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By Lydia Mee
Sports Contributing Writer
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After local backlash surrounding the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, organizers of the event on the iconic Las Vegas Strip have vowed to improve the race experience in 2024 by addressing the disruptions and communication issues.
According to Brian Yost, COO of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, and Emily Prazer, Formula 1's chief commercial officer, the organization is committed to ensure that Formula 1 events are sustainable and community-friendly.
For the 2024 event in November, the emphasis lies on minimizing infrastructure disruptions, which were a significant drawback during the first race. Yost detailed the completed track preparations whilst in conversation with Chris Medland via The Racer:
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"We will not be going through the same level of disruption we went through last year in terms of the track build. The track has been paved, it is now in good shape — with all of the water valve caps secured — so we've eliminated that hurdle. We knew there would be a level of disruption, that level will be reduced this year.
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"We learned how valuable regular communication was with a variety of constituents. And this year, that communication will be even further enhanced, whether it's to the general public, whether it's to the hotel visitors, whether it's to the employees, the over 120,000 men and women that work up and down Las Vegas Boulevard. We will make sure that word is out."
Moreover, the organizers have devised a robust community communication plan to improve interactions with local stakeholders, including businesses, residents, and employees. Prazer commented:
"I think that the community was nervous because it's never been done before. I don't think anyone's been as aggressive as this collective group to shut down Las Vegas Boulevard for the duration. So I understand why they have concerns.
"But my take on it is we've kind of proven the logistics side of it. Now we need to shorten the time of which it takes us to build things, which we're working on, again with the support of everyone here. And we're working collectively on a much stronger community and communications plan which will launch at the end of June.
"So while I'm not going to suggest it's ever going to be perfect, because obviously everyone's entitled to their opinion, but we're going to try a lot harder to make sure that we pacify some of those nerves."
The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on November 21-23 and will feature a Saturday night race, as it did in 2023.
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