SEPTEMBER 21, 1998

Las Vegas goes for golf

FORMULA 1 is not going to Las Vegas, despite years of negotiation and planning.

FORMULA 1 is not going to Las Vegas, despite years of negotiation and planning. The city has now decided that it will build a golf course on public land near McCarran International Airport, but has abandoned plans to build a racing circuit into the design, despite support for a race from some of the major casino companies in the city.

The focus of Formula 1 activity in the United States is now firmly on Indianapolis Motor Speedway although there is still some vague talk of a race being planned in San Francisco. Such an idea is still several years away, while Indianapolis could run an event in the year 2000 if an agreement can be reached between F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and Indianapolis owner Tony George. All the indications are that this will happen in the next few weeks and that work will then begin on the construction of a road circuit inside the famous oval track. The plans also call for the replacement of the current "GasolineÊAlley" garages with a state-of-the-art pit building complex.