The Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix was extended through at least 2027 on Tuesday after the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board approved a $20 million race sponsorship agreement.
The LVCVA Board of Directors voted unanimously to spend $10 million per year to sponsor the 2026 and 2027 races.
The initial contract between the LVCVA and F1 was for $6.5 million per year for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 races. That contract expires following this year’s race weekend, Nov. 20-22.
Months ahead of the vote, F1 announced its 2026 schedule, setting the 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 19-21, 2026.
“We’re thrilled with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s action today, officially approving our continued partnership with the destination,” Emily Prazer, president & CEO of Las Vegas Grand Prix, said in a statement. “The strong relationships we’ve built with the tourism and business communities have made it possible for us to present one of the most exciting and anticipated races on the Formula 1 calendar. We look forward to working together for many years to come.”
The new sponsorship deal includes costs the LVCVA will incur for a transportation program for Strip employees during race weekends and for tickets purchased by its tourism arm. Those costs in previous years were approved separately, according to Steve Hill, LVCVA president and CEO. The sponsorship accounts for about $7.5 million each year for 2026 and 2027, with $2.5 million tied to the ticket purchases and transportation program, Hill said.
The LVCVA is a public agency funded primarily by local hotel room taxes.
Both F1 and Las Vegas tourism officials have said they expect the race to be a long-term event every weekend before Thanksgiving. F1 parent company Liberty Media spent $500 million ahead of the 2023 inaugural race to acquire land and build a three-story pit building and surrounding Grand Prix Plaza.
Going forward, the LVCVA could eye a longer-term contract with F1 after the 2027 race, depending on various factors.
“There’s no particular plan other than we want the race to last longer than five years,” Hill said. “The two-year agreement right now seems to make sense to get them to five years. We’ll certainly look at a longer-term deal at that point if it makes sense to do it. It’s partially the logistics and partially the economics. It needs to work for them (F1), it needs to work for the city, and that continues to improve.”
The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix drew a three-day crowd of 306,000, according to Formula One.
Race weekend saw 175,000 unique visitors to Las Vegas, generating an estimated $934 million economic impact, according to Las Vegas-based financial consulting firm Applied Analysis.
The LVCVA also certified that the race will generate at least $250 million in economic impact this year, a requirement before the race can advertise on public roads during the race.
Hill expects the 2025 race’s economic impact to be at or above last year’s. He was bullish about what ticket prices, running about 30 percent cheaper than last year, could do for visitor spending.
“It has been really helpful by not only selling more tickets but generating more revenue,” Hill said. “We’re excited about that, and we think that’s going to be really beneficial for the city.”
Preparations for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 saw roughly nine months of roadwork to get the 3.8 miles of mainly public roads up to F1 standards. Improvements were made to Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane and Harmon and Sands avenues.
Last year saw about four months of traffic impacts tied to event setup and teardown. This year’s race is expected to require three weeks less work than in 2024, Hill said.
“What you’ll see this year is two different crews building the road in the closure areas, which allows us to shrink the time frame,” Hill said. “So they’ll start and meet each other on the other side rather than one crew working its way all the way around the circuit.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.