Raiders game to cap off Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend
The second annual Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend in November will be capped with a Raiders game.
The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix is set for Nov. 21-23, with the race to begin at 10 p.m. on Nov. 23. Fans looking to get the most out of their weekend this year can opt to take in the Raiders vs. Denver Broncos game set to start at 1:05 p.m. Nov. 24 at Allegiant Stadium.
This marks a change from last year’s inaugural grand prix, as the Raiders played an away game that Sunday, facing the Miami Dolphins in Florida.
The convergence of F1 and the NFL will not only be a potential benefit to fans but will also be an opportunity for resorts that didn’t fare as well during last year’s grand prix. F1 reported that 315,000 fans, or 105,000 per night, attended the inaugural race weekend.
Despite the major event, some hotel operators with properties located outside of the 3.8-mile track, noted they did not see the activity they had hoped for during the weekend.
With a large number of fans who attend Raiders games coming from out of town and making a weekend out of the game, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO Steve Hill said he is optimistic that hotels not located within the grand prix’s footprint will have a better turnout this year.
“The properties outside of the circuit at Formula One didn’t do well during the last (race weekend),” Hill said. “Having an NFL game on that weekend when you have Formula One here, I think will serve those outer properties really well.”
Raiders home games for the 2023 NFL season, including their lone home preseason game, drew an average crowd of 56,972 people, according to Las Vegas Stadium Authority data tracked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Of those, an average of 63 percent of the fans, or 35,892 people, were from out of town each game.
Hill believes the city can handle the influx of NFL fans added to the grand prix weekend crowd.
“We proved during the Formula One event that traffic congestion, all those kinds of things, were not a problem the week of the event,” Hill said. “It was some of the best traffic of the year during that week. So, we’ve got plenty of room in the city to do other things.”
Hill said he expects the Raiders-Broncos game will round out the highly anticipated grand prix weekend. “We really welcome people to come to what’s going to be the most spectacular weekend of the year,” he said.