It was held in downtown by the Phoenix Civic Plaza and the America West Arena, prior to the introduction of the state's baseball stadium, Bank One Ballpark.

Having gained overwhelming support, Gonyea subsequently met in Paris, France with then President of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) J-M Balestre and Bernie Ecclestone the head of the Formula One organization and presented plans for a race.

[1] However, in October 1988, Detroit refused to invest money into improving Grand Prix facilities demanded by Ecclestone and decided to run an Indy car event instead of Formula 1 in 1989.

On January 13, 1989, the Phoenix City Council headed by mayor Terry Goddard agreed to stage an annual Formula 1 race on a five-year contract.

The last United States Grand Prix held in Phoenix was on March 10, 1991, with Senna again claiming victory in a modified layout reducing the length to 2.312 mi (3.721 km).

[8] On August 12, 2017 new Formula 1 boss Chase Carey criticized Ecclestone for going for too many short term deals in the USA, stating "You have to capture people’s imagination.

"[9] In May 2019, Scottsdale, Arizona resident Eric Schultz commissioned a mural of Ayrton Senna to be painted by artist Mallory Dawn on Central Avenue, 1 km south of the former circuit, to honor his two wins there.