The astronomical costs of transforming Las Vegas into a Formula 1 circuit: all the details

With just a few days left until the highly anticipated return of Formula 1 to Las Vegas after the last edition of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in 1982, the event promises to generate record-breaking revenues, surpassing even those of the Super Bowl, despite controversies regarding preparations, strike threats, low temperatures, and the extremely high costs incurred to set up the Grand Prix.

Costs and Estimated Revenues for the Las Vegas GP
“The potential of Formula 1 has been well demonstrated over the last few seasons, and the Las Vegas GP can only take it to the next level,” said Gref Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, at the announcement of Las Vegas’ return to the calendar last year.

Formula 1 spared no expense in trying to organize the sports event of the year, but how much did it cost to transform one of the world’s most famous cities, hosting over 30 million tourists annually, into an F1 circuit?

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the entire endeavor will cost about $500 million, allocated to building the paddock, acquiring the land, and constructing a 300,000-square-meter facility serving as a parking area for cars, with 18,000 seats and luxury suites for the hospitality sector.

However, this year’s inaugural edition could already significantly repay Formula 1’s massive investment. According to a report from the research company Applied Analysis, the event will bring in a total revenue of $1.3 billion, more than double the estimated revenue of the Super Bowl next year.

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“We put all this together in a year,” said Terry Miller, project manager for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, about the entire project’s realization. “In May 2022, we didn’t have a construction site, a property, a project, or even a contractor.”

However, as the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold. Recently, the average prices of tickets and hotel rooms have dropped dramatically. According to an estimate by CBS 8 News Now, last year, hotel rates had increased by over 300% for the race weekend, while the average ticket prices for grandstand seats were around $2,000.

Grandstand seat prices have dropped by about 35% in the last month. At the beginning of November, a room at the Bellagio Hotel during the three-day race weekend cost $1,666 per night, compared to last year’s $1,995 for the same period. These figures do not deter organizers but will undoubtedly need monitoring if the trend continues in the coming days.

Source: f1ingenerale