Where in St Pete??
 

A couple of questions

1) Where is the best place to stay in St Pete that is close to the course/wet pits?
2) Is there any truth to the rumor that the races will be held at St Pete Beach? If so where is the best place to stay there?

In advance, Thanks for your help

marc:confused:

There was talk of it moving, but I haven't heard anything confirmed. If they don't move it, the Vinoy is the place to stay. The wet pits are in the marina there. Very nice place, but pricey.

Cuda, You're right about the Vinoy if the race stays in the bay.

If it moves to the gulf side, there's no telling...There's a lot of coast line out there. ;)

I would assume the race would be near Pass-A-Grill(southern-most part of St. Pete Beach), in that case I would suggest the "Don Caesar."

It's inconclusive, but here's the latest"
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"Organizers of a professional offshore powerboat race held near downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., for the last five years are considering moving the October event to nearby St. Pete Beach, according to a report in this morning’s St. Petersburg Times.

Michael Allweiss, chairman of American Powerboat Association Offshore based in St. Petersburg, told the paper he no longer has enough local sponsorship support to hold the national championships in the city and has met with officials in St. Pete Beach to discuss a possible venue change for this fall.

“Overall, it’s very expensive to conduct an event of our size in downtown St. Petersburg if you don’t have enough revenue sources to offset those expenses,” Allweiss told the Times.

The race is scheduled for Oct. 4-6.

The paper reports Allweiss met with St. Pete Beach city manager Mike Bonfield and Mayor Ward Friszolowski last week to discuss potential relocation of the event, which drew a crowd of around 50,000 last year.

Bonfield says St. Pete Beach is considering the possibility of hosting this year’s race, but no official decisions have been made yet.

Meanwhile, St. Petersburg officials say they want to keep the race in the city.

“We certainly love the race,” Joe Zeoli, managing director for St. Petersburg’s city development administration, told the Times. “It brings a lot of folks to the waterfront and the Pier.”

Zeoli told the paper St. Petersburg was considering the association’s request for a $50,000 city subsidy to bring the event back in 2002, but the association pulled the item from the city’s agenda last week.

“The city has certainly been supportive of the event and will continue to be,” Zeoli told the Times. “But we don’t know what [Allweiss] is looking for.” "


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