St. Pete GP making enemies with local businesses

While hundreds of thousands of people will be watching the St. Petersburg Grand Prix in person and on television this weekend, some of the people closest to the action may not see any of it.

Event organizers told businesses lining the race way they'd have to pay a fee, or a tarp would be put up blocking their view. Some businesses are not happy with paying the fees to watch the race, which will be as close as 12 feet in front of some of the stores.

Sam Martin owns the Courigans Irish Pub in downtown St. Petersburg. He said event workers put up a tarp along the safety fence in front of his business so his patrons couldn't see the race for free from outside his pub.

Martin said the only way organizers would remove the tarp is if he agreed to pay a $3,200 fee. He said they originally wanted $4,500 but he negotiated that rate down.

Martin said he is not paying and that he and his customers would deal with the tarp. "I'm a small business. I struggle to get by. I work here seven days a week,'' Martin said. "At 11 a.m. I open and I close and I'm here 90 percent of the time. So, I don't think I should have to pay to be inconvenienced to see a race that runs right past my front door." baynews9.com