One of the big questions regarding the 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP was how they would find the way and the space to create the paddock and other infrastructure such as the teams’ hospitality in the center of the city.
Las Vegas officials have agreed that the streets can be used, but most of the land adjacent to the track belongs to casinos and other businesses.
Teams were recently told that the paddock could be more than a mile from the actual pit lane.
However, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei revealed on Friday that F1 has now risen to the challenge of creating a paddock area by buying an area of the city, with the deal expected to be formally finalized in the coming weeks.
That would allow F1 to build a permanent pit structure, which is what organizers have already done for the Miami GP that opens this weekend.
Maffei also revealed that, as co-promoter of the Las Vegas race, Liberty and F1 will make a substantial investment in the project, with extra capital and operating expenses required to get the event up and running.
“The momentum of F1 in the United States continues with the first Miami GP this weekend,” Maffei told a conference with Wall Street analysts and investors.
“And of course you will have already heard about the announcement of our Las Vegas GP for November 2023. As we have pointed out before, it will be a night slot race.”
“And notably and unlike most places, F1 and Liberty Media are self-promoting the race in partnership with local stakeholders and Live Nation.”
“The construction of this track will require increased capital and operating expenditure to develop. It is too early to give numbers, but we intend to present them later this year.”
“I would like to point out that Liberty Media entered into an agreement to acquire 39 acres (157,827 square meters, 0.16 square kilometres) east of the strip in order to achieve the circuit layout and create a pit and paddock space, as well as the hospitalities and other infrastructures to support the race”.
“I expect the transaction to close in the second quarter, and I report that the purchase price was $240m (about €227m), to be financed with cash on hand at the F1 group level.”
