Las Vegas NASCAR Preview: Speedway’s Sales/Marketing Chief Says 60,000+ Expected For Pennzoil 400 This Month
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Another NASCAR weekend is heading straight for Las Vegas Motor Speedway this month. The big boys of major league racing are coming for the Pennzoil 400 weekend Feb. 21-23.
Few sports-business marketers have a better handle on the Las Vegas market than Kevin Camper, chief sales officer for Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which owns the sprawling Speedway on the north end of the Las Vegas metro region.
Camper runs the sales and marketing operations for Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is now becoming familiar with hosting two NASCAR weekends a year. LVSportsBiz.com caught up with Camper for a high five of questions about this month’s NASCAR weekend.
LVSB: With the Speedway hosting the first NASCAR race event after Daytona, do you expect an extra bump in attendance because of this schedule?
KC: Ticket sales have been steady for this event. There’s no question that being the week immediately following the Daytona 500 has provided for added exposure for the event as well as the destination.
LVSB: Is the Speedway still working on converting general seating into higher-end tickets like club seats? Is the strategy to create more higher end seating sections at the Speedway?
KC: At this time, we think we have hit on a good balance of premium seating and general seating. It’s important that we have tickets that are affordable to anyone who wants to attend a race, while also providing that exclusive experience to our corporate customers and those who are looking for something more.
LVSB: Do you think the Speedway will attract about 50,000 fans for the NASCAR event later this month? Are the majority tourists?
KC: We draw approximately 75-80 percent of our fans from outside the Las Vegas metropolitan area. While it’s very hard to predict crowd counts, we are anticipating a crowd in excess of 60,000 for the Pennzoil 400 and a combined crowd in that vicinity for our three support events – the Boyd Gaming 300, Strat 200 and Star Nursery 150.
LVSB: The first NASCAR event of the year at the Speedway usually attracts more tourists than the September event at LVMS. Do you feel the high number of out-of-town visitors and tourists to the Speedway for the February NASCAR weekend makes the event more protected from competition from other Las Vegas sports events like a VGK game?
KC: I don’t know that we’re seeking protection from other events. I think all of the various sports entities in town do their best to avoid direct competition. The Golden Knights are on the road the day of our Cup Series race, and the fact that there’s a major prize fight on Saturday of our race weekend simply adds to the prestige of the weekend.
LVSB: Do you still think it was a good business idea to have a second NASCAR event at the Speedway?
KC: Without question. Two races allow for many more opportunities that go beyond basic ticket sales. Having two races increases the value of every corporate agreement we have as well as all signage and suites. It also gives us exposure on multiple networks with FOX Sports broadcasting the spring events and NBC Sports having the rights to the Fall event. We have worked very hard to distinguish the events and make them separate entities as well. In addition to having different title sponsors, we try and mix up the events that surround the two races as well as some of the amenities we provide the race fans who visit.
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