Boston Celtics owner invests in electric car racing

LONDON (Reuters) - Boston Celtics basketball owner Wyc Grousbeck and his business partners have invested millions of dollars in the Formula E electric car racing series that will start next year, its organisers said on Friday.

Grousbeck is making the investment through Causeway Media Partners, a fund he set up in May and which has been backed by a number of NFL and NBA team owners.

Financial details were not disclosed but media reports said they were injecting $21 million into the project.

"We believe Formula E is a great evolutionary step in motorsport and a way to entertain millions around the world while driving the development of the best possible electric vehicles," Grousbeck said in a statement.

Formula E will stage its first race in Beijing next September and is planning a series of city centre races using battery-powered vehicles capable of speeds of 220 kph.

Spaniards Enrique Banuelos and Alejandro Agag have committed about $100 million to develop the format. Grousbeck will join the board of Formula E as part of the agreement.

(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Pritha Sarkar)