By Rory Carroll
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Formula One returns to Sin City this weekend hoping that the Las Vegas Grand Prix will go down better with the local community than its inaugural edition did last year.
The night race down the famed Las Vegas Strip looked spectacular and drove a $1.5 billion boost to the local economy but months of construction work and the closure of the vital roadway did not endear it to those who call the city home.
“We had eight months building a circuit and lining the barricades and all that, and so it was an amazing accomplishment what Liberty Media and the Formula One folks did,” said Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
“But it was tough on the city.”
The installation of the vast grandstands along the route that block iconic views like the Bellagio Fountains began later this year, and traffic lane disruptions did not start until early October as opposed to mid-April last time.
Organizers have also responded to complaints that the race was pricing out locals by adding more than 10,000 general admission tickets, while also launching community outreach events.
Hill, who has played a key role in drawing the F1 race and other major sporting events to the Nevada city, said the race and the public are more in harmony this year after the rocky start.
“It just wears you out after a while, but this year is not last year. We’ve really not heard concern,” he said.
“It needs to work for everybody. It needs to work for the businesses, the sponsors of the race, the resort community and it needs to work for the community itself.
“This year I think we are much closer to that balance than we were last year.
Last year’s race was not quite the sell-out some had predicted and the Strip was otherwise sleepy during race week, something organizers are also looking to avoid this time around.
“None of us were sure what the city was going to look like, what would be possible last year, and most of the city outside of the race went dark,” Hill said.
“But this year we have got a Raiders game and a partnership with the Raiders and the race.
“On Sunday there is a concert series downtown to complement the race. So the properties have brought entertainment back outside of the circuit area.”
It will be the last weekend of singer Adele’s popular Las Vegas residency, he noted.
“All of those things will elevate that weekend too and I think it will help elevate the race as well.”
On the track, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will become world champion for the fourth year in a row if he beats McLaren’s Lando Norris.
LVGP CEO Renee Wilm said the opportunity to crown a champion raises the stakes in a city of high rollers.
“That the championship is still up for grabs is incredibly influential, particularly in the U.S. market,” Wilm said.
“There’s the legacy fans who are oftentimes more focused maybe on how their team or their driver is performing, whereas in the U.S., we love to see good competition, and it’s less about you know who the particular team or driver is,” she said.
“There is still so much on the line.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Las Vegas, Additional reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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