Formula 1 News: Las Vegas GP pushing for long-term F1 deal

(GMM) Formula 1 and Las Vegas GP officials are in talks over a major contract extension that could keep the race on the Strip until 2032 – or even as far as 2037 – despite ongoing complaints about hotel and ticket costs and disruption.

According to local reports, negotiations are centered on a five- or ten-year renewal that would allow F1 to justify larger infrastructure investments after two years marked by high ticket prices, prolonged street closures and negative local business feedback.

“We understand the inconvenience,” Las Vegas GP president Emily Prazer told the Review-Journal. “The challenge from the beginning has been dealing with a short-term contract that makes it difficult to invest a lot of capital.

“The longer the contract we can secure, the more we can invest in infrastructure to make everything easier.”

“If we’ve done anything, we’ve proved that we’re willing to put up money, so this isn’t about us not wanting to invest in Las Vegas,” Prazer said. “We continue to want to, we just need to have the security of the partnerships to be able to do so.”

Prazer said each year’s build has become faster, and long-term certainty – particularly around lighting – would ease the burden on the city.

“If you put a base in the median that you could come along each year and just put the stanchion in the median and the light cantilever can go out over onto the Strip, you won’t have to close that turn lane,” Hill said. “That’s just one example. There’s a number of places where you can look at how the temporary nature of what we’re doing right now is more disruptive than what a permanent set of fixtures could be,” said Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO Steve Hill

Speaking separately to the Las Vegas Sun, she said officials expect around 100,000 spectators per day this week, with rising interest from Mexico, Canada, and Europe. She believes the race can help support the city’s struggling international tourism sector.

“If you’re looking for destination marketing to drive international tourism back to Las Vegas, we feel like we’re in pole position to assist with that,” she said.

Las Vegas has welcomed 2.5 million fewer visitors so far this year, with international arrivals falling more than 13 percent. However, Prazer said race-week ticket sales have not dropped, with several tiers sold out and demand “pacing significantly ahead” of last year.

Local tourism experts caution that F1’s impact will be short-term, but acknowledge the Netflix-driven boom in US fan interest.