Las Vegas Touts $1.5B Formula One Impact, but Reality Is Complicated

At face value, it seems Formula One’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last November was a resounding success.

F1 announced the race brought an economic impact of $1.5 billion to the city—which is 50% more than what Super Bowl LVIII generated three months later. The race also pulled in 1.3 million viewers, more than the average F1 race last season, despite the 1 a.m. ET start time and both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships already clinched.

On Monday, the league announced a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to “strengthen the relationship between F1 and Las Vegas” by the time the second iteration of the race comes around. The LVCVA is tasked with marketing Southern Nevada, so a partnership between the two sides makes sense, especially as Las Vegas and F1 are locked into a 10-year agreement that runs until 2032. 

Reality Check

The Las Vegas GP was anything but a smooth ride. 

While the city attempts to boast about the economic impacts of the race, several business owners have said they’ve been negatively impacted by the race, with one, Ellis Island Hotel and Casino, filing a lawsuit against the Las Vegas Grand Prix and Clark County in May.

“Plaintiffs’ reasonable and justified business expectations were substantially interfered with, compromised, and adversely impacted when Defendants herein transferred the public rights of way abutting and/or adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip into a 3.8-mile race track and apparently entered into contractual agreements to do so for up to an additional nine (9) years into the future,” the suit read.

The lawsuit tracks with the reports of several businesses—and even hotels—struggling with price increases as well as pedestrian and traffic blockages in the lead-up to the race.

The race itself wasn’t particularly compelling—Max Verstappen won, just as he did in 19 of the 22 races last year—but the weekend’s most memorable event on track happened in the usually uneventful practice session, when Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz drove over a loose drain cover that stopped the session.

Sainz, through no fault of his own, was handed a 10-place grid penalty because the team had to replace the car’s energy store, while the fans waited hours only to be sent home when the session was called off.

The drivers also spoke out about their dissatisfaction with the spectacle, as Verstappen called it “99% show,” while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton called it a “circus.”

LVCVA Connected to WNBA Probe

The LVCVA is a government-funded agency that has promoted several Las Vegas sporting events, including the Super Bowl and last year’s race before it was an official partner. But the organization is embroiled in some hot water at the moment in another sport.

The WNBA’s Aces are under investigation after the LVCVA announced it would pay $100,000 to each of the team’s players for a partnership, which would be a violation of the league’s protocol if the team were involved in the negotiations.

The LVCVA is also taking some heat after multiple reports surfaced that the team has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on influencers, including $4 million worth of tickets for last year’s Grand Prix.