F1 News: Las Vegas GP educated Clark County Commissioners

Five Clark County commissioners accepted “educational” tickets worth nearly $11,000 to attend November’s Las Vegas GP activities, records show.

Las Vegas Grand Prix offered all seven commissioners a ticket to the Skybox area, according to a letter sent to commissioners. Commissioners William McCurdy, Tick Segerblom, Jim Gibson, Justin Jones and Ross Miller accepted the tickets. Commissioners Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Michael Naft declined the offer.

Sparks fly from the car of Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The tickets were valued at $10,000 each, with an additional $900 tacked on to account for Nevada’s 9 percent Live Entertainment Tax. They granted admission to Formula 1 race events from Nov. 15 to Nov. 18, according to the letter.

McCurdy said the tickets were provided for educational reasons — so officials could understand race operations, services and infrastructure.

“We brought the race here. It’s important to see how it operates,” McCurdy said. “It would be irresponsible for us to not see how it works.”

Segerblom said attending the race was “definitely educational.”

“The county — its employees and residents — made the event happen and suffered lots of adverse consequences as a result,” Segerblom said in a text to the Review-Journal. “If we’re going to keep doing it for nine more years, we need to learn everything we can.”

Miller said he attended one practice to understand the size, permitting and licensing required to bring the race to life.

“It’s important that commissioners have a firsthand perspective of the scale of this event to ensure we’re making future county decisions from an educated perspective,” Miller said in a statement.

All the commissioners who attended the race disclosed the tickets on their 2024 financial disclosure report, except Segerblom, who said he had been advised that the tickets did not need to be disclosed. Segerblom said he intended to amend his report.