Following today’s news (31^st March) that Las Vegas will host an F1 race for the next decade;

Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Since the takeover of F1 by Liberty Media, the target has always been to grow the sport in the world’s biggest sports media market. With a race already in Texas and a race in Miami added to the schedule for 2022, the addition of a race in Las Vegas gives F1 a presence across the US and gives the market three Grand Prix, something no other country has had previously. With three races in the market, the next round of media rights negotiations in the US should see a significant increase in value with the current contract with ESPN expiring at the end of the 2022 season.

“With F1 rumoured to be organizing and promoting the race themselves, the potential value of sponsorship deals for the race could be astronomical given the partnership opportunities a race along Las Vegas’ iconic Strip could present. With F1 generating in excess of $320 million from its existing partnerships, and the new Miami race expected to generate $56 million in ticket sales in its debut year, according to GlobalData’s Business of F1 2022 report, a race in Las Vegas could earn F1 over $1 billion over the next decade, a handsome return on investment for Liberty Media.

“With tourism likely to boom around the event given F1’s growth in popularity thanks to Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ series, TV audiences are likely to follow and further cement Las Vegas as a sporting destination. An NBA expansion team is also rumoured to be following the recent relocations of NFL team Las Vegas Raiders and the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.”