Road Construction On Strip For Las Vegas Grand Prix Moves Along, While F1 Paddock Project Hits Milestone With Topping Out Thursday
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Las Vegas Paving hit the jackpot with this job.
The road paving company is playing the Strip more hours a day than Blue Man Group, applying a layer of pavement for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix that is is set for Nov. 18.
The publicly-funded LVCVA tourism agency is hyping the Formula 1 race bigtime, while F1 is working on its paddock building project at nearby Koval Lane and Harmon Avenue.
Sure, traffic will be congested along the Strip and local roads that are getting repaved along the 3.8-mile road race. Tourism officials say what’s a little aggravation and inconvenience when rich race car fans from Europe fill hotel rooms for the Nov. 16-18 race event. The entire race route needs to be repaved in order for the surface to meet F1 standards.
Here’s a look at road construction on the Strip on Thursday.
Here’s the road sked for the initial track paving:
The 1,000-foot-long paddock is coming along.
Not only was the Strip getting repaved, road crews also closed Koval Lane to the east to only one lane in both directions because the road was ripped up for power connections to the F1 paddock.
Take a look at the scene there.
How much is Clark County paying for the the Las Vegas Boulevard paving job for the F1 race?
It’s unknown, though Clark County has already given the green light for F1 to stage the event for 10 years.
County commissioners say that’s OK because of the money that will be spent by visitors during the grand prix week. It should be noted that many academic sports economists say these economic impact and spending numbers are exaggerated and that the net spending effect is much less than what promoters say.
The F1 pit site will host the 300,000-square-foot race HQ. with suites and VIP amenities at the start and finish line. The topping out event celebrates the project’s final beam installation.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the publicly-funded tourism agency, is subsidizing the grand prix to the tune of $19.5 million over three years. Compare that to the $40 million that the LVCVA approved for Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. Plus, the Super Bowl Host Committee is required to raise another $20 million for the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in February.
LVSportsBiz.com also checked out the nearby MSG Sphere music venue that is expected to be completed later this year. The Sphere, owned by Madison Square Garden’s James Dolan, will have temporary outdoor beachers on its site behind the Venetian casino-hotel for the November race event. There was a rumor that Dolan would sell the New York NBA Knicks and NHL Rangers but keep the Sphere after the 17,500-seat venue is completed but apparently that’s not happening.
