NASCAR moves Sprint Cup banquet to Las Vegas; ticket policy not yet determined
NASCAR announced Thursday that Las Vegas will be the host city for the Sprint Cup Series awards banquet this year. // Gary Shook, NASCAR Scene
NASCAR will move its Sprint Cup banquet from New York City to Las Vegas, and now it needs to decide what to do with the banquet at the Wynn Las Vegas, which was announced as the site for the 2009 awards ceremony on Thursday.
Does it sell tickets to fans, as the National Hockey League is doing with its postseason awards ceremony in Las Vegas? Or does it keep it an invitation-only affair as it was during the banquet’s 28 years in New York.
“That decision hasn’t been made yet,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Thursday. “That will be decided in the near future. But the Wynn hotel provides us a lot more flexibility than we had in the past. There are going to be some really good options to take a look at, including a fan element at the banquet. That hasn’t been finalized yet.”
The Cup banquet will be Dec. 4, which is the traditional date of the awards ceremony – the Friday the week after Thanksgiving. The Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series banquets will be combined into one ceremony, Nov. 23, the Monday after the championship weekend, at Loews Miami Beach.
NASCAR’s Cup banquet had been in New York since 1981, with all but one of the awards ceremonies at the historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
“I can’t say enough about the warm reception from Las Vegas,” NASCAR Chairman Brian France said in a statement. “Las Vegas really made it a priority to get the awards ceremony moved there. We were able to come to an agreement on reasonable room blocks, banquet facilities and approvals to hold fan activities on the famous Las Vegas Strip.
“I also want to thank New York City and especially the Waldorf-Astoria for being such an important part of NASCAR’s history over the years. We look forward to a continued presence in the Big Apple, where we have so many dedicated fans.”
Poston declined to comment on whether NASCAR is getting paid to bring the banquet to Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier this month that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority would pay NASCAR between $500,000 and $1 million for each year of the contract, which is believed to be for three years.
In Las Vegas, NASCAR plans to revive its “victory lap,” which it staged in New York City for four years but opted not to have last year. The event will consist of the top-10 drivers wheeling show cars down the streets of Las Vegas.
“Las Vegas is known for having marquee special events, and this partnership further enhances the relationship between Las Vegas and NASCAR,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “The strength of the Las Vegas brand, leveraged with the brand of NASCAR, will generate increased awareness and excitement.”
The combining of the Nationwide and Truck banquets is designed to save money. The top-five finishers from both series will be honored at the combined banquet celebration. In the past, NASCAR had separate banquets, with the Truck event the Monday after the season’s final weekend in Miami and the Nationwide ceremony either later that week or after the Cup banquet in Orlando.
“We were able to save the Nationwide teams an extra trip, and by combining them, I think it will inject even more energy into that banquet and make it a bigger event for both series,” Poston said.
Poston said NASCAR is talking with ABC/ESPN and Speed to determine who will televise that banquet. ESPN has the Nationwide contract, and Speed has the Truck contract.
