The first Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place in eight days, but there has already been a crash – in the market for tickets and hotel rooms for the race.
After the highly anticipated Formula 1 race initially set jaw-dropping ticket and hospitality prices, secondary market entry prices have increased. fallen by more than a third in the past month, and grandstand seats for the race can now be had for around $1,000.
Even more dramatic, the motor sports site Oversteer48.com find approximately 10,000 unsold tickets in grandstands constructed in the Las Vegas Sphere and East Harmon area of the course when Ticketmaster data was analyzed.
“That’s a huge amount of money for an F1 event, especially considering there are a whole bunch of other stands I haven’t been able to get data for,” wrote the site’s Alex Gassman .
Hotel rooms experienced a similar situation dropwith average prices dropping by about a quarter in the past month to around $283 per night — in some cases half of those a year ago.
A key element of this muted enthusiasm is the lack of competitive drama surrounding the race. Top driver Max Verstappen won this year’s F1 championship last month, and the Dutch superstar has won 15 of the last 16 F1 races.
Operational concerns
A potentially significant disruption to the upcoming race was averted this week thanks to resort operators Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts reaching tentative labor agreements with the union that represents more than 35,000 cooks, servers and catering, bartenders, cleaners and other industry workers. 18 major casinos in town.
The result of seven months of negotiations, the agreements will avert a threatened strike and provide for what are described as “historic” pay increases for employees and a reduction in workload.
Meanwhile, the weather remains a concern for the race, with forecasts suggesting an increased risk of rain and temperatures for the 10 p.m. ET race expected to challenge the lowest mark ever recorded in F1, 41 degrees Fahrenheit, during a race in Montreal in 1978.
