Is There Anything Good about Formula 1 in Las Vegas?

With all the whining and complaining about F1, I'm wondering if there's anything good about it. Can you tell us how it might be good for the city's future and if any of the improvements will become legacy enhancements for the rest of us?

Yes, we're happy to (try to) focus on the positive aspects of the race, especially now that it's over!

In the first place, the 3.8-mile race circuit covering the center Strip and stretches of Harmon and Koval has been repaved to race-track standards. When all the cones, barriers, detours, and the like are removed so you can actually cruise rather than idle on the Strip, you will notice the difference. And other than minor repairs here and there due to water issues, these roads should stay in good shape for the foreseeable future.

Secondly, it's possible, even probable, that Flamingo Road's temporary four-lane bridge over Koval will become permanent. According to a the Convention and Visitors Authority, "conversations have already started" among the county, the LVCVA, and F1 to leave it in place, given the increased efficiency of traffic at that busy intersection. In addition, the bridge was reportedly the idea of Governor Joe Lombardo, so it has some heavy momentum behind it.

We've been asked several times about photos of that bridge and you can see a video of it here. (It takes a moment for it to come up on the right top of the page, then you have to suffer through a minute of ads. But it's a good look and you can toggle full-screen mode). We also have a little footage of our own in this week's LVA YouTube Update, driving west over the bridge toward the Horseshoe; it's at the 9:30 mark.

Third, the city will benefit from the economic impact. Liberty Media, owner of Formula 1, has spent an estimated $500 million on land, paddock construction, and other infrastructure improvements, which accrues to the local economy, at least to some extent. Some jobs have been created. And the race is definitely attracting visitors, particularly from around the world, who wouldn't otherwise show up here, especially on this traditionally slow week before Thanksgiving.

Similarly, increased awareness about Las Vegas as a destination by race viewers in Europe and Asia might stimulate further international visitation at other times of the year.

Yes, it's certainly true that small businesses, especially along the circuit, have suffered from all the road work and will suffer more from closures during and after the race, so from the micro perspective, it's been costly to those businesses in revenue and expensive to Strip workers in terms of their time coming and going during the disruptions.

But since this is a QoD about the good, we can say that from the macro perspective, the event is a big deal for tax revenue. Nevada, of course, and Las Vegas specifically, raise an enormous amount of revenue from export taxes, meaning that people from outside the state pay a high percentage of sales and special taxes, such as those levied on hotel rooms, rental cars, live entertainment, and the like. That accounts for Nevada having no income tax (which also means no information sharing with the IRS) and the third lowest property taxes in the nation (behind Hawaii and Alabama, tied with Colorado). This is a whole other discussion, but in broad terms and at least indirectly, state residents do benefit from events like F1.

To be sure, we're stretching a bit to come up with positives, but one result from all the disruption is almost certain to benefit Las Vegas: high-profile and intense-preparation events that most likely won't happen here.

We're talking about the World Cup and the Summer Olympics. Both would require much longer groundwork times and event spans and if F1 has shown the local, national, and global powers that be anything at all, it's that Las Vegas is simply too small and fragile to host events of that magnitude.

That's how we see "the good" of F1, anyway.

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Comments

David Miller Nov-19-2023

The Old Saying

 "Putting lipstick on a pig does not change the fact that it is still a pig".

Bob Nov-19-2023

Meh

I stayed up to watch the race, 1am-2:30am EST.  Not an F1 fan but I am an Old gearhead and appreciate motorsports. I watched mainly for the LV aspect of the race, 90% of the race was filmed at track level or in-car camera.  with all the fencing Advertising etc along the track you couldnt tell they were in Vegas. except for the few Arial shots of the Strip and the Sphere. I come to Vegas 1-2 weeks a year for the past 25 years, and own timeshares on Koval.  Not much looked familiar!  I didn't watch all the coverage but as far as the first night practice and the race TV coverage... Might just as well been racing in Iowa!

Jeff B. Nov-19-2023

How to spread the wealth?

I watched it just to see what all the hype was about, and I experienced nasty traffic delays on the strip when I was there in June.  I will admit, it looked very cool.  My 2nd thought was, you hardly saw any of Vegas unless it was from an ariel shot. Although the commentators did a job of casino name dropped when they could. I assume they are asked to do that.  My last thought was "A year of pain and suffering for a 90-minute race?"  

More importantly, there needs to be a vehicle for the state/county to compensate those small businesses that were greatly affected by the race. Similar to the way Alaska pays its citizens for oil revenue.  Or maybe something similar to the way the government helped small businesses during Covid, but without the corruption (is that even possible?)  Sure, those businesses and write off the loss on their taxes, but that doesn't help with overhead or their employees. Especially if this is going to be a recurring event.

ssherman68 Nov-19-2023

I hope it works out in the end

I went to a local restaurant last night to watch the race and have a few beers. I agree that it was hard to recognize Vegas with all the barriers, etc. With opening ceremonies, practice sessions, qualifying and the actual race it's actually a 3 day event. I've driven on those streets. They needed to be re-paved anyway so there is good in that. I hope the local workers got lots of good tips but I also hope that Vegas is a lot more reasonable in its gouging, err.. pricing next time around. If so I might even go. Hopefully there will be a lot less disruption next year. Personally I'm waiting to see the visitation and revenue numbers. I'm hoping they're not close to what they expected and they'll come to the conclusion that they gouged too much!

Robert Cone Nov-19-2023

Track Worker

I watched it too on TV. I have worked for 48 years as a track official. I signed up for it, was accepted, but then after the cancellation period for the hotel room, the LVGP sent me an Independent Contractors contract. We are clearly not an IC, we are volunteers who just want to be part of the action. However, we do want insurance, as races, especially street races are dangerous for us. I fired off a question, "Do we get insurance." Four hours later I got a reply saying "they would not be using my services." I would wash my hands of LV, however I lived there for 7 years and have friends there. Why they did not build a track south of town (like they did in Austin, Texas and Miami) where we could have races 12 months of the year, is beyond me. Unless the drop is more than what it is for that weekend, I see it as a case of out-of-towner's coming in to rip of Vegas. In this case, they will leave with spending a town of money. We should make them put a track in south of town.

VegasROX Nov-19-2023

No info sharing w IRS?

I understand the thought that no 
State income tax means no info 
sharing with the state, but I'm 
guessing that is wishful thinking. 
I feel like good citizens of NV
do still pay federal, SS and 
Medicare taxes??  No way the feds 
aren't sharing that info. They are
always looking for money laundrying
operations.

Kenneth Mytinger Nov-19-2023

Track Worker is Right

Think of all the contributors to LV as we know it today, over the past 120 years or so -- the Mormons, Helen Stewart, the Mafia, to today's casino moguls.

Now, suddenly, some wealthy outfit wants to put a new face on LV over a brief few weeks.  They can take their grand pricks out to the desert somewhere ...

Jon Anderson Nov-19-2023

f1

if a person didn't know the backstory of the f1 race in vegas, and just tuned in to watch the espn broadcast, they'd probably think, what an exciting race and a great showcase of vegas...
there were plenty of panoramic views of the "race track" and the strip area and multiple shots of (the) sphere doing its thing... There was an enjoyable intro of the history of las vegas that was shown to f1 race enthusiasts around the world...couldn't hurt...
all that being said, still makes more sense, as mentioned by others, to have built the racetrack outside the heart of the tourist corridor where it could be used year round or at least preserved for the next f1 big dance...just resurface and bang they're off and running...

Question of the Day - 19 November 2023

Comments