If Vancouver city councillors approve a joint motion later this week, the city could once again play host to a high-speed motorsport race – this time without any emissions.
Councillors Sarah Kirby-Yung and Michael Wiebe are putting forward a joint motion this week to host a Formula E race in July 2021. The pair came up with the idea as a way to take a stand against climate change, and also boost the local economy after the pandemic.
“It would generate significant economic benefit to the city and support recovery of the gutted tourism sector,” the joint motion says.
Along with the race, Canada’s Formula E promoter OSS Group would hold a climate and sustainability conference and two music concerts.
The full weekend event is expected to positively impact the economy to the tune of $80 million and approximately 3,000 jobs.
According to the motion, the event would require no financial commitment from the city and OSS Group would be solely responsible for all costs. The motion also proposes that OSS Group commit to installing public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the False Creek area.
Vancouver City Council will vote on the motion at their meeting next week on April 27.
The False Creek area used to host the Molson Indy Champ Car race between 1990 and 2004. For most of those years attendance exceeded 100,000 over the weekend, with the final race in 2004 attracting nearly 160,000 spectators.
To get a sense of what you’re in store for, here are the highlights from last week’s Formula E race in Rome, Italy.
h/t: PBQ News
