Formula 1 has acquired a 39-acre site in central Las Vegas for $240 million (227 million euros) to make room for the pits and paddock for next year’s Grand Prix.
How Formula 1 would find space for the paddock and other infrastructure such as hospitality for the race in Las Vegas next year was a central question after the announcement of the Grand Prix in the gambling city.
While the roads can be used with city permits, much of the surrounding land is privately owned by casinos and other businesses.
This has led to teams recently being told that the paddock could be more than a mile (1.6 km) from the actual pit area.
Funding “from F1 Group cash on hand”
But on Friday, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei announced that Formula 1 had solved the problem by buying its own site in the city. The deal is expected to be formally finalized in the coming weeks. That would potentially allow Formula 1 to build a permanent pit structure, as is the case in Miami.
“I would like to note that Liberty Media has entered into an agreement to acquire 39 hectares east of the circuit to secure the track design and provide pit and paddock capacity, among other hospitality and race support facilities,” he told financial analysts .
He reveals: “I expect this transaction to close in the second quarter. The purchase price is $240 million, which will be funded from F1 Group treasury.”
Formula 1 markets races in Las Vegas itself
Maffei also confirms that Liberty Media and Formula 1, as co-promoters of the Las Vegas race, will be making a significant investment in the project, with additional capital and operating expenses required to get the event up and running.
“Unlike most other places, Formula 1 and Liberty Media are marketing the race itself in partnership with local shareholders and Live Nation,” he says.
“The construction of this route will require increased CapEx (capital expenditure; ed.) and OpEx (operating costs; ed.) It’s too early to give you numbers, but we’ll update you later in the year update.”