Stakeholders awaiting effects, outcome of inaugural Las Vegas GP

The inaugural F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix has drawn many questions, but the question of “how badly will this grand prix paralyze its host city” matters “not only to the drivers, executives and motorsports fans, but the sustainability of the event as a whole,” according to Tashan Reed of THE ATHLETIC. The answer “remains up in the air” because, while Las Vegas is accustomed to accommodating hordes of visitors, the GP “presents a logistical puzzle the city has never had to take on before.” And with the race looming, it “still hasn’t fully figured out.” Following “more than a year of hashing out the details,” it is “easy to envision a scenario where moving people around the grand prix becomes a massive headache for F1, city officials, spectators, businesses and their employees on The Strip.” The potential ramifications “if that isn’t avoided can’t be overstated.” However, “regardless of how well things go” this week, the Las Vegas Grand Prix will “happen for at least nine more years.” If F1’s “wish” for the 10-year agreement it signed with Las Vegas to run into perpetuity is going to come to fruition, though, they will “need to show the city the event won’t be a transportation nightmare.” Given the Las Vegas GP is F1’s “most audacious venture into the U.S. to date,” the stakes are “high.” Growing pains will be “unavoidable,” but “identifying a solution is non-negotiable” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/15).

FULL THROTTLE: ESPN.com’s Nate Saunders writes F1 is “so determined to make this race a success it has ripped up its normal business model by taking on the promotion of the race itself.” There is a “clear visual sign of this unique investment in the heart of Vegas,” where F1's “impressive” paddock building has been constructed. It is also “reflected in the contractual commitment F1 has made.” The “pressure is on to get it right.” One of the “most immediately impressive parts” of this race is that F1 “managed to convince Vegas to shut down one of the most famous streets in the world to host the event.” With race time at 1 am ET/10 pm PT, F1 “clearly felt there was no point doing a race around Vegas without being able to lean into the neon lights of the city's famous skyscape.” While F1 has “not yet officially” commented on ticket sales, what is “clear is that the resale value is much lower than face value, perhaps indicating that F1 and Las Vegas expected a little bit too much from this first event in that department.” F1 is “expecting to welcome 100,000 fans a day.” Saunders notes that Vegas “feels like F1's shiny big new thing.” He adds if Monaco “represents old money and a bygone F1 era,” then Vegas is the “complete opposite.” And yet, it is “hard to judge exactly how big this event will feel” (ESPN.com, 11/15).

SUPPLY AND DEMAND: USA TODAY’s Jon Hoefling wrote the “half-billion-dollar venture has hit a bump with less than a week before it's supposed to take place,” with demand as the “main issue.” When the event was announced, it was “clear that it was not supposed to bring in new Formula 1 fans or create more American interest.” Even as the event “drastically lowers its prices and hotels nearby lower their rates,” the Las Vegas GP is “drawing almost zero attention” (USA TODAY, 11/14).

COMING IN HOT: In Las Vegas, Mick Akers noted the Las Vegas Grand Prix “marks one of the top-selling events globally this year on the secondary ticket marketplace StubHub, while hotel room rates have stabilized.” The inaugural race is the “best-selling F1 race of 2023 on StubHub,” with an “average selling price for a three-day ticket” at $2,100, as of Monday. That is “down about 9 percent from the average sale price last week” of $2,300. Half of the tickets sold on StubHub for the Las Vegas GP have “occurred since the Nov. 5 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.” Hotel room rates at four Caesars Entertainment properties have “remained relatively flat since last week” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURAL, 11/14).

HIGH HOPES: Wynn CEO Craig Billings said “our expectations are pretty strong” for the upcoming Las Vegas GP. He said, “We barely put any rooms on public sale for F1. Most of them were sold privately.” Billings added the event is “going to be a great tailwind to our fourth quarter this year and in the years ahead” and we “characterize it” to Wynn investors as an “annual one-off, but it’s great for the fourth quarter and this year, certainly, it consumes a week that is ordinarily the slowest quarter in town so it’s a real shot in the arm for the town.” CNBC’s Sara Eisen said of the timing of the race in the calendar, “I don’t think that was an accident.” Eisen said “it’s hard to compare” F1 to the NFL in terms of marketing prowess because F1 “doesn’t compare in scale and size to the NFL in the U.S.” (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 11/14).

VEGAS HOSPITALITY: The LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL noted MGM Resorts International star chefs at the Bellagio Fountain Club are “in the driver’s seat” as they “rotate throughout the three days with new menus that progress through the afternoon and night.” Two 165-inch video walls have been installed, “with 60 OLED TVs with Dolby Vision broadcasting the action.” Two F1 race simulators are “on each side of the room.” Bleachers are “erected on either side” and a DJ deck “sits on its roof, dubbed the Rooftop Nightclub,” with a “view of Bellagio Fountains at the back and the Las Vegas Grand Prix road course out front.” The deck “covers three football fields.” The club has “totally sold out all 3,600 tickets.” The structure has “already driven revenue and conversation,” but it is “not a year-round experience” -- as the venue is to be “completely disassembled in time for New Year’s Eve” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL, 11/14).