Las Vegas Tourism Officials Highlight ‘Vegas Value’ To Combat ‘Wave Of Negative Commentary;’ LVCVA Board Approves $20 Million F1 Sponsorship
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The LVCVA and tourism agency CEO Steve Hill love the F1 car race on the Strip, even it means some businesses benefit from the race and others lose revenues because of a decrease in customers.
The board of the publicly-funded tourism agency charged with drawing tourists to Southern Nevada (the LVCVA, in reality, mostly focuses on the Strip) voted without posing a question to give $20 million to the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in the form of two sponsorships of $10 million for 2026 and 2027.
While the F1 race promoter has tried to make the high-end sports event more affordable after a rocky Year 1 in 2023, the F1 race does add to the narrative that the hospitality industry has gentrified the Strip and the Las Vegas visitor experience.
Hill acknowledged a “lull and downturn’ in tourism nunbers, he tried to give a pep talk to spin the tourism-is-down narrative by offering this explanation: more visitors are staying with family and friends and those people are not being counted when tourism was down 11.3 percent in June.
Hill talked about a post-COVID tourism hot streak that has cooled down, but he tried to play up the Las Vegas values outlined in a talk given by LVCVA Chief Marketing Officer Kate Wik.
Wik addressed the “wave of negative commentary” on the Vegas tourism slump, but, like Hill, gave her spin that the LVCVA has influencers promoting the “Vegas Value” that includes buying a cup of coffee in the downtown Las Vegas Arts district for less than five bucks.
Against this backdrop, the LVCVA board approved the $20 million for F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix for 2026 and 2027.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Hill about whether business losses caused by the F1 race are factored into his “economic activity” numbers provided to the public.
Hill discussing $20 million F1 sponsorship:
The $20 million paid to F1 parent company Liberty Media is on top of the nearly $19.5 million the LVCVA spent for Las Vegas Grand Prix sponsorships for 2023, 2024 and 2025; $7 million on F1 race tickets for the event; and $12 million on an 18-month sponsorship deal with Formula One in 2024 for 15 races over two F1 seasons.
The race promoter has beefed up the PR efforts to highlight community connections. For example, the Las Vegas Grand Prix listed in a recent press release these activities:
- $100,000 grant presentation to five local nonprofits
- Giant LVGP-branded slot machine with major prizes
- 100 Nights Until Lights Out car show
- Launch of the 2025 LVGP merchandise collection
- Release of new single-day tickets
- Appearances by Terry Crews and F1 ACADEMY™ driver Nicole Havrda
- LVGP Strip marquee takeover
Plus, the Las Vegas Grand Prix just released their get-in ticket prices:
- Three-Day: $918.76 including taxes and fees
- Thursday only: $150 including taxes and fees
- Friday only: $250 including taxes and fees
- Saturday only: $650 including taxes and fees
F1 will start assembling the 3.8-mile track in early September for the Nov. 20-22 race event. It will take another month to take apart the track, so expect the concrete barriers, light mounts and fencing to be removed right before Christmas.
Hill said 175,000 unique travelers came to Las Vegas for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, using 306,000 tickets. Hill cited work by LVCVA consultant Applied Analysis, which said there was $934 million in “economic activity” from last year’s race.
It’s unclear whether that number includes the millions of dollars in revenue losses suffered by businesses from the race. It’s also important and newsworthy to note that Applied Analysis principal Jeremy Aguero is a good friend of Hill. The LVCVA employs Applied Analysis as a consultant and Las Vegas Grand Prix also hired the consultant for its economic numbers.
Public relations specialist Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, who represents several businesses financially hurt by the F1 race, spoke during the public comment period at the end of the LVCVA board meeting.
“There’s a plus and a minus and we don’t see the minus numbers,” Mayo DeRiso said. She noted the race’s earlier starting time will mean Strip corridor roads will close earlier, which will hurt Strip area shops and restaurants.
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