Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has offered an apology to the residents of Las Vegas for the disruption caused by the preparation for the Grand Prix. Work has been on-going for months in Nevada to resurface the Strip, and construct the paddock and pit facilities with the work having a knock-on effect of delays and diversions for the local residents and tourists. Trees have been removed while the world-famous Bellagio fountains have been blocked from view for grandstands, with there also being complaints about the high prices for tickets and hospitality packages - with some going for millions of dollars. However, Maffei suggested the high prices were not necessarily the fault of F1.
Maffei apologises to Las Vegas
"I want to apologise to all the Las Vegas residents and we appreciate that they have their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us," Maffei told Fox5. "We’re going to bring something like $1.7 billion of revenue to the area, so it’s not just for the benefit of fans who want to view the race. "We hope this is a great economic benefit in Las Vegas. We hope this is the most difficult year with all the construction that went on and things will be easier in the future. "There will be a 105,000 people, so the sheer scale of it, even for Las Vegas will be the largest event Las Vegas will have. "There’s a launch party from Wednesday to Sunday, almost a week of events and musical acts. "You know, you’re seeing sports figures from other sports having their own kind of side viewing parties. "A lot of [the high prices] frankly comes from costs that are not entirely ours. "I’m not begrudging our partners, but, you know, five-night minimums in hotels and things like that helped push up the costs. Not all of it’s just the pricing of the tickets. "The experience of that and, frankly, the fact that there’s so much demand is what drives it."
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