By Randall Cannon for LVSportsBiz.com
Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts International, added his official stamp this week to the list of high-profile support for the recently announced 2023 Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix.
MGM joins Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas in “founding partner” efforts for the Grand Prix alongside primary event promotion by Formula 1 and Liberty Media in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment and the local LVCVA (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority).
As a founding partner, MGM is provided with a direct marketing opt-in for visitors to the official F1LasVegasGrandPrix.com website.
Big-time sports is a major platform for MGM Resorts International. Las Vegas’ biggest employer is the title sponsor of the annual NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center, while also serving as a key sponsor of the Las Vegas Raiders and Vegas Golden Knights.
MGM Resorts will boast prime Grand Prix access and viewing opportunities from some of its most famous Las Vegas Strip properties.
Drivers are expected to reach the highest speeds of the circuit directly in front of MGM’s Mirage and its Bellagio Fountains, a typically tortuous one-mile stretch of the Strip that racers will cover in a little over 15 seconds.
The hotel towers of MGM’s Aria and Vdara properties, meanwhile, will provide a spectacular view of the turn 11-12 sequence from the Strip to Harmon Ave.
MGM Resorts’ financial projections for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix have not yet been revealed.
LVCVA social media engagement, though, might offer some insights into the revenue potentials for Las Vegas businesses.
LVCVA reported at its April 12, 2022 board meeting that its Formula 1 social announcement outstripped the widely-viewed Las Vegas Super Bowl LVIII activity by a factor of at least four.
The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix founding activation by MGM Resorts also recalls a failed effort to bring Formula 1 to Las Vegas in 1996 with its flagship MGM Grand as host resort.
The 1996 Las Vegas Formula 1 promotion was posted in the program of the 1995 Indianapolis 500 but, as with several other such Las Vegas efforts, was scuttled for lack of broad government and gaming industry support.
PSA