Despite the many criticisms that rained down on the event even before hitting the track, the Las Vegas weekend proved to be a success both from a sporting and economic perspective. Despite Formula 1 spending a whopping half a million euros to set up the entire event, the total proceeds from the event generated astronomical figures, and even MGM Resorts, the company that owns some famous casinos and hotels on the renowned strip, reported record revenues.
MGM Resort records its largest revenue in company history
“It was the weekend with the highest revenue for us, in terms of hotel revenues, in the history of the company,” said Jonathan Halkyard, the chief financial officer of MGM Resort, during the Leveraged Finance Conference.
“The second-highest was the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2019. So, if you think about other events that have taken place in Las Vegas over the years and the size of our company, it is truly remarkable to have a record-breaking weekend, in what was otherwise the coldest weekend of the year.”
Despite the record revenue, Halkyard had actually already factored in the benefits that a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas could bring to the company: “We had very high expectations. We invested a lot in this regard, creating an experience for our casino customers and some retail customers in front of the Bellagio.”
“It was an event that certainly caused a lot of friction in the months leading up to it, with a lot of construction work in Las Vegas. Some of these will repeat, but many will not be as dramatic in the years to come.”
Disruptions to daily traffic were among the main complaints reported during the event preparations, with Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, publicly apologizing to Las Vegas residents.
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“F1 and the city prepared for this event,” added MGM’s CFO. “F1 has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the paddock structure. This, along with the money we invested in building that hospitality experience, will be reused year after year. I am optimistic that this will be a fantastic event in the years to come.”
Formula 1 has not yet released the official figures generated by the event. However, according to some estimates from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the three-day race event would have had an economic impact of around $1.2 billion.
Source: f1ingenerale
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