Penske Entertainment and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach are synonymous with prestige and success. They combined forces with the Thursday, Nov. 14 announcement that Penske Entertainment acquired the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, LLC, from longtime owner Gerald R. Forsythe.
“This has a very promising aspect in terms of where our where our future is headed, and one of the reasons that we look to have a very seamless integration is because there's a lot of common characteristics of Penske Entertainment, Penske Corp. and the Grand Prix Association,” Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach President & CEO Jim Michaelian said. “We all strive for excellence.”
Michaelian is proud the prestigious event has withstood the test of time, battling through an economic recession and a global pandemic for the ability to join forces with Penske Entertainment and host the 50th anniversary on April 11-13 next season, the first year of the new structure.
"What we're looking at here is the amalgamation of two very successful organizations,” Michaelian said. “We bring certain assets. They bring certain assets. We would be foolish if we didn't take advantage of the opportunity to integrate those together, and the end result would be even something more substantial than we have that we currently have available to us.
“Our staff is really excited about this development because they realize all the advantages that can accrue from the integration of what we have in store, as well as what Penske Entertainment can provide.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the end result of this will be something that's going to be much more positive than we currently have.”
The existing event already is an icon on the schedule and in the Southern California marketplace. The three-day weekend regularly attracts crowds of over 190,000 people to its 1.968-mile racecourse surrounding the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. The 2024 edition included the largest attendance in the modern INDYCAR SERIES era.
Penske Entertainment recognized longevity and sustained success with Long Beach, and the acquisition added a key strategic piece to a strong offseason filled with important announcements.
The charter system debut was announced Sept. 23, guaranteeing 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams a starting position at all races except the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. On Oct. 10, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES announced a partnership with the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and REV Entertainment to host a March 2026 race on the streets around the Arlington, Texas, entertainment district.
The acquisition of Long Beach was the next step, but Penske Entertainment President & CEO Mark Miles noted the outreach is far from complete.
"We want to be focused on growing our events, the events that we have,” he said. “This is evidence that we want to be opportunistic. So, if it makes sense for us to invest in events, we'll do that. This is certainly a prime example of that. We’re increasingly involved on a selected basis in promoting, not just investing and owning some of our own events.
“We're going to break out of our old mold and position ourselves to help our events grow more quickly and to be prepared to make investments toward that end.
“We're working on other events, so time will tell when we can roll some out. I think they're going to be exciting. They're going to be new and urban and powerful for the ability they give INDYCAR to reach new fans and new geography for us.”
Long Beach joins the two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway and the event at the Milwaukee Mile in the Penske Entertainment portfolio.
“Roger (Penske) doesn't acquire an enterprise unless he has a lot of confidence in its future,” Miles said.