LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Grand Prix is moving closer to reality as crews continue paving the circuit, building the paddock, and erecting temporary structures along the race route. According to event officials, paving should be off of public roads by the end of September.
"We're in the last part of our paving sequencing. It's the final race layer, which is the last inch and three quarters of dense paving," said Terry Miller of Miller Project Management. "We'll be on private land for the last part of that paving exercise on the paddock side."
Miller also thanked the public for their patience stating the whole team knows the process is disruptive.
"Not every cone in the valley if F1's orange cone. There are a lot of projects that are happening in our valley. Public works is doing a lot of summertime work," Miller said. "We appreciate the patience that commuters have had. We appreciate the patience the patience that employees that have been impacted by the circuit. We've been able to manage repositioning in some areas to accommodate property owners and the openings and closings of their customer service entrances. Give us a little more patience for the next couple of months as we wrap this thing up."
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Steve Hill, chief executive officer and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said preparing for the race has been hard.
"It's the most difficult thing this city has ever done from an event standpoint and it's because we have to create the venue while we are also putting on the event," Hill said. "Doing that in the streets of Las Vegas and Clark County, it's a tough thing to do."
Some temporary race structures are also being constructed.
"These last three months are going to be very hectic. We just started all the temporary structures on Koval. We have some temporary structure that go all the way around the circuit in different area, some of which is the Las Vegas Grand Prix's efforts," Miller said. "Some are the properties. For example, the Mirage and Bellagio are building grandstands on their water features in front of their resorts right on the boulevard. You'll see building continuing all the way through October to the beginning of November."
As for those temporary structures, Miller said they'll start the process of taking everything down right after the race and that it could last through the end of the year. He said while every year's race will look a little different, there is one thing locals won't have to deal with for next year's race.
"We are done with the paving of the track for approximately six year, maybe even longer than that," Miller said. "The exception is [if something] happens during the year like a utility break or a water break."
Hill was asked about previous reports that Formula 1 will charge businesses on the circuit a fee in order to view the track. He said he's doubtful that will actually come to fruition.
"They have no plans to do that," Hill said. "That's not going to happen."
On Tuesday, the LVCVA also moved forward with plans to allow Formula 1 to advertise along Las Vegas Boulevard during the race.
"You see circuits around the world, they have both advertising painted on the streets and dasherboards beside the streets as well as guidance coloring on those circuits so the drivers know what the circuit is, where they're allowed to go, and where they're not," Hill said. "We had a law in place here and some regulations in place that would not have allowed that to happen so we needed to get those changed. As a part of those changes, our board has to certify that an event will have an economic impact of at least $250 million for the county to consider whether to grant that right. The action item today was for our board to certify that Formula 1 will have an economic impact over a quarter of a billion. It will be well past that. It will be over a billion dollars and that allows Formula 1 to apply to the county commission to allow that street painting and advertising to take place."
The Clark County commission said they're in negotiations with Formula 1 officials on the matter and "intend to bring this to the Board for a public discussion on possible funding when negotiations reach that point."
Formula 1's Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled to kick off on Nov. 16 with the race on Nov. 18.
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