The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in Formula 1 saw drivers racing at over 300 km/h along the Strip, with the event drawing 145,000 visitors who spent around $561 million, highlighting significant economic impact despite a hiccup during practice sessions due to a loose manhole cover.
Highlights
‣ Last season marked the first edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Formula 1, highlighting the city’s preparation and the high speeds at which drivers competed.
‣ The Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend saw an economic influx with F1 fans spending about $561 million, and the event attracted a total of 145,000 visitors.
‣ The average visitor spent approximately $4,100 during the Grand Prix weekend, with expectations that the total economic impact could reach $1.2 billion.
‣ An incident during the first free practice involving Carlos Sainz and a loose manhole cover led to an extended second free practice and compensation for fans who missed the sessions.
Oh, what a season it was! The Las Vegas Grand Prix zoomed into the Formula 1 calendar for the very first time. Picture this: drivers blitzing down the Strip at speeds topping 300 kilometres per hour. Vegas, baby, was all in, having rolled the dice on F1 a whole year in advance.
And boy, did it pay off. Over that weekend, fans—decked in their team colors and buzzing with excitement—splurged a whopping $561 million. Yeah, you read that right.
### A Look at the Numbers: Vegas GP’s Windfall
So, the city saw a flood of 145,000 visitors. Imagine the buzz! At a Preview Las Vegas panel, some number crunching revealed each visitor dropped an average of $4,100. That’s a collective gasp-worthy $561 billion. Mind-boggling, isn’t it? And guess what? Those numbers are still warming up. We’re on the edge of our seats, waiting for the official tally. Rumor has it, we might be staring down the barrel of a $1.2 billion economic bonanza.
But here’s a quirky twist. During the initial free practice, Carlos Sainz had a bit of a run-in with a rogue manhole cover. Yep, you heard that right. This hiccup led to an extended second practice session. And, oh, the drama—fans couldn’t catch the action live because the track had to be cleared for regular traffic by 4:00 PM. Talk about a bummer for those die-hard F1 aficionados who missed out not once, but twice. The silver lining? They were compensated for the missed adrenaline rush of the F1 sessions.
In a nutshell, Vegas’s first F1 gamble? A resounding jackpot. But like any high-stakes game, not without its unexpected twists and turns.
