F1 executive apologizes to Las Vegas for difficulties in bringing ‘long-term investment’ to city
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The CEO of F1′s parent company issued a public apology to Las Vegas for the many challenges its residents have endured during on road to bringing the Las Vegas Grand Prix to the city next week.
“There will be a 105,000 people, so the sheer scale of it, even for Las Vegas will be the largest event Las Vegas will have,” said Greg Maffei.
And that’s not just the race crowd itself, as thousands are expected to visit Las Vegas next week to be a part of the race experience, even if they don’t have tickets to the event.
“There’ll be elements at the Sphere,” Maffei noted. “There’s a launch party from Wednesday to Sunday, almost a week of events and musical acts. You know, you’re seeing sports figures from other sports having their own kind of side viewing parties.”
Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, which owns Formula One, said that great experiences come at a great cost.
“A lot of that comes from, you know, frankly, you know, costs that are not entirely ours,” he admitted. “I’m not begrudging our partners, but, you know, five-night minimums in hotels and things like that helped push up the costs. Not all of it’s just the pricing of the tickets. The experience of that and, frankly, the fact that there’s so much demand is what drives it.”
He added that the money spent on the race is a long-term investment in Las Vegas, including a permanent paddock built in the city that will offer year-round experiences. The executive acknowledged that the ongoing construction and road closures over the last year have interrupted some daily routines for residents. But Maffei hopes the overall economic boost F1 brings to the city will make up for some of the inconvenience.
“I want to apologize to all the Las Vegas residents and we appreciate that they have their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us,” he said. “We’re going to bring something like $1.7 billion of revenue to the area. So 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.”
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