Start your engines, Cleveland — IndyCar could be zooming back into your future. The open-wheel racing league, looking to expand its city footprint, has set its sights on Ohio's second-largest city, potentially staging a comeback by 2028. IndyCar confirmed to Cleveland19 News that discussions to bring a street course race to downtown Cleveland are in motion, reviving memories of the Grand Prix days gone by.
Meanwhile, local backers are not standing still, with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission in early talks to turn these rubber-burning dreams into reality. According to a statement from the commission obtained by Crain's Cleveland Business, they're sizing up the chance to host IndyCar racing in Cleveland, putting a notable track record that dates back to the 1980s in front of a new generation.
But let's talk numbers because Fox Sports is in it to win it. With a fresh 33% stake in series owner Penske Entertainment, they've inked a deal and it's already reaping rewards. An average of 1.362 million viewers tuned in to the 2025 IndyCar series, the highest since 2008. And in a game where eyeballs equal dollars, success is speaking loud and clear. Cleveland's last Grand Prix in 2007, aired on CBS, only managed to attract 788,000 viewers, as per records cited by Sports Business Journal. That makes today’s push look less like a nostalgic nod and more like a savvy sprint to the front of the sports broadcasting pack.
And while the cars haven't started their engines just yet, the excitement is palpable. A survey distributed to area leaders by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, seen by Sports Business Journal, suggests that civic and corporate bigwigs could be ready to back this race. They anticipate the event could pull in more than 100,000 attendees over several days, injecting a nine-figure sum into the local economy. For a city that once reveled in the roar of IndyCars, the potential return of the event brings not just the promise of revenue but a surge of communal excitement.
A shimmering mirage of hope, or a concrete plan coming together? Only time—and perhaps the traction of these ongoing talks — will tell. But one thing is for sure: should the green flag drop on this endeavor, the roads of downtown Cleveland may once again echo with the thrilling cacophony of IndyCar engines, writing a new chapter in the city's storied motorsports history.
