IndyCar 'committed' to Toronto for 2026, but race may land at new venue, time. What we know

Indianapolis Star

2 days ago

When the checkered flag fell and Pato O'Ward, Zak Brown, Tony Kanaan and Co. celebrated in the Indy Toronto pit lane, IndyCar and Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which for years has served as the promoter for the series' annual trip north of the border, were yet again on the clock to strike a new deal with city officials for the renewal of a race weekend that in recent years has operated on a series of one-year contracts.
As the paddock cleared that afternoon, several series sources noted that despite the uncertainty of the event's future contractually, combined with the novelty of the soccer stadium a stone's throw from pit lane hosting tens of thousands of rowdy soccer fans six times from June 12 to July 2, 2026 for the men's FIFA World Cup and Penske Entertainment putting a major refresh on IndyCar's calendar for next season, they felt a hunch the series would return.
They just didn't know how or when.
The viability of the race's future is no longer in question, with GSRP co-owners Kim Green and Kevin Savoree telling members of the paddock in recent weeks that plans for an IndyCar return in 2026 are a go. In a statement to IndyStar, a representative with GSRP said that 'IndyCar and Green Savoree Toronto are committed to the market.'
But increasingly, the belief, according to multiple sources, is the race is likely to see a venue swap for 2026 from Exhibition Place, which has hosted 39 major American open-wheel races since its first in 1986. The most likely option to hold the race remains within Toronto's city limits, though.
That spot? The now-defunct Downsview Airport, which decades ago served as an air base during World War II and which more recently was owned and operated by Bombardier Aerospace until it was sold in 2018 to a development company that a year ago closed the airport operations for the single-runway facility with plans to overhaul the facility and the surrounding area over the next 30 years into a self-sufficient residential community.
Downsview is located nearly 10 miles north of Exhibition Place and can be accessed by a 20-to-30-minute trip on public transit from downtown Toronto's Union Station to Downsview Park Station connected by the "1 Line." It's existence within Toronto city limits would allow the city to continue to provide the funds and assistance necessary to put on the event in ways it has for nearly four decades — compared to running at another local out-of-use airstrip like Buttonville, which is 20 miles outside of downtown Toronto in Markham.
Since the airport formally ceased operations a little more than a year ago, Northcrest Developments, the airport's new owner, has hosted community events on the airstrip, and the park area surrounding the airport has seen the creation of temporary concert venue, Rogers Stadium, which this summer has or will play host to Coldplay, Oasis, Chris Brown, Hozier and System of a Down from late June until mid September. The venue can host roughly 50,000 fans as Toronto's largest purpose-built music venue. The area around the airport has hosted massive events in the past, including the country's papal visits in 1984 and 2002, as well as a Rolling Stones benefit concert in 2003 — the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto.
The area also includes the training grounds for Toronto FC, the Major League Soccer team whose home matches are played at BMO Field in downtown Toronto.
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Complications around continuing to host the annual IndyCar race in downtown Toronto — beyond the city's insistence to strike rolling one-year deals of late — comes with BMO Field hosting five group stage men's FIFA World Cup matches next year, as well as an elimination round match July 2, as North America plays host to the tournament.
In recent years, the race has been held the third weekend in July, and the process of building the temporary street circuit takes more than 30 days to complete, meaning the construction process would need to begin somewhere around the 1.786-mile circuit just as the run of World Cup matches began next summer, if Exhibition Place were to host a race in a similar timeframe.
Last month, IndyStar learned of Fox and Penske Entertainment's aims for Laguna Seca to run the third weekend in July as a way for the IndyCar race that Sunday to use the World Cup championship match on Fox's airwaves as a lead-in event that could significantly help boost its audience. In December 2022, Fox's broadcast of the Argentina-France men's FIFA World Cup final averaged an audience of nearly 18 million viewers for a Sunday morning broadcast. Next year's World Cup final is reportedly scheduled to air at 3 p.m. July 19 on Fox, which could allow for a 6 p.m. broadcast start time for a West Coast IndyCar race.
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At that time, plans were also for IndyCar's prospective return to Mexico City to immediately follow Laguna Seca on July 26, with an off weekend likely to follow, meaning the earliest the next race on the calendar could be held would be Aug. 9.
That weekend, or those that would immediately follow, would seem to prove problematic for Exhibition Place to host tens of thousands of race fans, followed by track workers taking the better part of three weeks to deconstruct the temporary venue. Each August, Exhibition Place plays host to the Canadian National Exhibition, an annual end-of-summer tradition akin to a massive U.S. state fair that annually is visited by more than 1.5 million people over 18 days starting the third Friday in August.
CNE's annual spot on the calendar would seem to mean an IndyCar race anywhere in the greater Toronto area would need to be held by Aug. 16, so as not to run into direct conflict with the massive fair downtown. Holding the race any time once the World Cup kicks off would seem untenable, too, highlighting those early August weekends and a locale outside of downtown Toronto as a likely (albeit potentially temporary) landing spot for IndyCar's next trip north of the border.