Drivers head out toward turn one at the start of the inaugural Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.
Saturday, March 23, 2024 | 2 a.m.
When the Las Vegas Grand Prix returns in November to the Resort Corridor, officials are hoping to see more locals at the event.
Residents last year during the inaugural Formula One race were vocal in their displeasure of being priced out of the event. That’s why officials are adding about 7,000 new general admission tickets spread across multiple viewing zones and giving Nevada residents priority access, said Betsy Fretwell, chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The tickets, starting as low as $150, went on sale Friday at Ticketmaster with early access for locals. Tickets open to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday.
“We got feedback last year that there weren’t enough tickets for locals, and so that’s what we strived to achieve this year,” Fretwell said. “We’ve built out a platform for individuals who live here to be able to take full advantage of the race and come out and explore and enjoy it.”
The offering includes tickets into the T-Mobile Zone at the Sphere, where there’s live entertainment, interactive activities, and food and drink.
Officials have also created a “Three of a Kind” package for residents that grants them access to the grandstand and hospitality zones to experience the race “to a variety of different settings along the circuit,” Fretwell said.
The reasoning for the outreach to locals is simple: getting the community to “fall in love” with Formula One, Fretwell said.
“It’s very important to share with our locals, for our people, for our citizens, that they’re not going to experience what they experienced last year,” Fretwell said.
Fretwell has been on what she called a “60-day listening tour” with businesses in and around the circuit to work on ways they can be involved with this year’s race, so fans might get a chance to try some local fare while waiting for drivers to speed down the 3.8-mile track, she said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has also been working with race officials to help them “take full advantage of (their) investment here.”
Fretwell, who started in her position in January, said she realized residents were inconvenienced with traffic delays brought on by the construction of the course. From repaving the road on the circuit, to erecting barriers and grandstands, it took months of construction.
They will release the track assembly schedule in the summer, but Fretwell says prepping the course won’t be as chaotic.
They are also on the clock with the Clark County Commission to submit transportation plans to better get service industry workers on and off the Strip when roads are shuttered for the race.
“(F1) is so exciting, and so we really want people to take a chance, come in and see it,” Fretwell said.
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