After Last Year’s PR Mess In Las Vegas For Inaugural Race, Formula 1 Trying To Patch Things Up By Reaching Out To Host Market In 2024
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
(Note: Story has been updated wit new information Wednesday.)
Let’s face it. Year 1 of Formula 1 in Las Vegas on the Strip was a PR disaster in 2023.
Clark County commissioners handed over the world-famous Strip to a private sports promoter for free and the car race organizer for the Las Vegas Grand Prix created nine months of traffic jams, long commutes and lost revenues for businesses in the Strip corridor where the 90-minute road race was held on a Saturday night in November.
Even the first night’s practice session was a mess for Formula One, which told paid fans to leave the stands and the race course after a driver ran over a utility cover that destroyed his car. There was a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the fans who paid pricy tickets to see the practice laps only to be told to leave the venue on day one.
And in the weeks and months leading up to the 2023 race, there was little community outreach. F1 was known for closing the Strip and surrounding roads and street lanes for months, creating headaches for thousands of tourists and commuters.
So, things have changed for 2024.
After telling Las Vegas locals to stay away from the Strip and race course area in 2023 if they don’t have tickets or nor involved with the event, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is trying to connect with the Vegas community.
Updated: The Las Vegas Grand Prix said it’s giving away free tickets and merch to mark the 100-day countdown to the 50-lap race event Nov. 21-23. Take a look:
After downtown businesses and hotels said they did not see financial benefits from last year’s race, the LVCVA (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) is spending $1 million on a downtown music and street festival called the Neon City Festival during the race dates of Nov. 22-24.
And a month ago, the Las Vegas Grand Prix was advertising for a community engagement director. The LinkedIn ad for the job said there were more than 100 applicants.
Taking a page from the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee playbook, the Las Vegas F1 staffers are also handing out free tickets to a limited number of locals like the 2024 Nevada Teacher of the Year to drum up good will with the host community.
The race also sponsored back-to-school giveaways like shoes and backpacks and posted a photo on LInkedIn to show the sneakers.
F1 even announced the entertainment for the three days:
The Las Vegas Grand Prix, in its first year, was criticized for high ticket prices that priced out locals and for exaggerating its net economic impacts after business owners in the Strip corridor came forward to say they lost millions of dollars in revenues. Ellis Island hotel-casino has sued the Las Vegas Grand Prix and Clark County, alleging it lost millions of dollars because of the race. And another group of business owners said it’s also working on a lawsuit against F1 and the county.
Meanwhile, Clark County has refused to make public the grand prix’s traffic report after last year’s traffic disaster. F1 said it will disrupt traffic on and around the Strip for only three months in 2024 starting in September compared to nine months in 2023.
