One of the most common questions Markham residents ask about the IndyCar race is a fair one. Who is paying for all of this, and is it coming out of my property taxes? It is a reasonable concern for taxpayers in a city that has maintained the lowest average property tax increase in the GTA for 21 consecutive years.
Michael John Lau, top real estate agent in Markham Ontario, has reviewed the public information on the event's financial structure. Here is what the City of Markham is and is not paying for.
The Organizer Bears the Event Costs
Green Savoree Toronto ULC, the same organization that promoted the Honda Indy Toronto for decades, is the event promoter and organizer for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. Led by the organizer and promoter Green Savoree Toronto ULC, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races on the new street circuit.
As the event promoter, Green Savoree bears the operational costs of the race itself. The temporary grandstand construction and teardown, the barrier installation and removal, the event staffing, the IndyCar sanctioning fees, the hospitality infrastructure, the ticketing operations, and the setup and teardown of the temporary circuit's race-specific elements.
The Standard Motorsport Event Structure
This is the standard structure for professional motorsport events on temporary street circuits. The promoter takes on the event's operational cost and financial risk in exchange for the ticketing, sponsorship, and hospitality revenue that the event generates. The Remington Group, as a founding partner, provides the land for the circuit. IndyCar and Penske Entertainment provide the racing series and its global broadcast platform.
What the City of Markham Contributes
The City of Markham's role in the event is focused on ensuring that roads are suitable for racing, including surface preparation, safety barrier installation, and managing the complex logistics of closures.
The City's contribution is primarily infrastructure and municipal services. The road resurfacing and realignment, which is permanent civic infrastructure that benefits residents year-round, the coordination of road closures, the municipal services required for a major public event including policing, fire, and emergency medical, and the planning and permitting work that enables the event.
Importantly, the road reconstruction the City undertook, including Enterprise Boulevard, YMCA Boulevard, Unionville Gate, University Boulevard, and Kennedy Road resurfacing and realignment, is infrastructure investment that the City recovers value from permanently. These are not race-specific costs that disappear after the weekend. They are civic road improvements that happen to also enable the race.
Neeraj Moolchandani on Markham's Fiscal Responsibility and Major Event Structure
Neeraj Moolchandani, REALTOR® at Kaizen Real Estate, works alongside Markham clients navigating exactly the situation this article describes. His specialty is translating complex market dynamics into a clear plan of action, whether that involves timing, negotiation strategy, or protecting long-term family wealth.
When Neeraj advises clients on markham's fiscal responsibility and major event structure, the conversation always starts with what matters most to the family, not what the market is doing this week. That is the difference between transactional advice and the kind of counsel Markham clients return to for a decade.
The Municipal Accommodation Tax Connection
Markham's Municipal Accommodation Tax, a tax on hotel stays within the city, is a revenue source that grows directly from the event. The 140,000 visitors who attend IndyCar and fill Markham's hotels generate MAT revenue that flows to the City and to tourism development. In this sense, the event is partly self-funding at the municipal level. The hotel tax revenue generated by the visitors the race attracts contributes to the City's tourism and event budget.
The economic activity the event generates, an estimated $50 million boost and 10,000 jobs supported by the weekend festival, produces tax revenue, business activity, and economic benefit that substantially exceeds the municipal cost of hosting.
The Taxpayer Bottom Line
For Markham taxpayers, the IndyCar event is structured so that the substantial operational costs and financial risks are borne by the professional event promoter Green Savoree and the racing series IndyCar/Penske. The City's contribution is primarily infrastructure that provides permanent civic value and municipal services that are recovered through the economic activity and tax revenue the event generates.
21 Consecutive Years of Fiscal Discipline
Markham continues to have the lowest average property tax rate increase in the GTA over 21 consecutive years. The approved 3.90% property tax rate increase for 2026 amounts to $54.99 for the average household. The IndyCar event has not disrupted this record. The City's careful fiscal management extends to how it has structured its participation in the race.
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Context: Markham's Fiscal Track Record
For residents concerned about the fiscal impact, the structure is reassuring. A world-class event that elevates Markham's global profile and generates $50 million in annual economic activity, with the operational costs borne by professional promoters and the City's role focused on infrastructure that benefits residents year-round.
Michael John Lau, top real estate agent in Markham Ontario, helps residents and buyers understand both the lifestyle value and the fiscal responsibility that characterize Markham's approach to major events and civic investment. The IndyCar cost structure is one specific example of a broader pattern that has produced 21 consecutive years of GTA-leading tax discipline.