Cleveland GP to be sold

UPDATE #4 Illinois-based Mi-Jack Promotions has signed a five-year ownership deal to run the Grand Prix of Cleveland Champ Car race, starting with this summer’s 25th running. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Grand Prix managing director Rena Shanaman said the deal means a “long-term, secure future for the race," which has been operated by Champ Car for the past two years. The event previously was under the ownership of Cleveland-based IMG.

Mi-Jack Promotions is an arm of Mi-Jack, an equipment and transportation business that also owns Champ Car’s Houston Grand Prix. Mi-Jack president Mike Lanigan will be introduced as the Cleveland race’s new owner at a local reception next week.

“This is an individual and an organization that is extremely committed to Champ Car and to Cleveland and to turning the Grand Prix weekend into Cleveland’s biggest festival," Ms. Shanaman said. “What we’re doing is really reinventing the event."

Mi-Jack’s ownership and contacts, Ms. Shanaman said, also should help boost sponsorships for the race, which has run without a title sponsor since 2002.

“Whether we’ll get a title (sponsor) in 2006, I don’t know," she said. “I do know we’ll get much more corporate support." Crain Communications

02/01/06 We can now confirm that the press conference will indeed be on February 9th. Rumored to be in attendance are Mike Lanigan, from Mi-Jack Promotions, and Chuck Kosich. 12/21/05 We hear from or sources that the press conference scheduled to announce this sale has been rescheduled for February 9th in Cleveland.

12/17/05 More info on this rumor from this Cleveland Plain Dealer article.

12/16/05 Rumor has it that Champ Car is close to an agreement to sell the Cleveland Grand Prix. The deal, said to be for 5-years, is expected to close in early January. No word yet on who the buyer is, but reports are that it is a group with local Cleveland interests. Perhaps it is Mi-Jack, who own the Houston race and also who have business interests in Cleveland. By owning two races they can share the cost of grandstands, etc. Of course, who would want to use Cleveland high-school grade inferior grandstands is beyond us. Hopefully by sharing the costs between multiple races, they could afford professional grandstands….if indeed it is Mi-Jack that is the buyer.