Backstreet Boys to Headline First F1 Afterparty at Sphere

The show is set for November 21, the night the Las Vegas Grand Prix wraps its 50-lap race on the 3.8-mile Strip circuit, with practice on November 19 and 20 and qualifying on November 20. Sphere's own show is scheduled to start around 11:30 p.m., after the checkered flag, according to Billboard's report on the announcement.

Emily Prazer, president and CEO of Las Vegas Grand Prix Inc., called it out directly in the announcement: "Las Vegas is the only place in the world where Formula 1, the Backstreet Boys and Sphere can come together for one unforgettable night." Sphere president and CEO Jen Koester framed it as part of the venue's push toward pairing big-name artists with race weekend programming, following last year's afterparty lineup of T-Pain, MGK and Zedd.

Access is not sold like a normal concert ticket. TicketNews reports the afterparty is bundled into F1 race packages: general admission plus afterparty access starts at $925, grandstand seats plus afterparty start at $1,560, and hotel and race packages through The Venetian start at $2,062 per person.

If you already hold a T-Mobile Zone at Sphere ticket for the race, you can add afterparty access starting at $116, and other Las Vegas Grand Prix fan zone ticket holders can add it starting at $162. All of it runs through f1lasvegasgp.com, not Sphere's own box office.

If you already had Grand Prix tickets on your radar for November, this adds a real reason to stay out late on race night instead of heading straight back to your room. But it is worth being clear-eyed about the price: this is priced as a race weekend add-on, not a standalone concert, so it is a poor substitute if you just want a cheap Backstreet Boys show. Their regular Into the Millennium residency runs through August 29 at far lower entry prices, and that run is still the better option if the band is the whole draw for you.

For anyone building a November Vegas trip around the race, factor the Sphere afterparty into your budget early. These add-on packages tend to sell through the upper tiers first, and F1 weekend hotel rates in general climb fast the closer you get to the date.