Formula 1 and then Champ Cars searched for a venue in the New York City area during the 1980s. Although suggestions ranged from Central Park to Flushing Meadow, a temporary circuit on the grounds of the Meadowlands Sports Arena was an unsatisfactory compromise with the latter series visiting on eight occasions from 1984. Despite being close to downtown Manhattan, the race never attracted a substantial crowd, and the circuit proved unpopular with almost everybody. A change to a "modified" oval failed to save the race from disappearing from the Champ Car calendar in 1992.