Las Vegas Businesses Unite to Block 2024 Grand Prix Following Huge Losses Last Year

Article by : Erik Gibbs May 9, 2024

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The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix stirred more than just the roar of engines; it ignited a fiery debate among local business owners grappling with the aftermath of the event. With financial setbacks totaling a staggering $30 million, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a coalition of proprietors has launched a determined online campaign to potentially thwart the slated occurrence of the 2024 race. 

Spearheaded by six business owners deeply impacted by road closures and infrastructural alterations, this group is fervently rallying others to join their cause and appeal directly to the Clark County Commission to contest the issuance of a special use permit for the forthcoming event.

The petition, aptly titled “Stop the Las Vegas Grand Prix,” began its digital journey on May 3, strategically utilizing platforms like Change.org to galvanize public support and highlight grievances accumulated from the preceding race.

The petition demands the denial of the special use permit until lingering issues from 2023 are adequately addressed, including restitution for the combined losses incurred by local businesses.

Moreover, the coalition advocates for comprehensive measures to mitigate disruptive traffic patterns and logistical challenges, along with a plea for enhanced transparency and inclusive community engagement throughout the event’s planning and execution phases.

Gino Ferraro, esteemed proprietor of Ferraro’s Ristorante and a vocal advocate within the coalition, lamented the absence of substantive engagement from Formula One (F1) officials despite decades of establishment presence within the local landscape.

Efforts to elicit responses from the Las Vegas Grand Prix representatives yielded silence, amplifying perceptions of a lack of accountability and dialogue regarding the race’s multifaceted impacts.

The petition quickly gained momentum, surpassing initial signature goals as it resonated with a broader cross-section of the local populace. By Monday’s close, it had amassed a noteworthy total of 726 signatures.

Notably, signatories predominantly hailed from ZIP codes 89121, 89122, and 89148, demonstrating the localized resonance of the petition’s objectives and the reverberations of the Grand Prix’s aftermath within specific communities.

Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, the petition’s orchestrator, emphasized the importance of accessible avenues for public discourse and equitable representation for those disproportionately affected by the Grand Prix’s operational footprint.

While legal recourse against Formula One and grand prix organizers remains a possibility, the coalition is committed to exhausting administrative channels before considering litigation, strategically maximizing leverage for substantive change.

Testimonials from besieged business owners have punctuated county commission meetings, spotlighting a broader nexus of economic stakeholders adversely affected by the grand prix’s ripple effects.

Alicia Marujo, an impassioned signatory, vividly recounted the logistical nightmare of the 2023 race, characterizing it as a “traffic disaster” that disrupted daily commutes and urban landscapes.

In response to mounting public outcry, Grand Prix officials have pledged to curtail traffic disruptions by compressing the operational timeline to a more manageable three months, compared to the protracted nine-month saga of 2023.

However, apprehensions persist among establishment owners, who are wary of revenue erosion due to the potential reinstatement of temporary bridge infrastructure emblematic of the grand prix’s operational footprint.

As the debate rages on, the Las Vegas Grand Prix stands at a crossroads, with the voices of business owners resonating loudly in the discourse surrounding the event’s future. Whether their efforts will succeed in reshaping the trajectory of the 2024 race remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the impact of the grand prix extends far beyond the racetrack.