F1 News: Las Vegas GP To Bring In Staggering Fortune Despite Local Upset
As per the bosses at Liberty Media, Formula 1 is expected to bring in huge revenue to the Las Vegas economy from this weekend's Grand Prix mega event, with the figure expected to exceed $1 billion.
This is despite the daily life disruption caused to the local residents as a result of the construction activity that changed the look and layout of the Strip. Not only locals but even tourists were affected by the Grand Prix infrastructure overhaul.
Listen To The Latest Driven Mad Podcast Episode
Despite the high cost incurred by Formula 1, which is estimated to be around $500m, Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, revealed that the revenue from the GP weekend in Las Vegas could hover around $1.7 billion. He told The Independent:
“We’re going to bring in something like $1.7 billion of revenue to the area.
“I want to apologise to all the Las Vegas residents and we appreciate that they have their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us.
“It’s not just for the benefit of fans who want to view. We hope this is a great economic benefit in Las Vegas.
“We hope this is the most difficult year with all the construction that went on and things will be easier in the future.
“There will be 105,000 people so the sheer scale of it, even for Las Vegas, will be the largest event Las Vegas will have.”
One aspect that is different with the Las Vegas Grand Prix is that the sport has purchased land in Las Vegas on which, stands its own pit building and the all-new street circuit.
Usually, F1 works with a local promoter to help host the big races. But since the sport made huge investments in land and building, it has struck a ten-year deal with Las Vegas to race at the iconic venue.
After all, F1 allocated approximately $240 million for the construction of the pits and paddock. The main building, covering 300,000 square feet across four stories, will serve as F1's United States headquarters following this grand prix.
