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The second F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix has concluded, and it was, quite frankly, a disaster. With one more race contracted for 2025, the future of F1 beyond that is in the hands of the Clark County Board of Commissioners, who need to approve using the Strip for the race.
As everything shakes out, only four organizations claim that F1 2024 was a success: F1 Las Vegas, the LVCVA, MGM, and Caesars. I guess MGM and Caesars haven’t talked with their accounting department yet.
It’s in The Numbers
Nobody seems to disagree with the 306,000 attendance at the 2023 inaugural race. For 2024, plenty of people who worked on the Strip and at the event laughed when the F1 organization announced the 2024 attendance number.
For 2024, F1 claims attendance was 306,000 over the three days. Las Vegas Metro Police and others put the number closer to 139,000. That’s a sixty percent drop over last year.
The race’s economic impact in 2024 is supposed to be $250 Million, a large drop from the $1.5 billion in 2023. Some are whispering the final number will be closer to $125 million. Those are almost the same financial numbers as a typical NASCAR weekend, and NASCAR doesn’t mess up the strip for four months!
Knowing how Las Vegas works, I can easily guess that not too many people or organizations saw any of the “impact” unless your company named was MGM or Caesars.
Many people and small businesses lost money over the four months it took to set up and take down. Especially those along the track route. Not to mention the tourists who came here, expecting to enjoy the iconic scenery that was covered up or blocked off to set it all up.
When to Avoid Las Vegas
As a Tour Professional who talks a lot to the tourists who come here, I see that many of them are starting to take Las Vegas off their list of places they want to return to. This colossal mess is just another reason to go elsewhere.
For those planning your 2025 vacation plans, the race dates for F1 Las Vegas 2025 are November 20 to 22. So, if you are planning a trip to Las Vegas, for best results, I would avoid Las Vegas between the middle of September and Christmas. Seriously!
My Thoughts and Opinions. Your Mileage May Vary!