IndyCar street race grandstands packed with fans at the Honda Indy in Ontario

Streets of Markham Fan Guide: Cooler Policy, Bag Policy and What to Bring (2026)

August 12, 2026

Logo: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, via hondaindy.com

Streets of Markham Fan Guide: Cooler Policy, Bag Policy and What to Bring (2026)

Part of the Happy Hour Racing Track Fan Guide series, where we pull the real entry rules off each track's official fan guide so you are not guessing at the gate.

The Streets of Markham cooler policy is the shortest one in this whole series, because there is no cooler policy. Coolers are on the prohibited list at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, and so is outside food and drink of any kind. The only thing you carry through the gate that holds a beverage is an empty water bottle. That is a real change in habit for anyone who used to pack a lunch for race weekend, so it is worth knowing before you leave the house on Sunday morning.

The Short Version

Coolers: Not permitted. The prohibited list says coolers, and that includes the food and beverage inside them.
Bags: Purses, backpacks and other small bags are fine and will be opened at the gate. No clear-bag rule and no published size limit, but duffel bags, grocery bags and luggage are out.
Food and drink: None from outside, with one exception. An empty water bottle is allowed.
Leave home: Folding chairs, stadium seats, glass, outside alcohol and cannabis, laptops, drones, and camera lenses over 10 inches.
Getting in: Gates open 8 a.m. Sunday, ticket sales at the gates are cashless, and the Unionville GO station sits inside the circuit.

Streets of Markham Cooler Policy

The official A-Z guide lists "coolers (includes food and beverage)" among the items not permitted on the event site. There is no size allowance, no soft-sided exception and no one-per-person rule to work with. A cooler of any size gets stopped at the gate, and the guide is clear that prohibited items cannot be left in or around the entry gate areas, so anything you bring and cannot carry in has to go back to your car.

The food and beverage section says the same thing from the other direction. No outside food and beverage may be brought onto the event grounds with the exception of an empty water bottle. Fill it once you are inside. The grounds are fully licensed, with trackside beer gardens and roaming beer vendors, and anyone buying or holding alcohol has to be 19 or older with photo ID. There is one documented exception to the food rule: if you have a specific food allergy or a medical condition that requires you to bring food and drink in, the event asks you to contact them in advance at tickets@hondaindy.com rather than sorting it out at the gate.

Bag Policy at the Indy at Markham

Bags are allowed. The permissible items list covers purses, backpacks and other small bags, and the entry inspection section says that at all entry gates over the event weekend, patrons will be asked to open purses, backpacks or other bags upon entry. Plan on unzipping everything.

What the event does not do is publish a maximum size in inches or require a clear bag, which is the rule at most NASCAR ovals. The limit here is descriptive instead of numeric: large bags are prohibited, including but not limited to duffel bags, grocery bags and luggage. A normal day pack reads as a small bag. A weekender does not. Note too that bottles and glass containers are both on the prohibited list, so the empty reusable water bottle is the only drink container you carry in.

Prohibited Items at the Streets of Markham

This is the full published list, and it is longer than most street-course lists:

Coolers, including the food and beverage inside them, and any outside food or drink other than an empty water bottle.
Bottles and glass containers.
Outside alcohol and cannabis. Attempting to bring either in means removal from the grounds and possible police charges.
Folding chairs and stadium seats.
Large bags including duffel bags, grocery bags and luggage.
Aerosol cans, with sunscreen as the only exception.
Camera lenses that exceed 10 inches, and professional video and photography equipment.
Laptop computers.
Drones and other unmanned aircraft.
Firearms, knives, explosives or weapons of any description, plus personal protection devices such as mace and pepper spray.
Fires, grills and fireworks, and flammable materials other than small lighters.
Banners, poles or sticks other than mobility aids, and anything that obstructs views.
Noise makers, horns, helium balloons, beach balls and other inflatables.
Laser lights and pointers, projectiles, handbills and samples.
Roller blades, skateboards, skates, scooters, bicycles and e-bikes.
Golf carts for personal use, motorcycles and off-road vehicles, and scaffolding or other structures.
Pets, other than service animals, which must stay leashed or harnessed.

There is a separate list of prohibited actions that can get you ejected or arrested, and two of them are easy to trip over without meaning to. You cannot carry open food or drinks over the bridges or track crossings, for driver and worker safety, and you cannot smoke or vape in the grandstands, suites, bridges or buildings. Standing on grandstand seats and sitting in the aisles are also called out.

What You Can Bring In

The permitted list is short but it covers the things that actually make a long day bearable:

An empty water bottle.
Aerosol sunscreen, the one aerosol exception.
Seat cushions. Since folding chairs and stadium seats are both banned, a cushion is your only comfort upgrade in the grandstand.
Binoculars, scanners, and cameras with a small case. Bring the scanner, this is a street course and you will want the timing chatter.
Camera stands such as tripods and monopods, on the grounds only, as long as they do not obstruct anyone's view. They are not allowed in the grandstands.
Umbrellas, again as long as they do not block views.
Strollers, wagons and similar items for transporting children.
Recognized mobility aids. The guide advises bringing a lock to chain wheelchairs and scooters underneath the grandstands.

Grandstands and the Track Layout

Streets of Markham track map showing the 12-turn 2.19-mile IndyCar street circuit on Enterprise Boulevard, Kennedy Road, University Boulevard and YMCA Boulevard

Track map: WL2392, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Streets of Markham is a brand new temporary circuit, 2.19 miles and 12 turns, laid out on Enterprise Boulevard, Kennedy Road, University Boulevard and YMCA Boulevard in Downtown Markham. Its signature feature is a double-sided pit lane, which is rare anywhere and new to IndyCar's Canadian round. The race runs 90 laps for 197.1 miles on Sunday, August 16 at noon Eastern on FOX.

There are four grandstands. The Pit Lane Grandstand sits inside the Unionville GO parking lot and looks at both sides of that split pit lane and the run to the flag. The Turn 3 Grandstand is central to the festival site and catches the field charging out of Turn 2 into a 90-degree left. The Remington Turn 5 Grandstand overlooks the hairpin, which means late braking and passing before the long back straight. The Turn 8 Grandstand covers the technical left before the sweeping right of Turn 9.

General admission is free for children 12 and under with a ticketed adult, but a grandstand seat needs its own ticket for every person aged 3 and up. Children 2 and under can sit on a lap. Accessible viewing platforms are reserved near Turn 1 and Turn 8, and accessible seating questions go to tickets@hondaindy.com.

Downtown Markham along Enterprise Boulevard, the streets that form the 2026 IndyCar circuit — Photo: Municipal Affairs and Housing, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Downtown Markham along Enterprise Boulevard, which becomes the front half of the circuit.

Getting There and Race-Day Tips

The event address is 16 Main Street Unionville, Markham, Ontario L3R 0W7. Gates open at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15, and at 8 a.m. on race Sunday, August 16, with times subject to change. All ticket sales at the event gates are cashless.

The train is the easy answer here in a way it never was at Exhibition Place. The event grounds are built around Unionville GO station on the Stouffville line, and a GO Combo Ticket bundles the ride. The line runs from Old Elm through Markham and Unionville down to Union Station, so most of the region can park and ride in. York Region Transit, Viva and the TTC all serve the area as well.

Driving in, take Highway 407 ETR and exit at Warden Avenue, then north to Enterprise Boulevard. Highway 404 to either Highway 7 or Steeles Avenue East works as a non-toll route. Paid lots run west of the site, with Red Enterprise starting at $35 for a single day and $120 for three days, and Blue Remington Aviva starting at $35 single day and $70 for two. Prices go up for on-site parking, which is Saturday and Sunday only in the Blue lot. Rideshare drop-off is on the east side of Bill Crothers Secondary School at 44 Main Street Unionville.

Track crossing is at Gate 1 on Main Street Unionville, and remember the open-container rule when you use it. An accessible shuttle runs from the Blue Aviva lot to Gate 2. Customer service, the box office and lost and found are all at the Pan Am Centre, and after the weekend lost items go to 416-588-7223 extension 1. If rain arrives, expect to sit through it: the event says races continue whenever racing is possible, and there are no refunds if one is cancelled.

Fan Tips

Bring the empty bottle and budget for food. With coolers out entirely, water refills and on-site concessions are the whole plan, and an empty insulated bottle is worth more than a soft one in August heat.

Take the GO train. The circuit wraps a commuter rail station, which is genuinely unusual, and it skips the parking cost and the walk from the far lots.

Pack a cushion, not a chair. Folding chairs and stadium seats are both prohibited, and aluminum grandstand benches over a long race day are unforgiving.

Watch the lens length. If you shoot with anything serious, 10 inches is the cutoff, and tripods are ground-level only, never in the grandstands.

Friday is free. Free Fan Friday on August 14 gives general admission at no charge with a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada, and the reserved grandstand seats are open to everyone that day. If you are new to the venue, that is the cheap way to walk the site before race day.

Common questions about the Streets of Markham

Can you bring a cooler to the Indy at Markham?

No. Coolers are on the prohibited items list at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, and the ban explicitly includes the food and beverage inside them.

What is the bag policy at the Streets of Markham?

Purses, backpacks and other small bags are permitted and will be opened for inspection at every gate. There is no clear-bag rule and no published size limit, but large bags such as duffel bags, grocery bags and luggage are prohibited.

Can you bring food and drinks into the Indy at Markham?

No outside food or beverage is allowed, with one exception: an empty water bottle. Fans with a food allergy or medical condition are asked to contact the event at tickets@hondaindy.com in advance.

Are chairs or seat cushions allowed at the Streets of Markham?

Seat cushions are permitted. Folding chairs and stadium seats are both on the prohibited items list, so a cushion is the only seating you can bring.

Are umbrellas allowed at the Indy at Markham?

Yes. Umbrellas may be used as long as they do not obstruct the view of others. Aerosol sunscreen is also permitted, unlike other aerosol cans.

What items are prohibited at the Streets of Markham?

Coolers, bottles, glass containers, outside alcohol and cannabis, folding chairs, stadium seats, large bags, laptops, drones, weapons, pepper spray, camera lenses over 10 inches, professional video equipment, noise makers, and bicycles or scooters, among others.

What time do gates open at the Indy at Markham?

Gates open at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15, and at 8 a.m. on race day Sunday, August 16. Times are subject to change without notice.

How do you get to the Streets of Markham circuit?

The event grounds are at Unionville GO station on the Stouffville GO Train line, and a GO Combo Ticket includes the ride. Driving, take Highway 407 ETR to Warden Avenue and go north to Enterprise Boulevard. Paid lots start at $35 for a single day.

The Bottom Line

The Streets of Markham is the opposite of a bring-your-own track. No cooler, no outside food, no chair, no glass. What you carry in is a small bag, an empty bottle, sunscreen, a cushion and a scanner, and everything else you buy inside. In exchange you get a brand new 12-turn street circuit with a double-sided pit lane, four grandstands within walking distance of each other, and a GO train that drops you inside the fence.

Policies change season to season and event to event. Confirm everything against the official source before you travel: the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham A-Z Info Guide. Questions go to tickets@hondaindy.com, and the customer service office on site is at the Pan Am Centre.