It's official: Detroit Grand Prix will return downtown in 2023

The Detroit Grand Prix will be held on Belle Isle for the final time in 2022 before it returns to the streets of downtown Detroit in 2023, officials say.

On Wednesday, Detroit City Council granted approval for the event to relocate.

"Over the last five weeks, Grand Prix representatives have participated in numerous listening sessions and information sharing meetings with Detroit residents, business leaders, community groups and individual district representatives on the idea of returning the race to its roots on the street of Detroit," Grand Prix organizers said in a statement. "The positive reaction and the excitement that we have seen from the community about the Grand Prix coming back Downtown reinforces our belief that this relocation will provide significant benefit to the City, its residents and our local businesses for the future."

The race was held in the streets of downtown from 1982-1991. It moved to Belle Isle intermittently throughout the '90s and 2000s before maintaining a steady presence on the State Park since 2012. It was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The news is welcome to some Belle Isle parkgoers who criticized the race due to its long construction period — between 80 and 120 days, the longest of any race in the world — and permanent changes to the island, including a 400,000-square-foot concrete paddock.

According to officials, the Grand Prix will be held on Belle Isle for the final time on June 3-5, 2022.

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