A year ago, perhaps the clearest sign of the anticipation surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix was the eye-watering ticket prices, with original grandstand seats typically selling for between $2,000 and $2,500.
Fast forward to race week, and these tickets are available for less than $1,000, with admission prices hovering around $800 at one point.
According to ticket market tick picks, resale prices for this week’s qualifying races and Saturday’s race itself have fallen by about half in the last month alone, extending the market’s free fall that lasted for days.
“Determining our go-to-market price was a difficult decision, but this year the public spoke out,” said Brett Goldberg, CEO of TickPick.
Despite F1’s predicted sell-out in advance, tickets are also available for free on the general market, meaning seven-figure corporate hospitality packages often perform much better than regular tickets. This partly reflects what was happening.
Introductory price 5 weeks ago:
- Friday – $825
- Saturday – $1,645
Introductory price now:
- Friday – $276
- Saturday – $995
“The exciting atmosphere beneath the neon glow of the Las Vegas Strip is experiencing a market cooldown,” Vincenzo Landino wrote in F1 newsletter The Qualifier.
factor
The waning interest in attending the highly publicized event is due to several factors.
Perhaps most notable for race fans is that Max Verstappen has won 15 of the past 16 races, eliminating any competitive drama and making this season’s championship a long time coming.
Temperatures for the race, which begins at 10 p.m. Pacific Time, will no longer challenge F1’s all-time record low of 41 degrees Fahrenheit, set at the 1978 Montreal race, but should remain at least a few degrees above that record. However, by local standards, late night viewing will still be cold.
Many Las Vegas area residents are also angry about the race after months of suffering traffic congestion and other local inconveniences related to race-related paving and track construction.