Public sentiment following the inaugural Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix remains mixed some nine months after the checkered flag was waved on Belgium racer Max Verstappen’s victory.

With race weekend less than 90 days away, event organizers, Clark County leaders and resort industry officials say they are taking every step possible to ensure the 2024 race doesn’t crash heading into the first turn.

But there have been more than a few bumps in the road. Last year, locals said they were shut out from attending the race because of high ticket prices, while resort workers had trouble getting to their jobs because of road closures. 

Meanwhile, more than half a dozen small business owners claimed to have lost millions of dollars in revenue from the development of the 3.8-mile race course. Ellis Island Casino, located on Koval Lane, filed a lawsuit in May against Formula One over lost revenue caused by road closures and access issues, while others say they’re still waiting to be made whole.

During an Aug. 6 Clark County Commission meeting, Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm and other race organizers said they have set out to win over the Las Vegas community. 

Wilm promised that the setup time to create the racing circuit — including a 2-mile stretch along the Strip — has been reduced from nine months to three, with all work to be conducted in overnight hours to eliminate daytime and rush hour traffic disruptions.

The public can keep informed on the track’s progress through an interactive road map on the Grand Prix’s website and mobile app. Grand Prix organizers are also assisting in the development of a resort employee mobility program, funded by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, to provide a better system for shuttling workers to their jobs during the race weekend.

Making the race more affordable and accessible to locals while minimizing disruptions in creating the track were key lessons organizers took away from the inaugural event, Wilm said. The focus is balancing efforts to make the Grand Prix more community-friendly while still catering to the high-end crowd associated with the race’s international audience.

Wilm, the chief legal officer for Formula One-owner Liberty Media, said the Grand Prix would “continue to provide the luxury VIP experiences that many Formula One fans are accustomed to.” But she added that race organizers have “leaned in heavily on the more affordable price points. This will allow more of our fans to participate in race weekend.”

Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, one of the more outspoken critics of last year’s race, said early signs are encouraging but the event needs to have a good plan in place that allows casino patrons and race fans to navigate getting on and off the Strip. 

“We want people to come down to see it,” said Kirkpatrick during the commission meeting, noting she has sat in on meetings surrounding the 2024 event. “We want employees not having to leave three hours ahead of time just to get to work. We want our inspectors to be able to [do their jobs]. We're in a better spot than we were this time last year, and I feel like everybody's trying to make it much, much better.”

More general admission access

Race organizers increased the number of general admission tickets to more than 10,000 — a number that greatly exceeds what was offered for the inaugural race — with viewing areas geared to attract locals.

“We want everyone — international, domestic, local tourists and residents — to all participate in what is an incredible celebration of this town,” Wilm said. “We want to bring the community into our events. That is something that didn’t happen [last year] and I will own that.” 

A grandstand seating section along Koval Lane — close to where the race cars leave Grand Prix Plaza — will focus on the general admission audience. Meanwhile, nearby luxury suites will be offered for high-end customers. Additional general admission seats have been made available near the Sphere.

General admission tickets begin at $150 for a single-day ticket. Last year, single-day tickets for race qualifying cost $500 while actual race-day tickets cost $1,300.

For the high-end crowd, there are still more than a dozen luxury suites and clubs around the circuit, with tickets ranging from $3,500 to $35,000 per person for the Nov. 21-23 weekend. 

Still, it is unknown if the changes have made a difference, as a spokeswoman said Formula One does not release ticket sales figures ahead of an event.

Also, F1 fans — including those not attending the actual race — can take part in a free fan experience on the Strip during race weekend on land owned by Wynn Resorts. The venue will include live entertainment, food trucks and F1 attractions.

“The community engagement is our commitment to find opportunities to invite the local community to be part of the Las Vegas Grand Prix without needing a ticket to the race,” Grand Prix senior vice president of corporate affairs Lori Nelson Kraft said.

She added that organizers gave away 100 pairs of free tickets to locals last week to celebrate the 100-day countdown to the race.  

Racecourse project manager Terry Miller, who oversaw the development of the track last year, said there will be a more orderly transition for the circuit with the installation of track lighting beginning after Labor Day followed by the installation of the wall barriers. 

Miller said not having to repeat last year’s challenge of working around the construction of Grand Prix Plaza, the $500 million centerpiece building that includes the race’s start-finish line, pit row and luxury suites, also saves time.

“It makes for a more fluid process by which we do the installation,” Miller said, adding that the absence of having to repave the entire course is also a time-saver. “There is a little more predictability as we move through and create our track.”

Business access remains a concern

However, one major traffic issue remains: a temporary Flamingo Road bridge that takes traffic above Koval Lane. Though the bridge has been reduced from four lanes to two — one in each direction in an attempt to limit disruptions to access businesses along the road — business owners were still not appeased. Several appeared at the county commission meeting to blame road closures and other impediments surrounding the race for costing them millions in lost revenue.

“We’ll only lose $1 million this year?” Ferraro’s Ristorante owner Gino Ferraro asked commissioners, saying his Paradise Road business suffered during the racetrack construction. “Formula One will continue to disrupt Las Vegas.”

Randy Markin, who owns Battista’s Hole in the Wall restaurant on Flamingo Road and Linq Lane and manages the neighboring Stage Door Casino, asked commissioners not to repeat any mistakes made in 2023, such as the temporary overpass.

“This isn't just about my business. It's about all of us,” Markin said. “It's about the employees who are facing lower wages for months. It's about the unnecessary stress and anxiety the movement of F1 will have on 100,000 plus employees.”

Resort industry positive on F1

MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle raised the yellow caution flag when he mentioned “softness” in early hotel reservations for the race weekend during the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call July 31.

Wilm, however, provided a simple explanation — frenzied interest in the first year of an F1 race is common. 

“I would note that [tickets] went on sale six months earlier for the year one race,” Wilm said. “There is a significantly greater amount of time for people to look out to book those rooms.”

Hornbuckle said average daily hotel room rates at MGM’s Strip resorts were down “compared to last year when we had a lot of advanced pre-bookings” for F1.

“We are hoping and believing that this race will continue to pace up,” Hornbuckle said.

MGM Resorts said the inaugural race helped the company’s fourth-quarter Strip revenue hit a record $2.4 billion. Much of the revenue was attributed to the Bellagio Fountain Club, a three-level ultraluxury trackside experience. Many of the club’s guests were invited casino customers who made up for their free tickets with what they left in the casino cage. Others paid a reported $11,000 for a three-day ticket.

The company has just two properties — Bellagio and The Cosmopolitan — situated along the Strip’s F1 straight away. MGM is bringing back the Bellagio Fountain Club and keeping its large rooftop viewing area for the race, but is eliminating the grandstands portion of the multilevel structure. The club is keeping its large rooftop viewing area for the race. A company spokeswoman said there would be “new customer activations” for the club but didn’t provide details.

At The Cosmopolitan, MGM said it plans to add a viewing area on the resort's third-floor pool deck, which overlooks the site where the Strip portion of the racetrack ends with a left-hand turn onto Harmon Avenue toward the start-finish line.

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told investors in a research note following the MGM earnings call that any initial concerns about F1 “are overblown.”

The 2023 Grand Prix was televised to the largest global audience in Las Vegas history and gave an $884 million economic boost to the local economy, according to an economic study produced for Clark County by Las Vegas advisory firm Applied Analysis. The Las Vegas Grand Prix generated $77 million in state and local taxes, the highest figure recorded for a single event. 

Kraft said organizers will produce an economic impact study after this year’s race.

Even with lower hotel room rates than a year ago, MGM officials expect the weekend to be profitable. The company’s properties on the Strip’s south end, which didn’t see much activity from last year’s race, are expected to benefit from a Las Vegas Raiders home game at Allegiant Stadium against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov, 24 — roughly 12 hours after the Grand Prix concludes.

“This will be a good weekend for us compared to an average normal weekend,” said MGM Resorts president Corey Sanders. 

When Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings was asked about reduced hotel bookings for race weekend during his company’s second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 5, he said there weren’t many noticeable differences.

“I'm sure the race will be well executed,” Billings said. “We're confident that we'll do just fine and get more than our fair share [of business].”

Updated at 10:16 a.m. on 8/26/2024 to correct information on a ticket giveaway.