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The 38th annual St. Louis
Grand Prix Powerboat Race has been cancelled.
St.
Louis, MO June 1, 2009
The St. Louis
Grand Prix, the oldest and longest running watercraft race in the
WORLD, that has been organized by the Concord Village Lions Club for
the past 37 years, has been Officially CANCELLED for 2009.
The race was held
at George Winter Park in Fenton from 1972 to 1999, and then moved to
Creve Coeur Lake in 2000. The tentative dates were August 1st
and 2nd, 2009. However, the Concord Village Lions Club
could not secure enough sponsorship money to host the event.
Concord Village
Lions Club President, Bill Mueller, had this to say, “ We are a
service organization, not a promoter, and we could not get enough
financial commitments from Sponsors and Supporters of the race to
take the risk. This event has been through a lot over the years,
some of the best years in terms of crowds and profits were in the
late 80’s to 1991, then the Concord Village Lions Club pushed the
date of the event back in August of 1992, so it wouldn’t conflict
with the PGA Championship at Bellerive. The following year was the
great flood on ’93, and the event was cancelled. 1994 brought high
waters to George Winter Park, and we moved it to September. Then in
2000 we moved from George Winter Park to Creve Coeur Lake, and that
was another challenge. Unfortunately, this year we lost the
Sponsorship from Anheuser-Busch - InBev, and with the current
economy, it was too much of an obstacle for our club to overcome.”
Racing legend,
and Concord Village Lions Club member, Bill Seebold, added, “Thank
you to all of the friends and fans that have supported our St. Louis
Grand Prix for all these years, and a special thanks to the members
of the Concord Village Lions Club, and their wives and families.
Without them, this event would have never happened, and certainly
would not have lasted for 37 years. It has been a tough few months
soliciting companies for sponsorship and realizing that our June 1st
deadline was getting closer and closer. It breaks my heart to tell
my son, Tim, our crew; all of the other F1 ChampBoat drivers, owners
and pit crews that the St. Louis race is off.”
The Concord
Village Lions Club and the F1 ChampBoat series President, Mike
Schriefer, have already begun talking about 2010. They will be
evaluating the race location, the dates, and developing a marketing
plan for 2010.
For more
information on the F1 ChampBoat series:
www.champboat.com
For more
information on the St. Louis Grand Prix:
www.stlgrandprix.net
Bill Seebold
Bill Mueller
Co-Chairman Co-Chairman
314-616-4589 314-542-6133
bseebold7@sbcglobal.net
tgg@sbcglobal.net
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