year plan to replace all of the Grand Prix\u2019s grandstands. About a third, or around 10,000, of the grand stands have already been upgraded for this year\u2019s event, and a new double-decker Pit Lane suite has been installed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve done this particular structure, and we are doing the final touches on it from an operational standpoint and making sure we provide all the necessary things, like there\u2019s an air conditioned climate-controlled area in the suite,\u201d Liaw said, \u201cand we have to make sure that we have (ADA) accessibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new suites, Liaw added, will provide racegoers with a new vantage point and a new way to experience the race.<\/p>\n

Besides those changes, several other beautification efforts are already underway at the Grand Prix\u2019s venue. Exposed scaffolding that makes up the many temporary structures around the concourse, for example, will be covered with scrim \u2014 a dense fabric \u2014 in an effort to make the event more aesthetically pleasing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to cover up a little bit of the rawness that\u2019s been exposed in years past,\u201d Liaw said of that effort.<\/p>\n

But staffers are also working to employ other small changes aimed at making big visual differences at the event, including pressure washing walkways and other areas, planting fresh flowers and other flora, and repainting walls.<\/p>\n

\u201c(There are) a lot of nooks and crannies in this facility, so we\u2019ll make sure that we are diligent in walking every part of the facility like a fan would,\u201d Liaw said. \u201cWe have a team of people kind of going through and trying to just make it as immaculate as possible for that race fan that\u2019s walking in Friday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from those smaller-scale changes, this year\u2019s Grand Prix also features various new murals throughout the venue<\/a>, which were created in collaboration with the nonprofit Creative Class Collective in an effort to tell the story of the race\u2019s history and Long Beach\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n

\"SomethingSomething new this year includes murals ilike this one by artist, Jamiene \u201cDLUX\u201d Andreozzi walkimg next to her mural of a female racer in a pedestrian bridge on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

Liaw, meanwhile, said that since the 2026 Grand Prix marks the first year these changes are being implemented, there will be a bit of a learning curve.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019ve missed (anything) this weekend, it\u2019s something that we\u2019re going to notate for our future,\u201d Liaw said, \u201cand we\u2019ll address it with our internal team as well as our key partners to make sure that\u2019s on the checklist for things to change or to fix for next year\u2019s race.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s Grand Prix of Long Beach may look a little different. That\u2019s because the Grand Prix Association…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,131,28942,133,132,137,100],"class_list":["post-268335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-grand-prix","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}