Push to save the Edmonton Indy

A group of local business owners is continuing their quest to get the Edmonton Indy race back on track. City announced on Wednesday that the race would not be returning to Edmonton next summer.

Negotiations between the city and Octane, the race promoter, broke down last week. The city says it was prepared to invest $5.5 million dollars over three years as a sponsor, but wasn't ready to pay more for a track upgrades.

Despite what the city is saying, there are still some people who think the race can be saved. The announcement caught a lot of people off guard, and some are incredibly frustrated by a decision, that according to city administration, boiled down to money, and was made without any consultation.

The past several years have seem businesses and community groups invest time and money into promoting the event and building it into something bigger than the race itself. These volunteers and business leaders say this is an issue that they could have helped resolve, had they been asked. Despite 'not' being asked there are those who believe this can still can be fixed, but time is running out.

There is another group of business leaders working on saving the race. They want to remain anonymous for now, but one of their ideas involves finding a local paving company that may be willing to cover some of the costs of fixing up the runway at the airport. They know time isn't on their side and hope to know more by early next week.

Despite local attempts to save the Edmonton race, Octane is moving full steam ahead to find a replacement venue. Both Quebec City and a temporary track in Calgary are being considered.