Under orders from city officials, organizers of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Thursday cancelled next month’s 46th edition of the street race amid the growing fears of the Coronavirus.

Just earlier this week, Grand Prix Chief Executive Officer Jim Michaelian said he expected the event to take place with heightened precautions for spectators. But city health officials opted to expand on a state mandate to cancel or postpone events with 250 or more people.

The city order applies to large-scale events including conventions, festivals, parades and sporting events.

“We recognize that this decision affects tens of thousands of residents and visitors, and for some will create immense financial hardship,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “But our top priority must be the health and well-being of our community and this is absolutely the right thing to do.”

The Grand Prix was expected to draw roughly 185,000 people to Downtown on April 17-19.

The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in a statement said it is in conversations with the city and various race sanctioning bodies to “discuss the viability of rescheduling this event at a later time in the year.”

“If that is not possible, then we look forward to presenting the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16-18, 2021. Further details about possible refunds or credits will be forthcoming,” the organization said.

The decision comes as mounting numbers of conventions and major events, like Coachella and SXSW, have either postponed or cancelled, and the NBA has suspended its season.

Cancelling the annual Grand Prix will likely cost the city millions of dollars in lost hotel rooms, tax revenue and more. A report released in 2018 from Beacon Economics showed that the 2017 Toyota Grand Prix brought $32.4 million for the Long Beach economy and $63.4 million for Southern California.

Jobs could also be impacted. The Grand Prix supports 606 year-round jobs, with 351 of those in Long Beach, the economic impact report found. The event supported labor income for Southern California workers by $24.4 million, including $12.9 million in Long Beach.

It also generates $1.8 million in overall tax revenue, including $700,000 in Long Beach.

Canceled/postponed events include but are not limited to those listed below. Other canceled events will be listed at www.longbeach.gov/covid19 as they are reported to the city.