SARASOTA, Fla. — For thousands of locals and visitors, July 4 plans include sitting on the beach and watching high-power speed boats racing across the Sarasota Bay.
This year, families will have to change their schedule to see what has become a signature event for the Suncoast. For the first time in decades, the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Race will be held later in the year after it was moved to new fall dates.
It is a big change for the 40-year-old event and everyone involved.
"I started watching powerboat racing here in Sarasota as a kid. It's an iconic place for racers, for the race teams and everything so it's something we've been doing for many years here," said Joey Olivieri, a powerboat racer.
Olivieri, who is a Sarasota native, now owns his own boat and race team which is set up two years ago. He and his crew members must now adjust to the new racing calendar.
The Grand Prix will now be held on the weekend of September 13-15, after holding exclusively during the Independence Day holiday weekend in July.
"It's a tight schedule for us, especially towards the end of the season doing back-to-back races right before championship races. I have to look at it a little differently. I've got to be more prepared," Olivieri said.
Organizers of the event, Powerboat P1 and sponsors Visit Sarasota County hope the change will generate more business for local retailers, hotels and restaurants during a less busy off-season.
They also hope to reduce the pressure on local law enforcement who are overstretched and have to work several hours of overtime to cover multiple events in the county. There were also prevailing environmental factors and concerns that were taken into consideration to prompt the change.
"Having to work around the turtles and it was always a lot of moving pieces so hopefully will still be very cautious and aware of those things now. But I think the pressure will ease a little bit with it not being right in the middle of that in July," said Thomas Covington, commercial director for Powerboat P1.
"We know Fourth of July is a big weekend already where it draws visitors but we are hoping this event does the same thing here in September," said Nate Sweetman, sports marketing coordinator for Visit Sarasota.
The festivities for the new September power boat weekend will still include the Pit Party on the evening of Friday, Sept 13 at the Van Wezel parking lot.
For some locals though, the move to change the date takes away from what was until now a favorite highlight of the summer.
"Well, I'm a traditionalist and in addition to what would be a very patriotic holiday, the boat races added an awful lot to it and people would come into town specifically for that event," said Erik Kent, owner of Parker Robinson Boutique on Main Street.
For Olivieri, the date change is understandable and something he can adapt to as opposed to the other possible alternatives.
"I want to still race for many years to come here in Sarasota which is an iconic place for my hometown and I don't want to see it go away," he said.
Last year the Powerboat Grand Prix generated an estimated $5 Million in economic impact for Sarasota.
Visit Sarasota said it will continue providing grants and advertising for the racing event.