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The 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was nothing short of a breathtaking spectacle.
But if local business owners have anything to say about it, it could well be the last time the sport hits the strip.
Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com reports that several small business owners believe they were misled by race organizers, who ensured that the event would be a huge boon for local companies.
Local Business Owners Slam F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
“We don’t need the F1. The F1 needs us,” Jay’s Market owner Wade Bohn told Snel. “We want to be compensated for the losses that occurred due to everything F1, the county and the LVCVA did.”
Bohn claims that his business’ revenue was cut in half, from $8.5 million in 2022 to $4.2 million. He believes this is due to customers being unable to access his business because of work on and around the track.
“We believe the county is responsible. They’re using taxpayer dollars to bring F1 into town. When F1 went before the county, they promised they would not be a hindrance, that they would be a part of the community,” Bohn said. “What they did was they came in, tore everything up, ran the race and got the hell out of dodge. . . If this (the business loss) happens again next year I will be out of business one hundred percent.”
And Bohn isn’t alone. Local restaurant owner Randy Markin says that he, and others, feel misled.
“We as a community got bamboozled, we got fooled. This has not ever happened before. It just steamrolled out of control,” Markin said of the race.
Formula 1 drivers weren’t exactly overly supportive of the race either.
That includes race-winner Max Verstappen.
“Some people like the show a bit more, I don’t like it at all,” Verstappen said of the Grand Prix. “I grew up just looking at the performance side of things and that’s how I see it as well. So for me, I like to be in Vegas, but not so much for racing.”
Does that mean the race won’t return in 2024?
Formula 1 agreed to a three-year contract with race organizers. And F1 agreed at the start of this year to support this race for at least 10 years.
But we’ve seen stranger things. And it’s clear that many people on both sides of the aisle would prefer not to have it back.