Although the San Jose City Council waited until Dec. 7 to approve the race, savvy business owners and race fans started making plans long before that.

Curtis Valdez, owner of Seven Restaurant & Lounge, said he's already been approached about setting up a hospitality tent for visitors as well as possibly a barbecue on the track.

"I've known it was coming for about three months. We're very excited," Valdez said. "Our business that week is going to be crazy.

"I'm a little nervous about providing all the food we'll need to feed everyone in the restaurant," Valdez added, saying he has limited storage space.

To assure he has plenty of food, Valdez is already arranging for a refrigerator container to be delivered behind Seven so he'll have plenty of supplies on hand for that week.

"I used to live in Southern California and I used to go to the Long Beach Grand Prix. Local businesses were so packed, it was just unbelievable," Valdez said.

The Grand Prix is expected to attract as many as 200,000 to San Jose and bring in $20 million, according to the city and race organizers. The San Jose City Council authorized a contribution of $650,000 toward the estimated $3 million it will cost to stage the event.

The first open-wheel street race in Northern California, the race starts and ends in the HP Pavilion parking lot near the railroad tracks and the route includes N. Montgomery, W. St. John, N. Almaden and W. Santa Clara streets.

Given its proximity to the course, The Alameda is an obvious place for out of towners to look for accommodations.

One of the race teams booked rooms at the Arena Hotel on The Alameda more than three months ago.

Henry Flynn, president of Pacific Hotels that owns the Arena Hotel, said, "We're excited about this new business coming into the valley. It's been a tough time with the dot-com bust over the past few years. San Jose is excited to have this infusion of business. We're pleased we're able to accommodate visitors, guests and crews."

Sue Patel, who with her husband Robert owns San Jose Sports Arena Travelodge on The Alameda, said she's "seen nothing yet," but she's optimistic.

"It's still a little bit early," Patel said. "I'm sure we will at the beginning of the year. It should bring a lot of business into San Jose and we need it."

Sue Magan, manager of the Super 8 on The Alameda, said she hasn't received any phone calls or reservations, but anyone booking right now can lock in a $67.50 rate. Closer to the date, if demand is high the price could rise she said.

Ram Hajari, owner of The Alameda Motel, said all 21 of his rooms are available at this point.

Gerda Weber, president of The Alameda Business Association, said, "The Grand Prix will bring a lot of people to this area and there are a lot of places along The Alameda where they can eat dinner, eat breakfast, shop or stay in hotels.

"I think it will be great for business. We'll be making our members aware it's going to happen and they can take advantage of it."

The enthusiasm of business owners isn't completely shared by area residents, who expect to be impacted as well with race fans looking for parking places.

"This is totally stupid," said Yolanda Reynolds, a founder of the Shasta Hanchett Park Neighborhood Association and a resident of more than 40 years.

"I object to promoting the idea of racing when we already have all kinds of problems with speeding on our neighborhood streets, roads and freeways. This sends the wrong message," Reynolds said. "Living in the shadow of the airport we have an incredible amount of pollution and we're going to get more with this. It's a wasteful use of fuel, gas in particular, and we have all those young men dying in Iraq."

Reynolds said she'd rather see the city put the money it is spending on the race into repairing the potholes around the city.

Jay C. Jensky, a Pershing Avenue resident, said while he's not looking forward "to a few days of probably awful traffic," he is looking forward to the event.

"My friends and family will be able to meet at my house and walk to the event, which we enjoyed doing for Sharks' games; up until this season of course," Jensky said.

"It will be nice to have the downtown businesses flooded with patrons, as the hockey strike has been felt dearly by these businesses. And it will be nice to have San Jose on the map when it comes to major sporting events. We probably will never have professional football, baseball or basketball in downtown San Jose, but with the tremendous growth of auto racing in our country and throughout the world, people will appreciate the forward thinking of our great city.

"It seems to be a little traffic for a few days is a very small price to pay," Jensky said.

Tonya Walter, a Sunol Street resident, is flip about it. "Based on the speed people regularly travel up and down Sunol Street now, I don't see how this would be any different," she said.

For additional information on the San Jose Grand Prix, visit www.sanjosegrandprix.com.