LVCVA gave out $4M in Las Vegas Grand Prix tickets

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority spent over $4 million of taxpayer money on Las Vegas Grand Prix tickets worth thousands of dollars each, which were handed out to various executives, authority staff and celebrities.

The attendees noted on the list were given between one and five tickets for access to the LVCVA’s Skybox suite over the four days of the grand prix last November, according to agency data obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal via a public records request. The suite sat above grandstands that overlooked the start-finish line of the race, which was located directly across the track from the Formula One pit building. The suite was able to host up to 500 attendees per night.

Some individuals also received $15,000 tickets to the Paddock spectator area; others received $2,500 grandstand tickets.

The LVCVA chose who received the tickets based on if they were customers of the LVCVA or of Las Vegas and if they were LVCVA staff or individuals in sales and marketing positions.

The LVCVA gave 31 of its staffers tickets to the suite for various nights of racing, including higher ups from CEO and President Steve Hill and Chief Operating Officer Brian Yost, all the way down to an intern who was given a ticket to the Nov. 15 opening night ceremony. All received tickets to the LVCVA’s suite, with Hill, LVCVA Vice President of Business Sales John Schreiber and National Sales Manager Jim McMichael receiving tickets to the Paddock, one night each.

The majority of LVCVA staff who received tickets held marketing, sales or event manager positions.

On race night, Nov. 18, the LVCVA had 26 staffers attending the race hosting 420 customers of their respective departments.

“The business purpose of these sales and marketing employees was to retain current customers and clients, as well as attract new customers and business to Las Vegas,” LVCVA spokeswoman Molly Castano said in an email.

Four were from building sales, who hosted 106 Las Vegas Convention Center customers. Ten employees in destination sales hosted 183 destination group customers. Seven marketing employees hosted 94 leisure, international and airline customers, as well as influencers and celebrities. Two sports marketing employees hosted 37 sports customers.

Three LVCVA executives were in attendance race night: Hill, who attended for both Las Vegas Grand Prix and hosting responsibilities; Kate Wik, chief marketing officer, attended for Las Vegas Grand Prix and special guest/suite logistics and hosting responsibilities; and former senior vice president of communications Lori Nelson-Kraft attended to assist with special guest/suite logistics.

Not included in the LVCVA’s ticket allotment were those that were provided to various Clark County commissioners.

“The County spent no money on tickets for F1,” Cooper said in an email. “The tickets provided to the commissioners by the Las Vegas Grand Prix were not paid for by Clark County.”

Five Clark County commissioners accepted the over $10,000 tickets from Las Vegas Grand Prix officials. The county touted the tickets as “educational,” which allowed them to observe race operations, services and infrastructure.

The city of Las Vegas also said it did not have any records that showed they spent money on race tickets.

Various sports executives were given tickets by the LVCVA, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, NHL Chief Business Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships Keith Wachtel, NBA Senior Vice President of Business Operations and Strategy Joey Graziano, MLS Senior Vice President of Match Business Jonathan Sheiman, and of the rodeo ranks, Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason and CEO of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Tom Glause.

Those noted to be celebrity guests included former NFL player and media personally Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson; Las Vegas NASCAR drivers Kurt and Kyle Bush; Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton; magician Shin Lim; chef Giada De Laurentiis; and Las Vegas native and Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant.

Individuals labeled as “influencers,” which the LVCVA spends over $2 million per year sponsoring such individuals, included professional boxer Caleb Plant and social media personality Pierson Wodzynski.

Several executives from major trade shows such as World of Concrete, the National Association of Broadcasters, SHOT Show, and SEMA were provided tickets, as were executives from several airlines, including Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and United Airlines.

The LVCVA board of directors last year originally approved spending up to $7 million to purchase grand prix tickets to hand out to customers. The tourism agency spends about $140 million per year on marketing Las Vegas, and the ticket buy was included in that category.

The LVCVA also sold some resort partners tickets to the race, which Hill noted last year could net the agency up to $2.8 million, depending on how many of those tickets were purchased. The LVCVA said it did not have a list of recipients for those tickets.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.