Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Plans To Remove Temporary Flamingo Bridge From Jan. 21-Feb. 1 In Response To Business Complaints

By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer 

One final vestige of the Formula 1 race — the temporary Flamingo Road bridge spanning Koval Lane east of the Strip — is finally scheduled to be removed after businesses at the Flamingo-Koval intersection complained to Clark County and F1 officials that the metal bridge was hurting their revenues.

Removal of the Flamingo Road bridge will begin Jan. 21 at 9 PM and will continue through Feb. 2. The intersection will be closed while the bridge removal work is done.

“We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this process,” Lauren DelFrago, Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix vice president of event operations, wrote to Randy Markin and Nyla Zavalza of Stage Door Casino in an email Wednesday.

The grand prix also informed the media late Wednesday afternoon about the bridge removal. The Las Vegas Grand Prix has suffered bad publicity from staging a 90-minute race event on Nov. 18 that took over 3.8 miles of the Strip and surrounding roads. It made for a spectacular visual on TV and made a lot of money for Las Vegas’ two big hotel companies — MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment — but it disrupted commerce and transportation in the Strip corridor to a level not seen before.

Plus, Clark County commissioners appeared gullible and inexperienced when dealing with Formula 1, handing over the public roads without compensation amid promises of economic windfalls from wealthy international tourists. In the end, the grand prix was a boon for the big hotels, but hurt many local businesses.

Business owners like Wade Bohn, owner of Jay’s Market, had called on Clark County, F1 and the LVCVA to get rid of the bridge that was installed temporarily for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

“I’m overjoyed,” Bohn said. “I really felt like I might lose my business, but removing this bridge will allow us to get back to normal customer flow during big events like Super Bowl.”

Markin, owner of Stage Door and Battista’s restaurant, said. “This is the positive outcome we hoped for and was our intention from the beginning. I am hopeful our regular Stage Door customer will come back and celebrate Super Bowl with us, and we will make sure tourist know Battista’s is now easy to get to.”