When Formula One sent Emily Prazer to Las Vegas in 2021 to explore how the organization could bring the international racing circuit to the Strip, her first call was to Lauralyn Sandoval, a vice president with gaming equipment provider Aristocrat and the wife of former governor and UNR President Brian Sandoval.

The two women met more than a decade ago at the French Open in Paris, when Prazer was a tennis marketing executive and Sandoval — then Lauralyn McCarthy — was associated with charitable organization Cancer Research Racquet. They have been friends ever since.

The British-born Prazer, then the head of commercial development and race promotion for F1, planned to pitch the Formula One business model used in cities and countries around the world to Nevada government and tourism officials, the business community and resort operators.

It was her first trip to Las Vegas on behalf of Formula One, which was looking to expand its presence in the U.S., and she hoped that Sandoval could provide some advice.

“I didn’t even know who the governor [of Nevada] was at the time. How naive was that?” Prazer, 37, said in an April interview with The Nevada Independent.

Prazer, who was promoted to CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in January, learned quickly that the normal model wouldn’t work in Las Vegas. Normally, F1 secures a racing date and pays a large up-front fee, while the jurisdiction is responsible for the costs associated with the event.

Sandoval suggested during a lunch meeting with Prazer at Wynn Las Vegas that a different approach was required to win over a skeptical audience in Las Vegas.

“She took a walk on the Strip, thought about it, and came up with a plan that worked for both F1 and Las Vegas,” Sandoval recalled. “Emily is an incredible human being with vision and execution skills like no one I've ever seen before.”

It was Prazer’s idea to flip the model on its head. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the only race on the circuit where F1, rather than the host jurisdiction, oversees all promotional and development activities. That includes paying for the development of the 3.8-mile racing circuit, which meant spending $30 million on repaving the Strip and adjacent roads.

Prazer — now preparing for the Las Vegas Grand Prix’s third race on Nov. 22 — said her goal is to maximize a connection between F1 and the Las Vegas community. It’s a big reason F1 is opening its primary building in Las Vegas — the Grand Prix Plaza — to the general public this weekend with a variety of race-themed entertainment offerings.

Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at Las Vegas research and economic firm Applied Analysis, which develops impact reports for the race, applauded her vision in developing the race’s presence in Las Vegas.

“I think Emily has a rare form of genius in terms of the ability to see and develop value, which I think is incredible,” Aguero said. “In addition, she understands the sport and believes so much in Las Vegas and what is possible here. I think there's a tremendous benefit to that.”

Raising awareness of F1

No stranger to controversy from local businesses, the Grand Prix has become the largest recurring event for economic impact in Las Vegas, according to race organizers. 

In March, Grand Prix executives released an economic impact statement on the 2024 race (produced by Applied Analysis) showing the event generated $934 million in economic activity in Southern Nevada. The overall figure was more than $500 million below the first-year total, which saw a boost from the initial race construction.

As a comparison, Applied Analysis estimated the 2024 Super Bowl, which was played at Allegiant Stadium, had an economic impact of $1 billion.

The 2024 Grand Prix total included $556 million in event-specific visitor spending, including hotel rooms, food and beverage, transportation shopping and gaming. Activities associated with the race also provided $45 million in tax revenues for state and local governments, the report stated. 

The overall economic impact number is expected to grow in 2025, in part because of efforts such as the opening of Grand Prix Plaza to the public this weekend, who will pay to participate in various F1-related attractions. 

The 300,000-square-foot Plaza structure at the corner of Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane, developed for $500 million, serves as the central hub for the race with the start-finish line, pit row, race vehicle garages, luxury suites and grandstand seating.

Prazer said Formula One spent much of 2022 and 2023 getting the Plaza ready for the inaugural race. Heading into last year’s event, Formula One began considering how to open the facility to the public.

“The footprint was very new from a health and safety perspective, which was our number one priority,” Prazer said. “Having people be able to navigate around those spaces when we were unsure of customer flow would have been a little bit naive at the beginning.” 

But now, the venue is ready for the public. Attractions include motion simulators that take guests along several laps of the 3.8-mile Las Vegas circuit from a driver’s viewpoint, sitting in race car-style seats inside a wide-screen 4D theater. There’s also a go-kart racing circuit along a portion of pit row and through the garages, an interactive F1 museum, a restaurant and a store.

Attraction prices vary, with go-kart packages starting at $79, but Nevada residents pay a discounted rate. 

The plan is to close the Plaza to the public in mid-September to remove the attractions and prepare the site for the Nov. 20-22 Grand Prix. The attractions will be returned and the space reopened to the public sometime in January.

Prazer said the group will also evaluate the different Plaza attractions and explore adding new concepts based on customer feedback. Areas for grandstands during the race are vacant much of the year and Prazer said plans are being considered for outdoor special events, such as concerts.

She said the Plaza is also being offered as a location for conferences and business meetings. 

“We obviously offer something a little bit different,” she said. “We're seeing a lot of Formula One sponsors now coming to Vegas to do their conferences and events.”

Given that Southern Nevada attracts more than 40 million annual visitors, the facility has a “dual benefit” in driving revenue while offering race fans the opportunity to learn the history of F1.

“The ability to use Grand Prix Plaza as a platform to educate folks from the United States and Las Vegas is a remarkable benefit,” Aguero said. “It drives value as a marketable asset, not unlike an arena or a ballpark, where much of the value is also driven from what you can do there when a team isn’t playing.”

Future of Las Vegas and Formula One 

Prazer said Formula One has not constructed a venue like Grand Prix Plaza in any other racing market. 

“We believe so strongly in Las Vegas as the home of Formula One in North America,” Prazer said. “The relationships that we've built here over the last few years and the investment we've made in the building have been important. The race is spectacular in its own right. I was always quite nervous because we didn’t actually know how good the racing is going to be. But this race has been insanely good.”

One change is that the event, previously run as a separate entity, has merged with the rest of F1. Las Vegas Grand Prix will remain the promoter, which is not the case with the other F1 races.

“We've integrated this entire business into the global business, so more of my colleagues from London will be here,” Prazer said. “But [the race] is my responsibility. We’ve come up with a plan so the Las Vegas team has support.”

Prazer is also continuing with her role as the F1’s chief commercial officer for F1. Renee Wilm, the race’s CEO for the past two years, shifted her focus to a wider role with parent company Liberty Media, where she is chief legal officer.

In the meantime, Prazer, who earned a degree in sports and physical education from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, has been learning about Las Vegas and adjusting ticket prices and event packages to attract a larger audience. 

“We've made a lot more tickets available this year from a less expensive proposition,” she said, adding that race organizers offered $50 tickets for different days, such as the practice session and qualifying round.

As in last year’s race, the start time will be 8 p.m., two hours earlier than the inaugural event. The move helped with customer and employee access to the resort corridor.

She also inherited several pending lawsuits from local businesses that complained about business disruptions caused by the development of the racetrack and road shutdowns when the circuit is reconstructed annually.

The circuit’s development last year was reduced from nine months to three months, with all work conducted in overnight hours to eliminate daytime and rush hour traffic disruptions. F1 also publicly shared updates on the track’s progress through an interactive road map on the Grand Prix’s website and a mobile app.

“We're working through everything and we feel very comfortable that we'll come to swift conclusions,” Prazer said. “We’re engaged in discussions. There is nothing I can add to that.”