Officials tout Grand Prix’s success, expect talks for possible longer contract

With year two of the Las Vegas Grand Prix complete, officials are looking to the future of the megaevent being held annually in Southern Nevada.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Formula One parent company Liberty Media entered into an initial three-year contract for the race from 2023-2025. The two sides will now work on a new contract, one likely longer than the current deal, according to LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill.

That original deal came about because of all the unknowns of what it would take to host a race on the 3.8-mile street circuit, which includes an over 1-mile portion of Las Vegas Boulevard, Hill said. The first three years were designed to allow for the LVCVA and F1 to figure out how they could stage race weekend successfully, before committing to a longer-term contract.

“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.”

To sell their vision to area leaders, Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm said that F1 and Las Vegas Grand Prix officials promised to deliver one of the biggest spectacles the city has ever seen. With that promise now realized, F1 and race officials are excited about the future for the Las Vegas race.

“I think we’re all in love with the event, including globally, with all the stakeholders in the sport,” Wilm said. “But now that we’ve also proven to the valley that we can do this well and we can do this with far less disruption than year one, we’re looking forward to sitting down and figuring everything out (for) longer-term arrangements.”

Learning experience

After a rocky first year because of major paving operations before the race and track issues causing a delay, the second race weekend went more smoothly leading up to and during Saturday night’s race, which was won by Britain’s George Russell.

“We could not be more proud of the way we put Las Vegas on a global stage,” Wilm said. “The town was electric. The race was a smashing success. It was just an overall better experience for everyone, out-of-towners and local residents. We learned so much in year one that we were able to apply in year two. It was almost like we were doing this for more than one year.”

Learning from the first year of the race, officials came up with a better way to set up the circuit, by limiting lane restrictions and road closures more this time around, Hill said.

“We shortened the time it takes to close the track and reopen it,” Hill said. “Last year we were reopening the track at 6 in the morning and this year we’re opening the track again at 2 in the morning. Those types of things got better this year in a really big way. They also will continue to get better as we move forward. We already have a list of things that for next year that we can continue to improve.”

That list mainly centers on race setup, road closures and associated traffic issues, Hill said.

“That’s where the real impact is,” Hill said. “This year it was substantially better and we’ll continue to get better every year.”

The race and event operating teams having the benefit of a playbook compiled from last year’s race also played a role in an improved experience.

“I think we were much more organized in how we were installing the equipment on the streets,” Wilm said. “When you look at both the safety barriers and lighting trusses, how things were being stored, it was much neater and it provided significantly better ingress and egress. I think the traffic patterns were very clearly delineated. Our communications plan was stronger and better equipped, having been through that one-year cycle.”

Surprised guests

Some guests arriving Saturday night to the new Flamingo GA zone, where some of the cheapest tickets to the race were available, were reportedly told the space was oversold and that they were being reassigned to the more expensive Sphere zone, free of charge.

The Flamingo zone fans had to purchase all food and beverages, with the Sphere zone featuring all-inclusive food and nonalcoholic beverages.

“We decided since we were seeing such significant demand for some of our zones that we would just upgrade people,” Wilm said. “It was also a little bit of a surprise for some. We upgraded some of the other grandstands to the main grandstand, so it was a little bit of a surprise and a giveback to fans who were excited to join the event.”

Lucrative weekend

Leading up to the race, Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst of Applied Analysis, said the weekend’s economic impact would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars range. That, he said, would put it on pace to be the second-biggest weekend of 2024, behind only February’s Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.

Las Vegas Grand Prix officials said Sunday that paid attendance for this year’s race reached 306,000.

Looking to grow fan base

Grand Prix Plaza will open to fans next year, offering various experiences, including karting and virtual racing, and dining options. Fans can also get a crash course on F1, something that Wilm hopes will grow the sport locally and nationally.

Wilm highlighted a few takaways from the plans for Grand Prix Plaza: “One is to continue to build into the fiber of the Las Vegas community. Vegas is known for its nightlife. Now we’re giving people something really fun, interactive and educational during the day. … Then we’re also looking to educate new fans and bring in more diverse fans, younger fans, more families into our fan base.”

The combination of F1 and Las Vegas made it possible to continue the economic success of 2023’s race, Hill said. That’s why the LVCVA and F1 appear to be eager to begin work on a new multiyear agreement.

The combination of Formula One and Las Vegas brands makes F1 a “very special event,” Hill said.

“Lots of people want to be here this year, wanted to be here last year and they’re going to want to be here for all of the events we have in the future,” he said. “It’s just unbeatable what that combination produces. This atmosphere is just as good as it gets.”

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