Markham's first-ever IndyCar race weekend is being hailed as a major win for the city, with up to 150,000 spectators projected over three days and the strongest Canadian television audience for the series in more than a decade.

The inaugural Markham Indy ran August 14–16, with Marcus Ericsson taking the checkered flag in Sunday's main event. According to the Markham Review, city officials and event organizers Green Savoree are calling the weekend a commercial and operational success.

Sunday's race, broadcast in the U.S. on Fox, averaged 913,000 viewers — a 24 per cent increase over the previous year's race in Toronto — and peaked at 1,081,000. The Markham Review reported it was the highest TV audience for the Canadian IndyCar round since 2012, when 1.129 million watched Dario Franchitti win at Exhibition Place.

Grandstands looked full, councillor says

Projected weekend attendance reached between 140,000 and 150,000, driven by ticket sales that outpaced former Toronto figures by 20 to 30 per cent, along with strong demand for VIP suites and local sponsorships.

I was there all three days, and on the Sunday race day, the grandstands, to my eye, looked full,

said Markham Ward 5 Councillor Andrew Keyes, who also chairs Destination Markham, in an interview with the Markham Review. Keyes said he wouldn't be surprised if final numbers exceed the 150,000 estimate, noting he couldn't see any empty seats in the grandstands.

All I can say is it was packed, and everybody was having a good time, and the weather cooperated.

Despite early construction delays that temporarily held up track activity on the Friday, the event rebounded. Drivers and spectators praised the freshly repaved street circuit, with some calling it one of the most exciting finishes of the year. Transportation management across transit, GO Train and vehicle routes also ran more smoothly than anticipated, according to the Markham Review.

Global exposure for Markham

Keyes said the event gave Markham unprecedented international visibility.

Every time they talk about this particular race, they're referring to the city of Markham, and that's something that we really never had before in terms of international exposure… Yes, there are things that put a city on a map, and this is certainly one of them.

He added that many residents only grasped the scale of hosting a top-tier motorsport event once it was underway, with some earlier skeptics changing their tune afterward.

Lessons for year two

City leadership is already planning a comprehensive debrief report ahead of next year's event. One priority is supporting businesses inside the road-closure zones south of Highway 7 off Kennedy Road, which saw customer drops due to access perception, while regional hotels and broader area restaurants enjoyed strong traffic.

That's an area we need to address. We don't want to be hurting any local businesses if at all possible.

Keyes said city staff will also analyze parking demand, GO Train usage and transit patterns to streamline traffic flow in the second year, and that the event's success will be used to grow fan participation going forward.

The staff were fabulous. They worked night and day to make sure that everything was ready. We learned a lot about how to make projects happen quickly and how to deal with some adversity. So, it's really made us a lot stronger as an organization as well.

Keyes said the city isn't finished refining the event, adding that awareness is much higher after this year's debut and that organizers are looking forward to welcoming even more fans next summer.