F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix to Offer Cheaper Race Experience

If you love Formula 1 racing, but not the idea of cashing in your retirement account to see it in person, the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix promises a less expensive option than even the previously announced $500 three-day passes.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that option will be a fan festival held on the Wynn West land, on the west side Las Vegas Boulevard between Fashion Show Drive and Genting Boulevard. The details are not all hammered out yet, but tickets for the festival will go on sale sometime in 2023.

“We’re really doing that to embrace the new demographic of our fan base,” Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm told the R-J. “Younger, more diverse fans who maybe want to experience the race weekend, but are not yet at the point where they want to pay the full ticket price for an on-track experience.”

So far, only a small fraction of the total tickets have been made available for the race, which will be held at 10 p.m. Sat., Nov. 18, with related festivities throughout that weekend. Those tickets were released in November. Another phase will open up in late February or early March, Wilm told the R-J. The third and final phase will open up to fans in May.

“Most of (the tickets) will really come out in 2023,” Wilm said.

Road Readying

With the race now less than a year away, concrete is already being poured for the F1 paddock, a four-story, 300,00 square foot facility at Koval Lane and Harmon Avenue. This location, where the Ice Meta Club once stood, will house the drier pits, VIP spectator locations, and the start/finish line.

No dates have been set for the road closures necessary to convert parts of the Las Vegas Strip, Harmon Avenue, Koval Lane, and Spring Mountain Road into a 3.8-mile racetrack. But some will probably begin soon.

“We’re working closely with all the local stakeholders and our partners to begin the planning for the following 11 months,” Wilm told the R-J. “It’s going to go quickly and everything is starting to come together.”

The required road work – which will include repaving roads, adjusting corners, and welding down manholes – is estimated to cost $30 million, according to the Clark County Commissioner and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Some of that money may come from Clark County.

“While Clark County continues to determine what dollars, if any, will be dedicated to make this a reality, we are committed to ensuring a public discussion occurs before a public private partnership is forged,” the County said in a statement to the R-J.