The Ellis Island Casino in Las Vegas has filed suit against the Formula One (F1) Las Vegas Grand Prix and Clark County, claiming that the construction and road closures related to the November race cost the off-Strip property millions in damages.
The suit, originally filed April 30, was first reported last week.
- Randall Jones, the attorney representing Ellis Island, did not confirm the exact amount being sought by the casino to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, but a spokesperson representing multiple businesses in the vicinity told FOX5 Vegas that the property’s losses totaled $4 million.
The suit claims that the race severely impeded traffic and limited access to the property for both patrons and employees, during the event itself and for several months leading up to it. One of the chief expenses incurred by the casino were traffic flaggers to help mitigate these issues.
Ellis Island partnered with the race to build grandstands in front of the property at “Turn 4” of the race circuit. According to the suit, race officials significantly misrepresented how badly the set-up process would affect business operations.
Per FOX5, the suit alleges that the race’s previously announced schedules “would continue to fluctuate with no advance notice to Plaintiffs, with each construction event impeding and interfering with Plaintiffs’ customers’ ingress and egress, as well as the ingress and egress of Plaintiffs’ vendors and other third-parties it conducts business with, which caused disruption to those contracts and Plaintiffs’ business and business dealings.”
With regard to Clark County, the suit takes issue with the fact that county officials granted F1 a “conditional use” permit for its circuit rather than a “special use” permit, circumventing some of the requirements that would typically be required for such a development.
Having been inflicted with such a burden by the event, the casino’s owners allege that it is entitled to “full and just compensation” under the state constitution.
The suit is indicative of the dichotomy between how the race was received locally and from afar—on paper, it was a huge success from a spectator and broadcast perspective, and it had a huge economic impact overall.
But many business owners and local residents came to loathe the event due to several months of gridlock traffic in some of the busiest areas of town to prepare the race circuit.
Race officials also didn’t garner much favor when they sent letters to businesses along the race path demanding licensing fees of $1,500 multiplied by the venues’ maximum capacity. Those who didn’t pay would have their views blocked. After much uproar, F1 lowered the costs to a flat fee of $50,000.
Local officials have supported the race from the start. Last summer, the Clark County Commission recognized it as an annual event for 10 years. This is not a contractual obligation, but it allows for certain ordinances to be waived without the need for additional meetings. The only stipulation is that the race must take place the weekend before Thanksgiving.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) penned a three-year deal with F1 parent Liberty Media, under which the LVCVA pays Liberty $6.5 million per year to run the race. Both sides have indicated that they have full intentions of extending past the initial term.
Traffic plans for the 2024 race were submitted to the commission May 1 but have not been made public.
“Public Works continues to review and edit the traffic plan for this year’s race and we plan to make that available as soon as the department’s review is complete,” county spokeswoman Jennifer told the Review-Journal. “I don’t yet know what the timeline is for BCC (Board of Clark County Commissioners) discussions.”
