Forecasts are that the United States will visitor economy will haemorrhage US$12.5 billion (A$19.3 billion) this year, allied to an 8.2 per cent decline in international tourists.<\/p>\n
Inflation and the high cost of living combined with uncertainty over the federal government\u2019s immigration protocols are all contributing factors working together to kneecap the world\u2019s biggest tourist nation.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763321169_134_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Las Vegas, as a city built on tourism, is certainly feeling the pinch.<\/p>\n
The Las Vegas Grand Prix late last year was an early indicator. Despite the all-singing, all-dancing spectacular of 2023 designed to sear the new race into the consciousness of the race-going public, ticket sales in 2024 were down \u2014 and that was after sales for the inaugural event had already underwhelmed.<\/p>\n
In 2023 the combination of stratospheric ticket prices and astronomical hotel rates deterred would-be spectators. Grandstands were consolidated, prices were slashed, in some cases by 50 per cent or more, and hotel rates collapsed.<\/p>\n
The race was logistically challenging too, with a late-night schedule designed to benefit Europe as well as to allow the city streets to remain open for as long as possible during regular waking hours.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s before mentioning the drain catastrophe that called off first practice after obliterating Carlos Sainz\u2019s Ferrari, prompting the sport to hold a 90-minute practice session during that ended at 4am.<\/p>\n
Fortunately the race was one of the best of the year, turning manufactured hype into genuine anticipation for last year\u2019s event and getting the race through the always-tricky follow-up event.<\/p>\n
But now comes the real challenge.<\/p>\n
Peak novelty has expired. While Vegas will always be a tentpole race for Formula 1 given its location and the sport\u2019s investment in the event, organisers must now navigate the transition from peculiarity to permanence in a softening market.<\/p>\n
PIT TALK PODCAST: Ferrari chairman John Elkann has told his drivers to talk less and drive more in an apparent attempt to throw them under the bus for the team\u2019s winless season to date. But are the drivers really to blame, and can Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton break Ferrari\u2019s victory drought in Las Vegas?<\/p>\n
RACING IN A COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS<\/p>\n
When the first Las Vegas tickets went on sale, general admission was restricted to the back end of the circuit at a section of the track where visibility was uncertain at the time of purchase given the entire venue was still being built. The cheapest ticket was $771.<\/p>\n
The cheapest grandstand seat was a whopping $3112, while a seat on the front straight would set you back almost $4000.<\/p>\n
Prices were so high that even some drivers \u2014 hardly strapped for cash \u2014 found themselves empathising with F1 fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did hear some entry-level prices,\u201d Daniel Ricciardo said at the first event. \u201cI\u2019m well aware that not everyone can afford those.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course if there\u2019s then some crazy packages and people want to spend that money, all good, so be it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I guess I don\u2019t like to hear that, \u2018We would have loved to have come but we simply couldn\u2019t afford it\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be nice that the sport remains accessible for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
F1 CEO Stefano Domeniacli said at the time that the market was dictating the prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cFormula 1 has a certain positioning with regard to the kind of sport it is,\u201d he told AP. \u201cIn terms of price positioning, we are going to be on the top side because this is Las Vegas and that is the nature of the customer coming to Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Certainly high rollers make up some percentage of the audience, but it turned out it was only a fraction.<\/p>\n
Prices dropped last year, and in 2025 the cost of entry has been reduced again.<\/p>\n
In particular the sport has focused on expanding general admission access, with the cheapest one-day ticket set at $50.<\/p>\n
Emily Prazer, who is both president of the Las Vegas Grand Prix and F1\u2019s chief commercial officer, said the repositioning of the race was part of the learning curve for the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beautiful thing about Vegas that we did not consider in the first year \u2014 and I\u2019m the first to admit it \u2014 is it caters to the entire ecosystem,\u201d she said, per Racer. \u201cYou can go there and stay in a hotel room for $30 a night and feel like a king. If that\u2019s your budget, great.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou then have the Wynn and Fontainebleau [hotels] and some of the other more high-end experiences that do command a higher room rate, but it\u2019s not just about those particular areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think when we first went there we were like, \u2018Right, we\u2019re going to lean in heavily on the ultra-high-net-worth and the big whales that come here to gamble,\u2019 but you have the majority of hotel rooms are actually more reasonably priced.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we have spent a lot of time repositioning the event from this being like, \u2018Oh, everything is super expensive\u2019 all the way through to, actually, it caters to all audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
What was at first envisaged to be a highly international race \u2014 a hub for Formula 1 fans around the world \u2014 has also become a much more distinctly American affair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now have 80 per cent of a domestic audience coming,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we first started this, we thought it was going to be more like 50-50 international, but with everything that\u2019s gone on, that isn\u2019t something that looks like it\u2019s changing anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve repositioned the packaging and the prices to reflect who\u2019s coming. You can buy your $25,000 really expensive ticket for your high roller, but we\u2019ve got $100 tickets to make sure that everyone can show up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe part that\u2019s challenging for us is just letting people know that there is entry level pricing.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time of writing, less than 24 hours before first practice, there are still tickets available for all three days of on-track action, but last week organisers told the Athletic that they were confident race day was \u201cstill pacing well for a sellout\u201d.<\/p>\n
“The blame is not all on Oscar!” | 00:36<\/p>\n
HALO EVENT<\/p>\n
Part of the hype of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in its first year was the scale of the planned spectacle.<\/p>\n
Formula 1 shelled out for a half-hour \u2018opening ceremony\u2019 on Wednesday night that featured a long list of musical artists and concluded with all 20 racing drivers appearing together on stage.<\/p>\n
The number of off-track events scheduled in the lead-up to the race weekend and even around the competitive sessions themselves was so significant that teams and drivers felt it was distracting from the business of racing.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s event was notably more muted, but with organisers feeling more confident that they\u2019ve identified where the race sits in the F1 ecosystem, this year\u2019s grand prix promises to swing back towards the glitz and glamour of 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot can happen in Vegas that you wouldn\u2019t want to see at other traditional racetracks,\u201d Prazer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like Vegas gives the sport \u2014 particularly me and my team \u2014 the confidence to try a few different things, because it\u2019s almost like everyone agrees anything is acceptable in Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt lets us push some boundaries that I\u2019m not sure we would do at a more traditional racetrack in Monza or what have you. But it\u2019s also helping us to grow our creativity and ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Las Vegas is a unique event in the sense that it is wholly owned and operated by Formula 1. Whereas almost every other grand prix is organisers by a local body, in Vegas F1 is taking all the risks.<\/p>\n
It also means F1 is getting hands-on experience in the nitty-gritty of hosting a major event.<\/p>\n
Some promoters in 2023 took some quiet satisfaction from F1\u2019s baptism of fire, from the drain catastrophe to some reports of substandard hospitality set-ups and even a lawsuit over ticket refunds.<\/p>\n
But F1 has emerged from the first two seasons with a significantly enhanced capability that\u2019s not only rubbing off on the way it does business throughout the year but also being fed back into a better Las Vegas event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know everyone has varying views of things like what we did at the O2 [the F1 season launch stage show], but we would never have done the O2 if we hadn\u2019t have done Vegas, because we didn\u2019t realise really the production capability we had in-house,\u201d Prazer continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re giving ourselves this opportunity to commercialise a sport and engage with fans really differently. Not just because of Vegas, but it\u2019s just given us this \u2018Well, we can do it because we\u2019ve tried it and people didn\u2019t hate it!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost referred to affectionately as the test bed, which I think is helping us definitely grow the fan base.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a halo. For us, it\u2019s also had the same impact, and I think that\u2019s why we all agreed that we want to continue doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri’s title challenge laid bare | 01:22<\/p>\n
THE PAYOFF<\/p>\n
But while Las Vegas remains in some ways experimental, in other ways the establishment process means it\u2019s settled into a groove as just another race.<\/p>\n
One notable change is the shift away from the insane time schedule of the first year, when qualifying was held at midnight Friday night and the race was held at 10pm on Saturday \u2014 never mind the borderline unhinged 2am practice session, held behind closed doors, after Thursday\u2019s drain catastrophe.<\/p>\n
This year the schedule is reflective of just about every other night race, with second practice, qualifying and the race all taking place at 8pm (3pm AEDT). It also means the first and third practice sessions will occur at sunset, which will give television viewers a new perspective on the city and the circuit.<\/p>\n
It means sacrificing European viewership \u2014 the race will start at 4am Sunday in London \u2014 but also brings the previously written-off US east coast back into play, again playing to the domestic market.<\/p>\n
The original super-late-night schedule was sold as leaning into Las Vegas\u2019s 24-hour reputation but was also partly motivated by a desire to keep the public roads open for as long as possible during the evening.<\/p>\n
But efficiencies gained after two events means F1 is confident it can keep roads open for longer before each session and even between sessions without affecting the running of the event. Everything is clicking together in a way it wasn\u2019t in the first two years.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s critical given there\u2019s no one straight answer on how long Las Vegas will remain on the calendar.<\/p>\n
It has approval from the local government to host the race until 2032, but F1 has only formally extended the race to the end of 2027.<\/p>\n
Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said that was reflective only of the incremental way the event was building itself up rather than signifying any softness in the commitment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re planning on this being a permanent race; we\u2019ll just keep planning extensions that will probably expand as we go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Las Vegas is already reaping big benefits.<\/p>\n
November has historically been the weakest month for tourism in the city, and the penultimate weekend of November \u2014 the week before Thanksgiving \u2014 was the quietest point.<\/p>\n
The grand prix has flipped that, with November 2024 the most lucrative in the city\u2019s history, generating US$924 million (A$1.43 billion) in revenue and $45 million (A$69.5 million) in tax.<\/p>\n
Those are certainly solid foundations, and having spent more than half a billion American dollars (A$772 million) just getting the event off the ground, Formula 1 will see an opportunity to make good on its promise to turn this race into the most profitable on the calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s well-documented how much money we\u2019ve spent on this project, so we have no desire not to be there for the foreseeable future,\u201d Prazer said, per the Athletic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully everyone sees that it is growing into a really spectacular event on the calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but in 2025 there\u2019s been less and less happening in Sin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[169831,2620,169797,2095,169821,169809,88574,169829,64,63,169615,4971,13275,169807,169810,169793,169812,169800,99318,169805,169798,169818,2057,817,38334,69,813,816,2105,841,169826,169811,169827,120070,169801,169830,169825,2328,2097,2623,169824,133420,2022,932,169833,169820,2627,117426,2041,2067,3583,169799,121640,169819,169804,2119,22297,33108,169832,169802,169816,169822,169823,21786,45078,169828,3595,169794,85,169803,169815,169808,169796,169795,169792,169817,169806,169814,52697,169813,3586,2614,169623,46730],"class_list":["post-296203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-admission-access","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-always-tricky-follow-up-event","tag-america","tag-american-affair","tag-american-dollars","tag-apparent-attempt","tag-astronomical-hotel-rates","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-sporting-hall","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-cheapest-grandstand-seat","tag-chief-commercial-officer","tag-city-streets","tag-confident-race-day","tag-domestic-audience","tag-domestic-market","tag-drain-catastrophe","tag-drain-cover","tag-emily-prazer","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-fan-base","tag-federal-government","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-prix","tag-halo-event","tag-hotel-occupancy-rate","tag-hotel-rates","tag-hotel-rooms","tag-immigration-protocols","tag-inaugural-event","tag-insane-time-schedule","tag-italy","tag-john-elkann","tag-las-vegas","tag-las-vegas-convention-and-visitors-authority","tag-learning-curve","tag-london","tag-monza","tag-multimillion-dollar-lessons","tag-musical-artists","tag-nevada","tag-night-race","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-off-track-events","tag-on-track-action","tag-penultimate-weekend","tag-permanent-race","tag-pit-talk","tag-practice-session","tag-practice-sessions","tag-price-positioning","tag-production-capability","tag-quiet-satisfaction","tag-quietest-point","tag-race-sits","tag-race-weekend","tag-real-challenge","tag-room-rate","tag-southern-europe","tag-spectacular-event","tag-sports","tag-stage-show","tag-stefano-domeniacli","tag-steve-hill","tag-stratospheric-ticket-prices","tag-substandard-hospitality-set-ups","tag-super-late-night-schedule","tag-television-viewers","tag-tentpole-race","tag-ticket-refunds","tag-title-challenge","tag-tourist-nation","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-victory-drought","tag-visitor-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}