[i_am_jl]

F1 is a little different than traditional sports in this regard.

While traditional sports (especially team-ball sports) claim that they stimulate the local economy and drive tourism, it has been shown time and time again that this is at best an exaggeration, at worse a complete lie. Most attendees to ball games are locals; in general they don't book lodging locally and they won't patronize nearby restaurants or businesses. They show up for the game, watch the game, maybe buy something or eat at the facilities directly around the stadium, then go home.

F1 is different in every regard. Fans will travel for F1. International ticket sales often make up more than 35% of the tickets sold, even in venues like Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. Race events take place over a 3 or 4 day weekend, giving the spectators more time to patronize local businesses. Most will rent lodging.

I'm not saying that they're not disruptive (they are, especially when run somewhere like downtown Las Vegas) but the way they are disruptive, the costs, and the practical upsides of an F1 street race are different than, for instance, bringing the Raiders to town.