F1 deal for Las Vegas race may be shot across LB’s bow (4th Update)
Further details came from respected American motorsport correspondent Steven Cole Smith who revealed that "an investment and management group is deeply involved in bringing a Formula One street race back to Las Vegas."
Earlier this week American motoring magazine Autoweek reported that the organizers of the Vegas Grand Prix have asked Mr. Ecclestone to visit the city and officials in advance of next weekend's F1 race in Austin, Texas. Mr. Ecclestone added that the organizers do not include Vegas powerhouses, casino magnate Steve Wynn and Guy Laliberté, the co-founder of circus troupe Cirque du Soleil which has eight shows in Vegas. However, as Forbes' previous report pointed out, both Mr. Laliberté and Mr. Wynn would benefit greatly from the race so they are likely to stand by it even if they are not amongst the organizers.
Hosting a Grand Prix fits with the strategy in Vegas of diversifying from a tourist industry which depends on declining gambling income. In 2013 gambling revenue on The Strip came to $6.5 billion which was below its peak of $6.8 billion in 2007. In the first quarter of this year casino sales in Vegas were down 12% according to Bloomberg and, crucially, resorts in the city are changing their business models accordingly.
The SLS Hotel & Casino, which originally opened in 1952 as the Sahara, was re-launched in August and, according to its president, Rob Oseland, it only anticipates to get 30% of its revenue from gambling. It compares with an average of 45% across Nevada casinos today and 62% in 1984, according to the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. A Grand Prix would drive further diversification.
Despite this data and the comments from Mr. Ecclestone and the source, some, including F1 blogger Joe Saward, have claimed that "it is completely out of character for him to talk about deals that are under discussion unless it serves his purpose to make them public."
However, this is precisely what happened with the latest new addition to the calendar, a Grand Prix in Baku, capital of the oil-rich country of Azerbaijan, which is due to take place in 2016. Mr. Ecclestone first revealed the race to the press in March before an official announcement in July. It gave Mr. Ecclestone and the organizers an opportunity to test the public reaction before final terms were agreed and the deal was signed.
Another observer, named Gregg, made a similar comment to Mr. Cole Smith and said "Don't the media dorks get this is all about Bernie press?" In response, Mr. Cole Smith said "Sure, I got that when I wrote that Formula One was coming to Austin, Texas. I got that in spades. Probably from you, Gregg. Don't forget, too, that 2016 should see the debut of Gene Haas' Formula One team, hopefully with at least one American driver. That is bound to shine a spotlight in F1 in America. I just hope it's a bight one." Forbes.com
10/22/14
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| Ecclestone close to inking deal to return F1 to Las Vegas or just a threat to make Long Beach think twice? |
F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said that "he has been invited to Las Vegas to meet with race organizers who are planning a Grand Prix on the streets of the city," according to AUTOWEEK. Ecclestone "is in discussions about hosting a street race in Vegas on a track that would include the city’s famous Strip." The project "is understood to be at an advanced stage," as a senior auto racing source in the U.S. said that F1 track designer Hermann Tilke "has visited Vegas several times to design the layout of the course."
Ecclestone has now added that "the next step is for him to make a visit" before the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas next weekend. Ecclestone: “There is a consortium in Las Vegas that wants to arrange a race. They are very serious and want me to go out there on the way to Texas so we will see."
He added that "the group does not include casino impresario Steve Wynn or Guy Laliberte, the co-founder of avant-garde circus troupe Cirque du Soleil." Both Wynn and Laliberte are personal friends with Ecclestone and he said, "It's not Steve Wynn or Guy. Steve isn't interested in it."
Some "have suggested that there is no substance behind the Vegas Grand Prix plans, though the comments from the source and Ecclestone suggest otherwise." One observer said, "It is completely out of character for him to talk about deals that are under discussion unless it serves his purpose to make them public." AUTOWEEK
[Editor's Note: By going public it sounds like Ecclestone is firing a shot across the bow of the Long Beach City Council who he has been trying to convince to run an F1 race through their city streets instead of IndyCar. The City renewed with IndyCar last year through 2018, but Bernie still covets a return, and what Bernie wants he eventually gets.]
10/21/14 F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone is "in discussions about hosting a grand prix on the streets of Las Vegas," according to Christian Sylt of the London Independent. Ecclestone said, "Vegas say they are ready to go and it would be on The Strip for sure."
Sylt notes F1 last raced in Las Vegas in '82 "on a track in the Caesars Palace car park but it failed to get support from within the industry due to the makeshift, temporary nature of the course." A race on the streets would have "more permanence and do a better job of showing off the local landmarks."
Just Marketing Int'l Founder & CEO Zak Brown said, "Vegas would be a fantastic addition to the F1 calendar and would be successful for so many people involved." A source added that F1 track designer Hermann Tilke "visited Las Vegas several times to work on the layout of the course, showing that the project is at an advanced stage." The source said, "Tilke has made a couple of site visits. I knew that if he had gone along there must be something to it."
Sylt notes Ecclestone "has been trying to bring F1 back to Las Vegas for more than 20 years and it would give the sport the shot in the arm it needs to compete in the American racing scene which is dominated" by NASCAR. London Independent.
In Las Vegas, Ron Kantowski writes, "Cue that beer commercial. Here we go (again)." Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson said that he "has not been involved in discussions with Ecclestone" about bringing F1 back to Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review-Journal.
10/19/14
Bernie Ecclestone says a Formula 1 race could be held on the streets of Las Vegas in the future.
Ecclestone has long seen the United States as a key market for the sport and, while a popular event has been held in Austin since 2012, plans for a race in New Jersey have not yet come to fruition.
But Ecclestone has now claimed that Las Vegas is keen to host a Grand Prix, based around The Strip.
"[Las] Vegas say they are ready to go and it would be on The Strip for sure," Ecclestone told The Independent, before adding a cautious note: "In the end there's a million countries that would like to have an F1 race but they can't afford it."
With Mexico returning to the sport in 2015 and Azerbaijan set to host the European Grand Prix in 2016, Ecclestone reckons it is likely that the calendar will expand to record length, rather than a race being dropped to accommodate the extra additions.
"It is more likely that it [the calendar] will go over 20 [races] with Baku than we lose a race," he said.
10/17/14 (GMM) Las Vegas could be the next new F1 destination, Bernie Ecclestone has revealed.
"Vegas say they are ready to go and it would be on The Strip for sure," the F1 chief executive told business journalist Christian Sylt, in the Independent.
Perhaps the world's most famous resort city renowned for gambling and nightlife, Las Vegas hosted two unpopular F1 races in 1981 and 1982, in the car park of the Caesars Palace hotel.
Sylt quoted a source as saying renowned F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke has already visited the city, located in the Mojave Desert, several times already.
"I knew that if he had gone along there must be something to it," said the source.
F1 already has one race in the United States, in Austin, and another amid the fabled New York skyline has also been touted.