Having a ball: A look inside the Sphere’s F1 spectator zone
Using the massive Sphere as the anchor of the Las Vegas Grand Prix spectator area, a small army of staff ensure the guest experience is enjoyable.
The Patina Restaurant Group has an army of 900 staff preparing and serving the food that is included in the Sphere zone’s ticket. At Sphere, the second largest spectator zone on the circuit, they offer a rotational menu, including handmade tacos, pressed burgers, hand-breaded chicken sandwiches and desserts, serving different food options each day. Tickets to the space started out at $350 before taxes and fees, with single-day tickets selling out ahead of the event.
“The ability to grab one or two plates here, go sit down, go walk around or go to your seat and then during the break between practice or qualifying, come back and try something new,” said John Kolaski, president of Patina.
Over the past several months Patina staff taste-tested various foods to come up with the changing menu offered at the space.
“To make sure we could execute the right volume and hold our temperature and to make sure our product can sit and be up to standard and have the right variety,” Kolaski said. “We wanted to have the right amount of vegetarian dishes, the right amount of protein and have some great flavors that are familiar or perhaps something that’s a new experience. It’s Vegas. You want to have something that stands out.”
Patina provides food service for PGA and LPGA events and the Ryder Cup, so they have experience with serving large groups of people, setting them up perfectly to take on the grand prix challenge.
“So we’ve had some great experience being able to put out a massive volume (of food) and to make sure that people are not waiting in line as best as possible,” Kolaski said. “We build these (food areas) as a straight line kitchen. From where the project is stored, how it’s cooked, how it goes into an assembly line and then essentially goes right through that curtain so it’s hot and ready to go. When we had 5,000 to 7,000 people coming out here at once when the practice round ended we just had as much food up there, so as quick as people could go up and grab it and move onto the next area, we’ve got food ready for them.”
T-Mobile partnership
Sphere zone’s title sponsor, T-Mobile, utilized its partnership with the grand prix to offer a customer exclusive experience and a unique track feature.
The phone carrier has a three-level structure, dubbed Club Magenta, for those who have T-Mobile service, where there is a private bar on the first level with a daily happy hour with drinks available for half price, along with photo opportunities with magenta race helmets. The second floor deck includes a silent disco space, where fans wearing headphones can dance to the music of various DJs, including Thursday’s main stage headliner Alesso. The top deck is a space where you get a prime vantage point of the circuit on one side and the headliner entertainment stage on the other.
“Silent disco upstairs, we’ve got a prominent DJ coming through each night,” said Mike Gendreau, senior manager of sponsorships with T-Mobile. “This space is really just a way to show our customers love.”
T-Mobile has the only named turn on the track, the 5G Turn, or Turn 5, which leads Formula One drivers from Koval Lane into the Sphere’s area. The name plays off the 5G cellphone service offered by various carriers including T-Mobile.
“The experiences are bigger and better, the talent that is coming through is bigger and better,” Gendreau said.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.