The San Jose Grand Prix announced today that, after three years in the Bay Area, it would cease operations. Grand Prix officials cited the ongoing commercial and residential development in the downtown San Jose area as the reasons for ending its run in the South Bay. Current and future development, according to the Grand Prix officials, limited the options for revenue growth and expansion.

The press release issued by race officials stated that the race would lose its main grandstands on Almaden Boulevard as a result of future development on the Boston Properties lot. This includes the loss of the gold grandstand which was one of the San Jose Grand Prix’s main revenue sources.

But is the ongoing and future development of downtown San Jose really to blame for the San Jose Grand Prix closing up shop? If you’ve been to the race in past years, you probably thought that the attendance this year was much lighter than previously. And there were plenty of people that said they didn’t even know when the race was. Could poor marketing of the event and a lighter-than-expected attendance be the real reason for pulling the plug on the race? If race officials want to cite the development of downtown as the cause, then isn’t it really poor planning on their part to blame? Its not like these projects are suddenly popping up out of nowhere.

Downtown San Jose will continue to grow and flourish with all of the ongoing development but it is definitely disappointing to hear about the loss of the San Jose Grand Prix. This is a major event which attracted thousands to the downtown San Jose area and brought national exposure to the area. Whether you are a race fan or not, its a big loss for downtown San Jose and the Bay Area.

For more information, visit www.sjgp.com.