Bradenton Hopes To Grab Fans For St. Pete Grand Prix

One of the premier racing events on the Gulf Coast will descend on St. Petersburg in March, and Bradenton tourism officials hope to bring those fans south of the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

The Honda GrandPrix of St. Petersburg will zoom and dart through the streets of St. Pete March March 22-24, while assembly of the course began Feb. 15. The IZOD IndyCar Series stop is making St. Pete its home for the ninth year in a row, and no wonder why—the race brought 125,000 fans to the area.

And while a good portion of fans are local, many of them need hotel rooms, and they are having a tough time finding rooms in St. Pete, said Kelly Klotz, a spokeswoman for the Bradenton Area Convention Center.

Fans coming to the grand prix should look for rooms in Bradenton, Ellenton and Palmetto areas as plenty of rooms are available, and it is just a 30-minute drive from Ellenton and Bradenton to St. Pete, Klotz said.

Check out the AOL Travel tool powered by Orbitz to search for Bradenton area hotel rooms today.