Formula One officials promise fewer disruptions for Las Vegas race preparation

Construction of a 3.8-mile race course on and near the Strip for the Las Vegas Grand Prix won’t be as burdensome on residents this fall, officials told the Clark County Commission on Tuesday.

Terry Miller, project manager with Miller Project Management, in a presentation to the commission stressed that a condensed construction schedule and more communication with the community will enhance the process. Miller Project Management is charged with preparing the course for the second installment of the race, Nov. 21-23.

Unlike last year, which brought nine months of road repaving among other construction, Miller touted that setup would take just three months this year.

“It is my sense that we’re going to have a much smoother lead-up and then process, the actual process leading up to and the actual process living through the week that we call race week,” Commissioner Jim Gibson said. “We hope that the changes that have been made will help us in dramatic fashion.”

Race officials long stressed that they would learn from the hiccups of the Las Vegas race’s inaugural year. The plan presented to the commission addresses those shortcomings, which last year brought commuting headaches for service industry workers and others who were delayed getting to the Strip.

The construction will be done in a “fluid” process consisting of various stages, starting with light installations, then barriers, grandstands, opaque walls on the pedestrian bridges and other track elements before it is completed in November, Miller said.

Construction crews will move from Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue in a circular motion as they erect the track features along the circuit, only working at night on most projects except for the temporary vehicular bridge to be built along East Flamingo Road. The intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane will be temporarily closed when crews work on the bridge.

But, Miller said, the process will be much smoother and more predictable for the public so people can easily plan for additional traffic caused by construction or road closures.

Lori Nelson-Kraft, senior vice president of corporate affairs for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, explained that two initiatives have been developed in cooperation with hotels along the racecourse. One pertains to the park-and-ride shuttles that will transport employees from a designated parking location to their hotels within the circuit during race week.

Weekly alerts regarding traffic will start Sept. 1, Miller said. An interactive map that details delays is being rolled out this month.

It’s not just about getting people around before the race this year, but also about getting Nevadans into it, the Las Vegas Grand Prix team emphasized to commissioners.

Along with an early presale for Nevada residents that temporarily went live earlier this year, the Las Vegas Grand Prix has added new general admissions options and two new standing-room-only areas with single-day tickets starting at $150.

Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, admitted that crowds at last year’s race lacked a local presence. She doesn’t want a repeat of that in 2024.

“That is a failing that I will always own, but this year, this event is not just for Formula One and Liberty Media and the rest of the world; this is about Las Vegas,” Wilm told commissioners.

There is always a lot of excitement for the first year, said Wilm, and though she gave no specifics on the state of ticket sales, she did note that the Las Vegas Grand Prix team was seeing “what they expected” for sales in the second year.

Not everyone is convinced the changes will be beneficial.

Last year, owners of about a dozen businesses along East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane said they had experienced losses in the millions due to months of construction, nightly road closures during race weekend and — in some cases — the large vehicular bridge erected for public access to Strip businesses within the track.

Wade Bohn, owner of the bright red Jay’s Market on the corner of Koval Lane and East Flamingo Road, could see the vehicular bridge when he looked outside the store’s window every day. It made getting into the combined market and gas station difficult, he said during the Tuesday meeting, and resulted in a loss of $3.5 million at the end of the year.

Stage Door Casino, Stage Door Market and Italian restaurant Battista’s Hole in the Wall down the street from Bohn also lost out on revenue in 2023. The three businesses sat inside the racecourse last year and had all their entrances blocked off during nightly track closures last November.

That was after months of being inside the repaving zone, which left them with hundreds of cancellations a night at Battista’s Hole in the Wall because it was too difficult for people to access their parking lot, Randy Markin told the Sun.

Tanya Markin, who co-owns the three businesses with stepson Randy, took to the lectern Tuesday morning to plead that commissioners help adversely affected businesses get reimbursed before the 2024 race is given the green light. She said during public comments that the businesses are sure to see another drop in revenue during the 2024 race.

Gino Ferraro, owner of Ferraro’s Italian restaurant on Paradise Road and East Harmon Avenue, also urged the county to support the affected businesses before allowing the 2024 race to occur.

“Our community has F1 PTSD,” Tanya Markin told the commission. “This isn’t just about my business, this is about all of us, this is about our community where we live. If you insist on allowing the 2024 race, please make it contingent on the 2023 reimbursement and a reimbursement account for business lost in 2024. This should not be a repeat of a fast-tracked and improper approval of the F1 race.”

Commissioners Gibson and Tick Segerblom acknowledged the plight that many of the businesses along Flamingo Road experienced and said they would continue to work toward a solution for the business owners. Gibson added that there would be outreach done in the coming weeks to affected businesses that will determine whether the county has the power to help them.

“Honestly, we all need to work together to make sure that these people who have been adversely impacted are taken care of to some level, so I just wanna urge you to keep talking to them,” Segerblom said. “The commission authority can be involved, which, again, is Commissioner Gibson, but it’s just so important that no one feels like they have been screwed by this process.”

 

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