F1 Car Race Returns To Strip With Earlier Daily Road Closures During Nov. 20-22 Las Vegas Grand Prix Event
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It’s back, with its winners and losers, good news and bad news.
It’s the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Nov. 20-22.
The glitzy car race means more revenues for upscale hotel-casinos along the 3.8-mile Strip corridor route. At the same time, the F1 event is a negative trigger for many Strip area workers and businesses that face traffic and customer access problems caused by the early September-Dec. 24 lane closures and race circuit construction.
In effect, the 50-lap, two-hour car race happens in a linear 3.8-mile private stadium on public roads that includes closing most of the Strip. The race has been a split decision for Las Vegas locals and businesses as some welcome it while others abhor it.
And this year, the daily road closures Nov. 20-22 will be earlier from 1PM-3PM caused by the earlier race time of 8 PM.
“With the earlier race time of 8PM this year, the rolling closures around the circuit will take place from 1PM through 3PM,” said Lori Nelson-Kraft, Las Vegas Grand Prix SVP of corporate affairs.
“Later this month, the interactive website and a twice-weekly texting program, along with many other communications tools, will return so we can ensure the public is well-informed,” she wrote to LVSportsBiz.com Friday. “Similar to last year, most of the construction activity will primarily take place in small sections of the circuit during the overnight hours with limited lane reductions.”
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is one of three U.S. F1 race events, but the ones in South Florida and Austin, Texas are geographically removed from downtown and major business district hubs. The Strip is the region’s economic lifeblood.
It should be noted that the Las Vegas F1 traffic and road closures were improved in Year 2 in 2024 a year after the inaugural race event disrupted commerce and caused traffic like no other event in Las Vegas history. F1/Clark County has settled a lawsuit brought by the Ellis Island hotel-casino, and is negotiating with the plaintiffs from three other lawsuits filed by businesses that claimed they lost millions of dollars because of the race’s access and traffic issues. After its legal settlement, Ellis Island actually became a sponsor.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix also publicizes an “economic impact” number that focuses on race-related spending, but the “impact” number is not an economic net gain number that factors in losses to businesses caused by the F1 race event.
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