Clark County pumps brakes on planned discussion of F1 events

Clark County has pumped the brakes on a planned discussion of its role in future Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix races.

At the request of County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom, the commission was scheduled to discuss at its Tuesday meeting the county’s involvement in upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix events. Following a Las Vegas Review-Journal story on the subject, the county announced that the item would be held for a future meeting.

“It is anticipated that the agenda item for Board discussion on F1 noticed for next Tuesday will be held for a future meeting in the coming weeks to align around the County’s public debrief of the event and the structure for facilitating future races,” Clark County spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said Thursday night in an email.

Segerblom told the Review-Journal that the county never signed an agreement, like the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority did, to host the race for at least three years.

“So everybody keeps saying that we’ve got three years,” Segerblom said. “We never committed to three years, to my knowledge.”

The county did approve a resolution last year that recognized the race as an annual event for a decade, but it had no language that contractually tied the county to hosting the race annually. The recognition allows for the waiving of various ordinances without additional meetings, as long as the race is held the weekend before Thanksgiving.

This year’s race is planned for Nov. 21-23 and is set to occur on the same 3.8-mile street circuit, including portions of Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane and Sands and Harmon avenues.

Formula One this week released the schedule for November’s race weekend. Nov. 21 will see two practice sessions, one beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the other at 10 p.m. Then on Nov. 22 the final practice round will be held at 6:30 p.m., with qualifying to start at 10 p.m.

Nov. 23 is race day, with the grand prix planned to begin at 10 p.m., the same time as the 2023 race.

Race officials said they are working with the county and convention authority to ensure that the setup and tear down of this year’s race are smoother than last year.

“We are committed to keeping all lines of communication open with our race partners at the County and throughout the local community,” Betsy Fretwell, Las Vegas Grand Prix chief operating officer, said Thursday in a statement to the Review-Journal.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.