Las Vegas Grand Prix ticket prices could be adjusted this year, MGM CEO says

Formula One is looking to adjust ticket prices for this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

During MGM Resorts International’s yearend earnings call Wednesday, president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle alluded to talks being held by F1 to adjust ticket prices for November’s race.

“If you think about Formula One and going forward, the best news I’ve heard is they’re recontemplating and considering pricing and what to charge,” Hornbuckle said. “I think that’s meaningful, because to the extent we can get a foundation going early, we can continue to build on that. I think that messaging has been delivered and heard, so we’re excited by that.”

Las Vegas Grand Prix spokeswoman Lori Nelson-Kraft confirmed ticket pricing talks were being had as planning for this year’s race is underway.

“We’ve been in discussions with and been receiving feedback from our resort partners, stakeholders and fans to help shape our 2025 pricing structure as we plan for this year’s race,” Nelson-Kraft said Thursday in a text message.

Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom said in a text that he hopes that any adjustments will make ticket prices cheaper. Segerblom’s text also noted that he wasn’t aware of the pricing talks.

One of the main complaints from locals and visitors regarding the race over in its first two years is that tickets were too expensive, with the average fan being priced out from attending the event.

A pricing adjustment would be a continuation of what F1 started last year, offering over 7,000 more general admission tickets for the 2024 race than at the 2023 event. General admission tickets are more affordable than the higher-end hospitality offerings for the race.

Lower room rates

With the success of the inaugural 2023 race, where MGM Resorts saw an average room rate of $800 a night, the interest dipped during the 2024 event, as shown by the resort company’s average room rate being cut in half to $400, Hornbuckle said.

MGM Resorts posted record revenue last year, despite its properties seeing less demand for the 2024 race, compared with the 2023 race, Hornbuckle said.

Despite the 50 percent drop in room rates last year, Hornbuckle is still bullish about the race being held on the weekend before Thanksgiving each year, which is historically one of the worst weekends for visitation in the city. The $400 average rate for last year’s F1 weekend was still about twice the average room rate MGM’s properties see during a non-Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, Hornbuckle said.

“As you recall this is normally the second worst weekend of the year,” Hornbuckle said. “So, we’re excited to continue to support it. We’re excited to be behind it.”

Reduced ticket packages

MGM Resorts also reduced the number of ticket packages it offered for the 2024 race, mainly focusing on its Bellagio Fountain Club space. That high-end hospitality spectator zone, built over the Fountains of Bellagio, saw prices north of $10,000 last year.

“We focused on the fountain club,” Hornbuckle said. “We got rewarded for that.”

The start time of the race in the first two years was 10 p.m., meaning racing action each night ending at around midnight, a concern of some fans. This year’s racing will begin two hours earlier at 8 p.m. That extra post-race time will allow visitors to take in more of everything else the resort corridor has to offer, race spokeswoman Nelson-Kraft said last month.

“The adjustment is based on feedback, insights and experience from the first two races, expanding opportunities for fans to explore the destination and continuing to engage with more fans across the U.S.,” Nelson-Kraft said.

Race’s future

F1’s contract with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expires after this year’s race. The initial three-year deal was inked because there was a lot of unknown about how the race would play out on the 3.8-mile street circuit, run mainly on public roads, including a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard between Spring Mountain Road and Harmon Avenue, LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said.

Hornbuckle said Wednesday that the industry will have to sit down and discuss the event’s future in Sin City.

“We don’t think it’s going anywhere,” Hornbuckle said. “We don’t want it to go anywhere. But come next year we’re going to obviously have to sit down and discuss what it feels like going forward from there.”

The LVCVA would like to have a new, longer-term contract in place sooner than that, as Hill said last year that they would like to have that taken care of with F1 before this year’s race weekend, scheduled for Nov. 20-22, rolls around.

“We’ll look to have something a little more permanent in place,” Hill said. “We’ll probably start that conversation shortly after the first of the year and probably look to have something in place prior to the race happening next year.”

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