{"id":88315,"date":"2026-02-26T16:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88315"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:04:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:04:38","slug":"construction-underway-for-grand-prix-of-long-beach-as-it-begins-era-under-new-owner-penske","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/do\/construction-underway-for-grand-prix-of-long-beach-as-it-begins-era-under-new-owner-penske","title":{"rendered":"Construction underway for Grand Prix of Long Beach as it begins era under new owner Penske"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As President and CEO Jim Michaelian begins his final run at the helm, construction crews in downtown Long Beach are once again assembling the street circuit for the Grand Prix of Long Beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday morning, crews celebrated the start of preparations as Mayor Rex Richardson, representatives from Acura and Honda marketing, and members of Laborers’ International Union of North America attended a press conference, marking the beginning of downtown\u2019s transformation for the circuit taking place April 17-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the preparations, Michaelian is preparing to step aside after more than 50 years, passing day-to-day leadership of the event to successor Jim Liaw. Michaelian said his top priority throughout the process was finding a successor who embodies the values of the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe important thing to say is this event\u2019s objective has always been to provide three days of entertainment,\u201d Michaelian said. \u201cI really wanted to make sure that whoever my successor was compatible with our organization, the city and our sponsors, and had a full understanding of what this event was all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jim Michaelian, center, talks with Jim Liaw, right, and Mayor Rex Richardson before a press conference in Long Beach on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Liaw, who co-founded the Formula Drift racing series, looks forward to expanding the heritage and legacy Michaelian built for the city since 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJim has been a part of this organization for 51 years since day one. It’s kind of the analogy of building sky-rises and building buildings,\u201d Liaw said. \u201cYou need a really solid foundation and that\u2019s what Jim and the team really built. I think there\u2019s still a lot of opportunity for the Grand Prix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction crews are now focused on building out the 1.97-mile, 11-turn street circuit, installing grandstands, safety fencing and barriers along the downtown course. However, looking ahead, Michaelian said he is excited to see a new and improved Grand Prix under new leadership and ownership. Penske Entertainment purchased the race<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson shakes hands with Jim Liaw, who will soon become President and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, as work begins on the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach racetrack on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a new owner here called Penske, and now they are starting to invest significant dollars building a huge hospitality complex here along pit lane,\u201d Michaelian said. \u201cWe’re gonna replace a lot of the older seats with new aluminum seats, and we’re gonna beautify the circuit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the race is still a month and a half away, fans can purchase tickets online, with children 13 and under receiving free admission. For more information and ticket options, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday marked the beginning of preparations for one of Long Beach\u2019s signature sporting events, with crews working on streets, structures, and safety measures, while leadership looks ahead to changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":88317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32367],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32359],"class_list":["post-88315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-do","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88324,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88315\/revisions\/88324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88315"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88315"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}