You know things are hectic during Formula One when even Gordon Ramsey can’t get a temporary kitchen permit for the race. F1’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix event had its highlights and its lowlights. With eight months to go until the checkered flag is waved, the race’s newly appointed top local executive said she is working to improve the experience.Â
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Last week was a tale of competing Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix storylines.
On Friday, Grand Prix Plaza, the race’s $500 million centerpiece building, served as the media backdrop as organizers announced the start of presales of 7,000 low-priced general admission tickets to Nevada residents for November’s event — nearly three times the number offered a year ago.
A few days earlier, race officials sat through a Clark County Commission meeting centered on a 113-page debriefing report outlining the benefits and challenges of hosting the inaugural race on a 3.8-mile course that included a 2-mile stretch of the Strip.
The report, produced by county agencies with the economic portion handled by Las Vegas advisory firm Applied Analysis, outlined several race highlights. The nighttime event was televised to the largest global audience in Las Vegas history and provided a total economic impact of $884 million. The Las Vegas Grand Prix generated $77 million in state and local taxes, the highest figure recorded for a single event.
In the months before the report, Strip gaming companies cited mixed results from F1 —  luxury casinos reported a steady flow of high-end customers while other operators suggested the race scared off regular customers.
The county’s report cited dozens of challenges faced by government agencies, public works, law enforcement, the water district, the fire department and public transportation.Â
The fire department highlighted more than a dozen issues in simultaneously trying to keep up with the construction of the Plaza building and…
