Las Vegas News Bureau
TBC - The Boring Company d/b/a Vegas Loop begins the second tunnel for the Vegas Loop underground people mover at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall launch pit on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2020. (Mark Damon/Las Vegas News Bureau)
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020 | 2 a.m.
A land-use application presented to Clark County officials this week would create an underground transport system along the Strip with stops exclusively at Caesars Entertainment properties.
If approved, the line would connect with the Boring Company’s under-construction, $52 million people mover system at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
It’s part of a bigger plan by Elon Musk’s company to expand the transit system to other parts of the valley, including McCarran International Airport.
Passengers would ride in electric Tesla vehicles in tunnels about 30 feet underground.
Dubbed the Caesars Loop, the 2-mile line for Caesars venues would connect the Convention Center system with eight stations, including stops at the Flamingo, Paris Las Vegas, the High Roller, Planet Hollywood and Bally’s.
Representatives from the Boring Company and Caesars declined to comment.
The Caesars Loop, along with a 10-mile Vegas Loop with stops at Allegiant Stadium, McCarran and other Strip resorts, will not involve public financing.
On Wednesday, the Las Vegas City Council preliminary approved another stretch of tunnel that would transport riders to Fremont Street.
The various routes under consideration would total about 15 miles. If fully built out, a trip from the airport to downtown would take about 7 minutes.
Steve Davis, president of the Boring Company, told the City Council on Wednesday that he envisions the system stretching further into the Las Vegas metro area.
“Our goal is to expand this as much as we possibly can,” Davis said.
Before any construction could begin, the city and county would need to approve the proper permits.
The applications for the Caesars Loop and Vegas Loop will come before county officials again in February.
Several resort executives, including Stephen Thayer, vice president and general manager of the Strat, spoke at Wednesday’s City Council meeting in support of the system.
“There are very few times in someone’s lifetime that you can be a part of something transformational,” Thayer said. “We think this is one of those projects.”
The 0.8-mile people mover line at the Convention Center is 98% complete, Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said Thursday.
Extensions from the Convention Center to the under-construction Resorts World complex and Encore were previously approved.
“The building permits for the other parts of the extension shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain,” Hill said. “We feel confident the Boring Company will break ground on those extensions, at least the first ones, in January.”
Earlier this month, the LVCVA’s board voted to eliminate a Las Vegas Monorail non-compete agreement that would have stood in the way of the Boring Company’s expansion plans.
The authority recently closed on a purchase of the Monorail, an elevated tourist corridor passenger rail system that has been dormant since the spring.
The LVCVA plans to start running the Monorail again next year.
