Las Vegas gets a huge bite of F1 pie

Article posted by Coliseum, May 12^th, 2022

Image: Formula 1

Las Vegas (US) will host Formula One races in 2023, 2024 and 2025 after the City’s tourism body agreed on a $19.5m sponsorship deal on May 10^th.

The ‘VegasSlotsOnline.com’ stated that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has voted in favor of bringing the Formula One Grand Prix to the world’s gambling capital for at least three years.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) are a Government agency and the official destination marketing organization for Southern Nevada (US). It was founded by the Nevada Legislature in 1955.

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Formula One is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.

At its Board meeting held on May 10^th, the LVCVA approved a $19.5m sponsorship deal with F1, which starts November 2023 and continues in 2024 and 2025.

The LVCVA will pony up to $6.5m per year for services connected to the races, which include communications and traffic control. The tourism body agreed to the deal with Liberty Dice, a Nevada-registered sub-brand of Formula One owner Liberty Media.

Said LVCVA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Hill, “The scale of Formula One is huge, and it’s growing. The audience for their events, worldwide, is over 80 million people per race. That rivals the Super Bowl.”

Mutually beneficial

The ‘VegasSlotsOnline.com’ further stated that the LVCVA-Liberty partnership gives both entities significant exposure and, in the latter’s case, expansion opportunities. As part of the deal, Liberty gets to use the Las Vegas Convention Center, complete with up to 10,000 volunteers.

On May 10^th, Hill stated the partnership is “A sign that Las Vegas is back, and Las Vegas is the place to be.”

In an earnings call recently, Liberty Media’s CEO Greg Maffei confirmed his firm purchased a 39-acre plot of land East of the Strip for $240m, where it will build the pit and paddock complex for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. In the same meeting, F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali described the Vegas Grand Prix as “a Saturday night race down the iconic Strip. We cannot think of a more perfect marriage of speed and glamor.”

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is a planned Formula One Grand Prix due to form part of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, with the event to take place at Las Vegas, Nevada (US), at the Las Vegas Strip.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada (US). It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Being one of the largest convention centers in the world with 2,500,000 sq ft of exhibit space, it hosts shows with an estimated 200,000 participants.

Formula One announced its intentions to host a 50-lap Sin City Grand Prix back in March. The 6.12 km track will feature 14 turns and will run for 3.8 miles past landmarks including Caesars Palace and the Bellagio Fountains. The F1 drivers will hit top speeds of around 340 kmh on the circuit, with an expected audience of 170,000 spectators to cheer them on.

Sporting hub Vegas

The announcement of the motor racing league’s purchase of land in Las Vegas – coupled with the news Tilman Fertitta (American billionaire businessman and television personality) is planning on buying six-acres on The Strip for an upmarket resort – may soften the impact of the exodus of casino giants from the Strip in recent months.

With the National Football League (NFL) team Las Vegas Raiders franchise now based and playing out of ‘Sin City’, and Formula One coming in November, the gambling capital of the world is clearly speeding up its growth as a sporting hub. For locals and visitors who are bettors, sports fans, or both, Formula One in Vegas has major pulling power.

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