Grand Prix's downtown return to be loud and proud.

As the Detroit Grand Prix's countdown clock ticked, event organizers and work crews prepped for the race.

A line of black Chevrolet pickups, each designated as an "official vehicle," paraded down Jefferson Avenue. An army of men in yellow vests and hard hats assembled grandstands. And guys with Weedwackers and blowers made sure that every blade of green grass looked just right.

For the first time in more than 30 years, the annual auto racing competition is returning to the city, after having been held, for years, at Belle Isle Park. The city's streets are being transformed into a 1.7-mile race track where, beginning Friday and ending Sunday, IndyCars will speed past tens of thousands of spectators at speeds of 200 mph.

"Being the Motor City, having a professional race on the streets of downtown is a big deal," Greg Brannan, with the Detroit Sports Commission, said Wednesday, noting the event was just a few miles away, but out of comfortable walking distance of restaurants, shops and hotels. "It speaks to what downtown has become."

The race — which has had a long, but somewhat uneven past, in Detroit — is expected to put the city, its revitalized riverfront and rich automotive history in the spotlight and, more significantly, on an international stage. It also is sure to generate some crowds, traffic and noise.

Temperatures are expected to climb toward 90 degrees and many of the tightly-packed grandstands are in direct sunlight. The full-throated, 130-decible roars of the IndyCars, can, over time, cause hearing loss. And, most certainly, there will be plenty of adoring fans.

So if you go, remember to bring your sunscreen, earplugs ― and patience.

Everything you need to know:2023 Detroit Grand Prix returns downtown

Visitors who love the sport have come from all over ― including Canada, Great Britain and Germany — to watch it.

Susan Claiborne, who was downtown Wednesday for business, took a moment to get a peek at the Grand Prix setup. Fences adorned with sponsorship logos lined Jefferson Avenue. A retiree, Claiborne said she has been paying attention to the event's developments through the news and advertisements.

She praised the race's return to downtown.

"I was never a big proponent of the race moving to Belle Isle," she said, adding that super-loud race cars just didn't seem to mesh with the park's serene wildlife and purpose as a respite for families to get away from the city. "I think it's more suited for downtown."

Claiborne said she attended the race decades ago when it was downtown and loved watching it. Back then, she added, she was an employee in the Comerica Tower and the closed streets made it difficult to get to work, but "once you learned how to plan around it, it was fine."

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Olympia Entertainment manager Bambassema Badjo, who said he follows IndyCar racing, explained the event can be "a little bit of a hassle" for folks who work downtown, but he hopes the move from Belle Isle will showcase the city and generate a bigger turnout.

At Belle Isle, he said, the grandstands sometimes seemed a bit bare.

Detroit convention and visitor bureau officials say it's challenging to determine exactly how many people will come to see the race, which has been a post-Memorial Day tradition for years, or how much money it will generate for local businesses because it has been decades since it has been downtown.

The Grand Prix is set to be broadcast on NBC, and, in addition to the race, concerts and other activities are planned. Expect the towering Renaissance Center, General Motors' world headquarters, and the title sponsor's gold Chevrolet bowtie everywhere.

Even the website countdown clock is sponsored by local watchmaker Shinola, the race's official timekeeper.

The Detroit Grand Prix began in 1982.

Back then, like now, cars raced around the area downtown near the Renaissance Center. The race remained downtown until 1992, when the race was moved to Belle Isle, which didn't interfere with city traffic and continued at the park until 2001.

Roger Penske, who owns professional auto racing teams and is a retired auto racing driver, helped revitalize the race in 2007, but only for two years.

In 2012, the race returned to Belle Isle, but its presence on the Detroit River island sparked protests from a variety of groups, with some denouncing the event's environmental impact to Belle Isle, which is a 982-acre nature park, and the limitations to people who wanted to visit it.

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By late 2021, when the city council approved the race's move to downtown, the agreement was cheered by then-council President Brenda Jones. She said she was excited, and that it would offer Detroit residents more access to the event.

"We’re going to have the biggest event we’ve had since Super Bowl 2006," Bud Denker, the event chairman said at the time, adding that it would be a "a very, very fast track" with the super-fast cars racing "through the heart of downtown."

In late April, the Grand Prix organizers tried to address the environmental criticisms, announcing state forest preservation investments aimed at offsetting carbon emissions, renewable fuel initiatives to power the race cars and transport trucks, and race cars with eco-friendly tires.

"Our goal," Grand Prix president Michael Montri said at the time of the announcement, "is to become one of the most sustainable and environmentally conscious events in Michigan, not just this year but every year moving forward."

Tickets to the final day are sold out, according to the Grand Prix website.

But Friday, seating will be available in grandstands 1 and 9, until they are full, at no charge. The website, as of Wednesday, showed general admission tickets for Friday and Saturday still were available for $30 to $70 each; and reserved tickets were selling for those same days from $55 to $130 each.

The visitor's bureau estimates attendance for the weekend event ― officially known as the 2023 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear ― is more than 100,000 people, and revenues at more than $77 million, about a 20% boost from when it was held on Belle Isle.

The closer proximity to eateries, shops and some public transportation is expected to help, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is set to remain open throughout the race weekend, which potentially could complicate or lengthen border crossings.

And some Detroiters are more excited about the event than others.

Not everyone loves the crowds, barricaded streets — and noise — that comes with the races.

Jason Bank, an attorney who was walking Wednesday along Jefferson in front of the Coleman Young building, said he doesn't plan to attend the Grand Prix, although he has friends who he said plan to go.

So far, Bank said, he has enjoyed watching folks set everything up. He said the event's energy and all the cars he has seen added to the atmosphere downtown. Bank said that holding the event downtown is good for the community because it draws people there.

"There's a lot of buzz on the streets here," he added, noting that he thinks "everybody is excited about the race."

Free Press staff writers Nour Rahal, Dana Afana and Free Press archives contributed.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].