IndyCar ticket buyers will get refunds for cancelled Boston race

Officials were all smiles when announcing the race in May 2015.Michael Dwyer/Associated Press/Associated Press

Organizers of the canceled IndyCar race in the Seaport announced Saturday that ticket refunds for the event begin Monday.

In a post on the Grand Prix of Boston’s Facebook page, promoters said they plan to refund purchases in the order they were received.

“There is no reason to contact your credit card company, your refund will happen automatically,” read the post, published Saturday. “With the excitement for the race, we sold several thousand tickets, and we will be working through the refunds as quickly as possible.”

John Tretter, who bought two tickets to the event and planned to watch it with his family, said he was disappointed that there would be no race in Boston.

“I’m a big race fan, and it would have been fun to see a race live in Boston where I’ve grown up,” said Tretter, who regularly travels to Indianapolis and Montreal to watch major races.

Fans flood hotels, restaurants, and other businesses while attending racing events, said Tretter, adding that “it’s never a loss” for host cities.

The Boston race had been scheduled for Labor Day weekend, on a 2.2-mile temporary street course around the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

All the tickets were paid for by credit card, according to Jana Watt, spokeswoman for the Grand Prix of Boston, who declined to say how many tickets had been sold.

“The ticket refunds will be processed in the order received, and it is a manual process and could take some time to complete as each individual order must be processed,” Watt said Saturday.

Ticket prices ranged from $2,000 per person for a pass to “The Pit Lane Club” to $99 for general admission to all three days of the event, according to the race’s website.

The premium tickets came with perks such as admission to a private concert, a chance to meet a Verizon IndyCar Series driver, and access to an open bar, the website said.

Race organizers were also selling “Paddock Passes” to give spectators access to the area where motor sports teams prepare. Admission prices ranged from $20 to $40 and three-day passes were being sold for $60.

Watt said questions about refunds may be sent to [e-mail], and information is also posted on the website, indycarboston.com.

A handful of Seaport residents expressed disappointment Saturday that the race had been canceled.

It was the second major sporting event for the city to be canceled in less than a year, coming after Boston withdrew its bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Maria Fanelli, who lives in the Seaport, said she had been looking forward to the IndyCar race, which would have been much less disruptive to residents than the Olympics.

“The Olympics would have been a few weeks, more venues, more people, more hassle to the people who are trying to go to work everyday,” said Fanelli, adding that the IndyCar race was only a three-day event limited to a much smaller area.

“There is no question that I would want these guys to go back to the table and try to bring this event to the city,” said Chuck Manzi, who lives on Congress Street, part of the planned route.

The race promoters will try to hold a Labor Day race in a backup city in the Northeast, according to John Casey, president of the Grand Prix of Boston. He said the promoters have been in contact with two other cities, including one in New England, but declined to name them.

On Saturday, Casey said the “majority of sponsors have committed to go with us to another city,” noting that the deadline for the sponsors’ payments was not until July 1.