INDY RACING LEAGUE

• IndyCar is Baltimore bound in 2011

  Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - The IZOD IndyCar Series will be racing on the streets of Baltimore, starting in 2011.

  Baltimore Racing Development announced on Wednesday that the Baltimore Grand Prix will be an annual fixture on the IndyCar schedule for at least five years.

  The race will be contested on a 2.4-mile temporary street circuit around the scenic Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore.

  Next year's inaugural event has been scheduled for August 5-7.

  The racetrack will be constructed around the streets of downtown Baltimore, including sections of Russell Street by Oriole Park at Camden Yards, West Pratt Street and along the Inner Harbor on Light Street.

  "This is a historic day for Baltimore and the State of Maryland, as well as the entire East Coast Region, as we have finalized plans for the IZOD IndyCar Series racing in Baltimore in 2011," Jay Davidson, the CEO of the Baltimore Grand Prix and Baltimore Racing Development, said in a statement.

  The Baltimore GP will be billed as a "three-day festival of speed" that includes a combination of racing and non-racing activities.

  Organizers expected to attract more than 100,000 people to the area and have an estimated economic impact of $70 million.

  Last year, IndyCar's sanctioning body, the Indy Racing League, added two new venues to the 2010 schedule. The inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 in Brazil kicked off the season on March 14, while the first Indy Grand Prix of Alabama took place April 11 at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham.

  06/02 14:48:30 ET