By Richard N. Velotta / Las Vegas Review-Journal
Formula One and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority briefly explored the possibility of staging a second Formula One race in Las Vegas, but both sides ultimately concluded the idea would do more harm than good to the marquee November event already on the calendar.
LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said Wednesday the proposal involved staging a race the week after the November race already scheduled for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. F1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali told The Athletic his organization briefly considered the second Las Vegas race as an alternative to races scheduled in Qatar and Abu Dhabi on November 29 and December 6, as concerns mount over when the war in the Middle East will end.
“Neither one of us thought that it was a very good idea,” Hill said in a Wednesday telephone interview. “But they were exploring options.”
Hill said the executives concluded that attempting a second race immediately after the first one could be detrimental to both dates. “Trying to have a second race probably doesn’t help the first one at all,” he said. “And so, yeah, it never really went anywhere. It probably lowers the demand for both races, right?”
Last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix drew an announced three-day crowd of 306,000. Race weekend drew 175,000 unique visitors, resulting in an estimated $934 million economic impact, according to financial consulting firm Applied Analysis.
The LVCVA Board of Directors has approved spending $10 million per year to sponsor the 2026 and 2027 races, up from the initial $6.5 million per year under the first three-year contract. Both F1 and Las Vegas tourism officials have said they expect the race to be a long-term permanent fixture on the F1 calendar, with talks underway on a potential five-to-ten-year extension beyond 2027.
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 30, 2026. Reported by Richard N. Velotta.