By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Businesses that lost millions of dollars in revenues because of the Formula 1 car race in the Strip corridor in November have banded together to ask Clark County government, the LVCVA public tourism agency and F1 for financial compensation for their losses.
“We don’t need the F1. The F1 needs us,” Jay’s Market owner Wade Bohn told LVSportsBiz.com Wednesday. “We want to be compensated for the losses that occurred due to everything F1, the county and the LVCVA did.”
Bohn said the Formula 1 race caused his store’s 2022 revenue of $8.5 million to drop to $4.2 million-$4.3 million in 2023 because customers could not gain access to his business at 109 East Flamingo Road.
“We believe the county is responsible. They’re using taxpayer dollars to bring F1 into town. When F1 went before the county, they promised they would not be a hinderance, that they would be a part of the community,” Bohn said. “What they did was they came in, tore everything up, ran the race and got the hell out of dodge. . . If this (the business loss) happens again next year I will be out of business one hundred percent.”
The county also installed a temporary bridge on Flamingo Road spanning the busy corner at Koval Lane as part of the Formula 1 race preparation — and that has hurt businesses, too. The bridge will be in place through the Super Bowl in Las Vegas Feb. 11.
Randy Markin, an owner of Battista’s restaurant and general manager of Stage Door Casino, told LVSportsBiz.com today, “We as a community got bamboozled, we got fooled. This has not ever happened before. It just steamrolled out of control.”
Jay’s Market, Battista’s, Stage Door and several other businesses that lost millions of dollars in revenue because of Formula 1’s race course have joined forces and enlisted a representative who appeared before the Clark County Commission at its meeting Tuesday. The businesses are located in the heart of the Strip corridor where Formula 1created a 3.8-mile course for the Nov. 18 race. The track and surrounding closed roads impeded customers from buying items at many local stores.
The representative, Lisa Mayo, told county commissioners that the businesses want to avoid a class-action lawsuit and, instead, are looking to receive compensation for their losses caused by the F1 race. The racetrack preparation and road paving happened for several months leading up to the race, while the dismantlement of the track gear like lighting, barriers and grandstands took weeks after the event was complete.
Markin said not only did the revenue losses at Battista’s and Stage Door total more than $4 million, he also lost customers who are no longer returning to the businesses that took decades to grow.
“This is the first time Las Vegas got fooled by an outside entity like F1,” Markin said. “F1 did not know how to get involved with the community.”
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Markin reiterated the group’s goal of trying to avoid a class-action lawsuit against Clark County, Formula 1 and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Instead, the businesses want to work with the county, race promoter and tourism agency to receive compensation for their revenue losses. One part of the compensation, Markin said, could be money gift cards redeemable at the affected businesses that would be given to Strip corridor workers who were also affected by the race-created traffic jams and closed roads.
“None of us want to destroy Las Vegas. We don’t want a lawsuit,” Markin said. “We want to turn a negative into a positive. It’s much better if the county commission, LVCVA and FI get together and be proactive about this problem.”
Clark County Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom told LVSportsBiz.com that the businesses have a “legitimate point.”
But Segerblom said the county commission has “not developed a structure to decide on the claims. For sure, we will be looking at this in the future. Before we approve F1 (for 2024), we will address the businesses that have been impacted in the past and likely to be impacted into the future.”
LVSportsBiz.com was surprised that Formula 1 and its owner, Colorado-based Liberty Media, were not required by Clark County to pay the county government for using 3.8 miles of public roads and right-of-ways for the race course.
Instead, Formula 1 wants Clark County to pay $40 million to the race promoter for road paving costs.
“I believe the county was taken advantage of,” Mayo said. “Everyone fell for the sizzle of F1.”
Segerblom said he was unaware of any current negotiations between the county and F1 on the $40 million request by F1 owner Liberty Media for the road paving work.
Segerblom, the newly-appointed chairman of Clark County’s seven-member governing board, said the county will be asking many more questions to F1 about the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix race.
“You have a private business making money off the (public county) roads. A lot of things we didn’t think about we know a lot more about now,” Segerblom said. “There will be a lot of questions raised between the (F1 race) and the county and the commission.”
Markin, the businessman, said he met with LVCVA CEO Steve Hill after the race to discuss the business’ financial losses and the idea of compensation.
“He one hundred agreed (about the business losses) and knows it and asked for time to work with F1 and get some compensation formula for all of us,” Markin told LVSB Wednesday.
LVSportsBiz.com contacted Hill via email about the businesses losing money because of the Formula 1 race. If we get a response from him we will include it in this story.
LVSportsBiz.com also contacted a PR representative for F1, and if we hear back from the grand prix we will include its comments on compensation for the businesses.
Bohn, the Jay’s Market owner, did recall having a zoom session before the race with FI project manager Terry Miller, who represented the grand prix at LVCVA and county meetings.
“His exact words were, ‘Wade, I’m sorry for your losses, but I have a job to do and I’m going to get it done.’ ”
Markin said Las Vegas’ hotel-casino “big boys” like MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas generated more revenue that race weekend than they typically do for the same weekend in past years, but he noted the money was made at the expense of other businesses.
“The attorneys are calling (for a class-action lawsuit) and see dollar figures. F1 came in and screwed things up. Let’s turn a negative into a positive,” Markin said. “The big boys, the big hotels are the driving force for Las Vegas. They did well (during F1 race) and buried the rest of the town.”