Does a Formula 1 Race on the Las Vegas Strip Make Sense?

Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone has mentioned Las Vegas as a possibility for a new Formula One race in the United States. "Vegas say they are ready to go and it would be on The Strip for sure," the 83-year-old F1 boss recently told The Independent's Christian Sylt.

Does an F1 race in Sin City make sense for either the racing series or Vegas?

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's recall that this is the third different potential American F1 venue discussed in the last couple years—the first two have fizzled.

The oft-delayed Grand Prix of America, which was to be held across the Hudson River from New York City, seems to finally be off the table. Asked if the race in New Jersey would ever happen, Ecclestone told Autosport's Jonathan Noble, "I don't really think so. It is the same problems that it started with—nothing has changed." 

Next, there was talk of a return to Long Beach, California, where F1 raced from 1976 to 1983. That fell through when the city approved an extension of the circuit's IndyCar race through 2018.

Given those recent failures, any talk of a return to Las Vegas—remember, the Caesars Palace parking lot already hosted a race in 1981 and 1982—should be met with reservation. Ecclestone is still the most powerful man in the sport, famous for sealing deals with only a handshake, but just because he wants something doesn't mean it will happen.

Another consideration is whether Las Vegas even needs—or wants—a grand prix. Ecclestone may have found a promoter who wants to bring a race to the desert, but that is not enough to put together a race.

For one thing, holding a grand prix on The Strip would entail weeks or months of disruption in the heart of the city. According to the official F1 website, construction of the Circuit de Monaco takes six weeks. Would the casinos and other businesses be willing to endure the hit their bottom lines would surely take in the hopes of making up the difference over one race weekend?

The extensive disruptions and logistical issues are some of the main reasons a long-discussed London Grand Prix has never gone forward.

In addition to the cost of the circuit itself, someone would also have to come up with the race-hosting fee. For reference, the deal signed for the Russian Grand Prix is worth approximately $200 million over seven years, according to Reuters' Darya Korsunskaya.

Governments can justify these costs by pointing to the amount of revenue and exposure an F1 race brings to the host city and country. For example, entrepreneur Chris Pook, who was working to bring F1 back to Long Beach, said the 2013 US Grand Prix in Austin generated a net gain of $4.9 million in tax revenue for the city and $17.2 million for the state of Texas, per the Orange County Register's Bob Keisser.

But Las Vegas does not need the exposure of an F1 race to drum up tourism and create revenue. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, nearly 40 million people visited the city in 2013. With those numbers, it is difficult to see how anyone could justify interrupting the regular business on The Strip for a month or two just to bring in an additional 50,000 or 100,000 race fans.

Also, according to a rough estimate, everyone in the world has already heard of Las Vegas. There is not much additional exposure a race could bring that the city has not already received from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Ocean's Eleven and The Hangover.

Finally, is there even space on the F1 calendar for Vegas? The 2015 schedule contains 20 races, and Baku, Azerbaijan, has already been announced as a 2016 addition.

"It is more likely that it will go over 20 with Baku than we lose a race," Ecclestone told told Sylt regarding a Vegas race, but 20 races has generally been viewed as the limit for F1 (see this Reuters article, via Yahoo, for a sampling of the teams' views). With Azerbaijan and Vegas, and assuming no other races drop off the calendar, there would be 22 races.

Given all the considerations we have just examined, it seems there is not room for Las Vegas in F1 right now. But as any longtime gambler knows, luck (and F1 calendars) can change in an instant.

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