Liberty Media remains ‘confident’ about the profitability of the Las Vegas GP despite costs soaring to $400 Million

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei claims that the Las Vegas GP will bring in huge profits in the long run.

Liberty Media remains ‘confident’ about the profitability of the Las Vegas GP despite costs soaring to $400 Million

A render of the Las Vegas GP

Formula 1 has three races in the United States this season. After the Miami GP earlier this year and the US GP at COTA, the sport will soon race in the streets of Las Vegas. F1’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media is the promoter of the Las Vegas GP. With the company still having faith in the prospects of the event as costs continue to increase.

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has previously admitted that the race will cost close to $400 Million to host this season. Moreover, the company has spent around $280 Million in Capital Expenditure in recent months to establish facilities including the pit building. Maffei insisted that despite such massive costs F1 expects the race to be profitable in the long term.

We remain highly confident in the increased efficiency to operate there and our growing profitability in years two and beyond. And we remain bullish on the broader value creation at LVGP that far outweighs the increased investment and startup costs.

Greg Maffei said as reported by Motorsport.com

The Liberty Media boss highlighted that most of these costs are attributed to one-time expenses and investments. As such, the Las Vegas GP would fall in terms of cost for the sport in the coming years. Both Liberty Media and Formula 1

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have taken a bullish stance on this race as they try to capitalize on the sport’s rise in popularity.

So there are a bunch of initial costs that are probably higher than we originally estimated. I remain very bullish, we remain very bullish on, as I said, the impact on F1 overall by Las Vegas, and the potential for this race to be a profitable exercise itself.

Las Vegas GP to be expensive for fans

Formula 1 has long-eyed a return to the city of Las Vegas. The sport had raced in the city before at the parking lot of the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino. Unsurprisingly, the race did not provide the best of action for fans and was not preferred by drivers. Now, F1 finally has the chance to rebuild its legacy in the US state of Nevada.

A representative image for the Las Vegas GP (image via F1)
A representative image for the Las Vegas GP (image via F1)

The Las Vegas GP is expected to be the most expensive race on the F1 calendar. Moreover, all restaurants and other spaces will need to pay to F1 if they want to have a view of the race. Otherwise, the sport will block the view of such establishments. This has not earned favor from the locals in the city who are unhappy with the race build-up.

Certainly, Liberty Media and Formula 1 have invested heavily in the Las Vegas GP. However, many have questioned the efforts of the sport to earn from this race. However, the inaugural Grand Prix will be going ahead as fans wait to see the 20 of the best drivers go head-to-head on the iconic Las Vegas Strip.

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