and engineering firm HNTB, which has built stadiums and arenas such as the RCA Dome, Los Angeles Coliseum and the Rose Bowl, was selected to lead the design of the facility. Construction management company Bovis Lend Lease headed the construction of the speedway. Construction started in August 1999, with groundbreaking September 28, 1999. On May 8, 2000, in a press conference at Chicago's Navy Pier, the track's name and inaugural events were announced. Construction of the speedway resulted in a few problems. In the summer of 2000, homes near the speedway were flooded as a result of heavy rains and run-off from excavation. In February 2001, a worker was killed after falling from the skybox suites on top of the grandstands. Construction was completed in spring 2001. The track has seen little expansion since its construction, with the only major addition being the installation of lights around the track in 2008. This was "phase one" of four phases that were originally designed for construction and possible expansion. Phase four would consist of a Bristol type seating capacity completely surrounding the speedway. The Indycar Series ran at the track since 2001, recording three of the top five closest finishes in Indycar history, including the closest in 2002. Despite the close finishes, the speedway announced IndyCar would not return to the track for the 2011 season. The speedway also announced changes to the NASCAR schedule for 2011, with the NASCAR Cup Series race moving to September 16–18 as the first race in the 2011 Chase for the Championship. The Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series also raced the same weekend, in addition, the Nationwide Series had a stand-alone race day on June 4. On May 14, 2015, Andersen Promotions, which organizes the Indy Lights series, conducted an oval test at Chicagoland Speedway, marking the first time since 2010 any level of the Mazda Road to Indy was at the track. The test was used by INDYCAR officials to give the Dallara IL-15 its first official oval laps. On January 28, 2019, it was revealed on ISC's 2018 annual report that the raceway's track seating was reduced from 55,000 to 47,000. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, races at the Chicagoland Speedway for the 2020 season were canceled. Shortly thereafter, most of the track employees were laid off. On May 11, 2020, it was leaked that large parts of the land around the