LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – As Formula One rolls back onto Las Vegas Boulevard for another round of repaving, the racing giant is reportedly asking businesses to pay them for a view of the race that they already have.
An article published by the New York Post (NYP) Sunday reports that businesses along the 3.8-mile track received letters from F1, asking them to pay licensing fees for the November race.
Licensing rights are listed at $1,500 per person, according to a letter NYP says it received. This amount would be multiplied by the maximum occupancy of a venue allowed by its fire code.
For example, a restaurant or club with a 1,500-person capacity would be responsible for $2.25 million in fees, the article lists.
“Las Vegas Grand Prix will use reasonable efforts to maintain sightedness from the licensee’s venue to the track/race,” according to the overview of the F1 proposal reviewed by NYP.
According to anonymous sources cited in the post, including at least one “hacked-off casino owner,” clubs and restaurants that refuse to pay these licensing fees have been warned that “barricades, stands and light stanchions” could be placed in front of and obstruct that venue’s view of the circuit.
“They are trying to limit people’s ability to capitalize on the race,” an anonymous source told NYP.
Multiple businesses along the circuit told 8 News Now, off the record, that they are aware of the F1 request, but declined to speak about it on camera Monday. Hotel operators did not return requests for comment Monday.
A Clark County representative declined interview requests with commissioners Monday. A Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority representative passed on an interview requests Monday too.
Both directed 8 News Now to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which did not return multiple requests to comment Monday.
Chris Giunchigliani is a former Clark County commissioner, who once represented a portion of the Las Vegas Strip where the pedal will hit the metal in under four months.
The first word that came to her mind when she heard the word “fees”: “extortion.”
“To my knowledge, in my 12 years (on the board of commissioners), I don’t recall anybody being allowed to charge a licensing fee or even solicit that kind of money,” Giunchigliani said during a virtual interview Monday afternoon. “Charging extra and holding people hostage, it’s despicable in my opinion.”
The fear now, according to an anonymous Las Vegas executive in the NYP article, is that the fee will be passed along to customers in “stratospheric cover charges that could soar past $2,000 a head.” Plus, being this is Las Vegas’ first Formula One race in multiple decades, those customers may not return for future races if they spend too much on this one.
While Clark County has confirmed in past commissioner meetings that a permit through its Public Works Department allows F1 to conduct repaving, it’s unclear what other kinds of contracts or legal abilities the Las Vegas Grand Prix has in regard to this request.
Representatives have also not provided 8 News Now with an update on negotiations regarding F1’s ask that Clark County pay half of its $80 million repaving project besides that they’re “ongoing.”
The Las Vegas Grand Prix runs from November 16 – 18 with an estimated 300,000 spectators in attendance.
The average price for a three-day package is over $6,600, according to a study by King Casino Bonus.