Ray Acevedo/USA TODAY Sports/Portal
Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez drives on a track on the Las Vegas Strip during the F1 Las Vegas 2022 launch party.
New York CNN –
Ticket and hotel room prices are falling sharply in Las Vegas as the gambling mecca prepares to host its first Formula One Grand Prix race in four decades next week.
Excitement has “diminished” in recent weeks, with a “big factor” being that driver Max Verstappen had already won this year’s championship title in Qatar on October 7th, which dampened enthusiasm among fans of the sport as that The end of the season is approaching, says TickPick CEO Brett Goldberg.
This has led to falling ticket prices. According to TickPick, they’ve dropped 35% for Saturday’s race in the past month, with the average “entry price” for grandstand seats dropping from $1,645 to $1,060. A year ago, tickets to the Las Vegas race cost about $2,000.
The prices for training on Thursday and qualifying races on Friday have also fallen dramatically. The current entry price fell by about 50% on Thursday from $385 to $180, and on Friday prices fell by almost 60% from $825 to $342.
“The race generated a lot of excitement when it was first announced and more details emerged about the routing on the Strip,” Goldberg told CNN, adding that the event was nowhere near the record-high prizes for the F1 race in March in Miami.
Prices could “change slightly” after practice next Thursday, when fans can see the track that winds through the Strip in action, Goldberg added. Next weekend’s race marks the first time it will be held on the Strip. The previous race was the Caesars Palace Grands Prix in 1981 and 1982.
Perhaps the excitement is dampened by the layout of the stands and track, which obscures many parts of the strip. The Mirage’s famous volcano is closed until December and the Bellagio fountains that dance outside the resort have also been turned off.
“Still, it represents a great opportunity for F1 fans and Vegas visitors to attend a marquee event at an affordable price,” Goldberg said.
Lower prices also affect hotel rooms. The average price is about $283 per night, Kayak told CNN. That’s around 24% less than a month ago.
Still, in true Las Vegas style, some hotels are going all out to offer Formula 1-themed weekend packages. MGM Resorts-owned Bellagio sold out a three-day luxury package for $12,000 per person that included VIP tickets, food and wine from celebrity chefs and sommeliers, and access to private viewing decks overlooking the race.
With 100,000 visitors still expected, sponsors see this as an opportunity. Heineken wants to advertise by covering the city with its logo. Earlier this year, the brewery extended its multi-year sponsorship of all F1 races until 2027, but sees an opportunity to launch its newly launched light beer Heineken Silver as the category experiences a shakeup due to the Bud Light fallout.
Las Vegas is the third city in the US to host an F1 race, after Miami and Austin. The popularity of the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” is credited, including by drivers, with expanding the sport’s audience in the United States.
In addition to the race, concerts and other events are planned. F1 claims the race will gross $1.3 billion, making it the “largest single event in Las Vegas history.”