San Jose construction photos
The inaugural Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San José, the eighth stop on the 2005 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford schedule, is set for July 29-31 on the downtown streets of San José. The approximately 1.6-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit, loops around McEnery Convention Center and passes by the Tech Museum and Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park.
Construction of Gold Grandstands #1 and #2, located on Almaden Blvd. plus Bronze Grandstand #1 on Balbach has begun with the first wall block expected to be placed shortly along what will be the straightaway in front of the Convention Center on Almaden Blvd., the fastest part of the race track.
Track construction has been scheduled to minimize the impact to local businesses, residents and traffic flow. The circuit will be completed the week of the event with full road closure set for Thursday, July 28 at 6:00 p.m. Grandstand construction is being done by Mike Brown Grandstands while the block is being placed by Peninsula Crane and Rigging out of San José.
"We have entered the final phase of construction of the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San José circuit and I am happy to say that everything is proceeding according to plan and is on schedule," said Vice President and General Manager Bob Singleton. "Construction of the grandstands, suites, the actual circuit and other infrastructure has been coordinated to minimize the inconvenience to residents and businesses," he noted. "I personally want to thank the City of San Jose and all the workers who are participating in this project. They have done an outstanding job preparing the streets and site. When construction is completed the City of San José will have a first class temporary downtown street circuit for what is going to be a world class event," Singleton concluded.
The Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San José, Northern California's historic first downtown street race, will be much more than a race. In addition to practice, qualifying and races for five events, the schedule calls for a week of activities in downtown San Jose.
The Champ Car race, which features some of the greatest drivers in the world including former champions: Morgan Hill's Jimmy Vasser (1996), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Paul Tracy (2003) and Sebastien Bourdais (2004) plus Los Gatos native A. J. Allmendinger and Mexican star Mario Dominquez, piloting cars that will approach speeds of 190 mph, will be run at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 31. The weekend of racing will draw over 100,000 spectators to northern California's largest city generating an economic impact of approximately $20 million for the City of San José. In addition, the race will be televised live on SPEED Channel on Sunday, July 31 with a second airing on KNTV NBC 11 that evening. It will also be broadcast in 160 countries thus showcasing the city of San José to viewers around the world.
Tickets for the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San José are selling rapidly and with over 80% of the hospitality suites already sold, Taylor Woodrow Homes as title sponsor and 15 Official Sponsors including AAA Towing – Auto Club Membership, Autobahn Motors Mercedes Benz, Clear Channel, Cytomax Sport Drink, the Fairmont Hotel, Hertz Rental Cars, Ikon, iLoop Mobile Inc., KNTV NBC 11, Miller Brewing Company/South Bay Beverage, San José Mercury News, Telemundo, Toyota, Wine and Roses Limousine Service and Yellow Checker Cab Co. already announced, all indications are that the inaugural Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San José will be a huge success.
Work on the San Jose Grand Prix's Alamaden Blvd. grandstands near the start/finish line are now completed while more grandstand installation work is being performed on the Balbach Ave. straight. Suites will be erected on the top of many grandstands (Photos by Paul Castoro)
Like most of Champ Car's street venues, the grandstands are about 15 too shallow.