Ticket and hotel room prices are falling sharply in Las Vegas as the gambling mecca preps to host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix race in four decades next week.
Excitement has “started to fizzle” in recent weeks with a “big factor” being that driver Max Verstappen already won this year’s championship title in Qatar on October 7, thus dampening enthusiasm among the sport’s fans as it nears the end of the season, according to TickPick CEO Brett Goldberg.
That has translated to falling ticket prices. According to TickPick, they have plunged 35% in the past month for the Saturday race, with the average “get-in” price dropping from $1,645 to $1,060 for grandstand seats. Tickets were priced at roughly $2,000 a year ago for the Las Vegas race.
Prices for practice on Thursday and qualifying races on Friday have also dropped dramatically. The current “get-in” price dropped about 50% from $385 to $180 for Thursday and on Friday, prices dropped nearly 60% from $825 to $342.
“The race garnered significant buzz when it was first announced and as more details came out regarding the track’s layout on the Strip,” Goldberg told CNN, adding that the event isn’t nearing the record-high prices for the March F1 race in Miami.
Prices could “easily change” following next Thursday’s practice, when fans will get to see the course snaking through the Strip in action, Goldberg added. Next weekend’s race is the first time it has been staged on the Strip, with the previous race being the Caesars Palace Grands Prix in 1981 and 1982.
Perhaps dampening excitement are the placement of the stands and track, which is making many parts of the Strip unrecognizable. The Mirage’s iconic volcano is closed until December and the Bellagio’s fountains that dance in front of the resort have also been turned off.
“Regardless, it presents a great opportunity for F1 fans and those visiting Vegas to attend a marquee event at an affordable price,” Goldberg said.
Lower prices are also hitting hotels rooms, too. The average price is hovering around $283 per night, according to Kayak data given to CNN. That’s fallen about 24% from what prices were averaging just a month ago.
Still, in true Las Vegas fashion, some hotels are going all-out with F1-themed weekends packages. MGM Resorts-owned Bellagio has sold out of a three-day luxury package for $12,000 per person that included VIP tickets, food and wine from celebrity chefs and sommeliers as well as access to private viewing decks overlooking the race.
With 100,000 attendees still expected, sponsors are seeing this as an opportunity. Heineken plans to promote itself by blanketing the city with its logo. Earlier this year, the brew extended its multiyear sponsorship of all F1 races through 2027 but sees the opportunity to bring its newly launched light beer, Heineken Silver, as that category experiences a shakeup amid the Bud Light fallout.
Las Vegas is the third US city to host an F1 race, after Miami and Austin. The popularity of the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” has been credited, including by the drivers, with growing the sport’s audience in the US.
In addition to the race, concerts and other events are scheduled. F1 claims that the race will generate $1.3 billion, making it the “single largest special event in Las Vegas history.”
