formula 1
Race organizer: “Basically” they shut down Las Vegas
The racing circus is making a stop in Las Vegas for the first time since 1982. photo
© John Locher/AP/dpa
Time pressure, strikes, neighborhood anger: the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas is a mammoth project. The chief organizer explains the hot spots – not least the traffic is tricky.
More than 40 years after the two flop events In Las Vegas, Formula 1 wants to set standards in the gamblers’ paradise and create a new fixture in the racing calendar.
In 1981 and 1982, the premier class of motorsport held a Grand Prix in the parking lot behind the Caesars Palace Hotel, which neither the drivers nor on site received.
“The track in the Caesars Palace parking lot was very different to what we plan to do here. But that’s all part of the legacy and the incredibly rich history that Formula 1 has,” said chief organizer Renee Wilm to the German Press Agency the penultimate Grand Prix of the year on Sunday.
Parking lot flops should be history
“We want to set a whole new standard for the fan and customer experience on a race weekend in Las Vegas. Luxury and glamour, in a city known for offering the highest level of quality in food, drink and entertainment “that Las Vegas offers every day, a perfect counterpart to us in Formula 1,” explained Wilm, who is actually head of the legal department at Formula 1 rights holder Liberty Media. The media company entrusted them with organizing this very important race.
This time the Grand Prix leads past the famous hotel complexes on Las Vegas Boulevard, the so-called Strip. There were enough problems in the run-up to the spectacular project in the players’ paradise. The project, which cost the equivalent of around 460 million euros, was under immense time pressure, one had to come to terms with the demanding neighborhood, and a strike by employees in the hotel and restaurant industry was only averted at short notice. In addition, traffic around the city center circuit will temporarily come to a standstill during the Grand Prix weekend.
“No script”
“You have to keep in mind that you’re essentially shutting down a city that’s operating 24 hours a day, you’re shutting down a lot of business, including 60,000 hotel rooms. The amount of transportation planning, security planning and general logistical planning that was required “To organize this event was truly monumental,” explained Wilm.
“There is no script for what we are doing here. This is truly a unique event. We are all 100 percent committed to making this event as spectacular as possible.”
Traffic flow in particular will be a challenge – not least for the numerous employees in the service sector who commute to work. “We need to keep cars and people moving in Las Vegas. Working closely with the Fire and Safety Department, we have developed a series of logistical plans that will allow employees and guests to move around the racetrack even when the Strip is closed to move,” explained Wilm.
“Considering we’re closing three miles of public roads and creating an island, there has to be a way to get in and out of that island while the roads are closed. To do that we had to build temporary bridges, which are very expensive and caused logistical problems during its construction,” said the chief organizer. In collaboration with the local authorities, efforts were made to keep the disruption as low as possible.