One of the most popular events on Fort Myers Beach has been postponed for at least another year. The Roar Offshore Powerboat races, which brings thousands of spectators and boat enthusiasts to the beach, will not take place in 2025.
Organizer Tim Hill told Speedonthewater.com the additional storms Fort Myers Beach suffered in 2024 slowed down the recovery progress on the beach. “Every time we think we get some traction and we’re moving in the right direction it seems like we get another powerful storm and this year we got three of them. But we were looking forward to a great comeback in 2025. Unfortunately, the teams don’t think the infrastructure is ready for the races to return to Fort Myers Beach and at the end of the day, to be honest, they’re probably correct.”
Tim and his wife Cindee are the organizers of the popular powerboat race event which, not only brings thousands of people to Fort Myers Beach, it fuels a ton of money into the local economy. The Hill’s were hopeful the event could be held October 9th to the 11th in 2025. The last time the races were held on Fort Myers Beach was back in 2021, before Hurricane Ian.
Tim Hill told Beach Talk Radio that the race teams voted to wait another year with only 47% of hotel rooms back on line and the beach’s infrastructure still under construction. He said making the decision to postpone is “disappointing and frustrating.”
More lost revenue. This is really a bummer, but I get it….