Cars wait in traffic near Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix grandstands on South Koval Lane Monday, Oct. 30, 2023.
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 | 6:13 p.m.
A day after certain county commissioners voiced their concerns over the 2024 Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, Clark County asserted no changes are coming for this year’s race.
In a statement Wednesday night, the county explained that the 2024 race events are set for Nov. 21-23 and isn’t going anywhere in the coming years so long as the board reserves and authorizes the use of public right-of-way for the next three years.
The clarification comes a day after the county delayed a discussion on the inaugural Formula One race — which took place last year from Nov. 16-18 — that was proposed by Commissioner Tick Segerblom.
Kevin Schiller, Clark County manager, told commissioners that the item had been taken off the agenda for Tuesday morning’s meeting, but will take place in the coming weeks as a full regional debrief on the November race that will include a pre- and post-action report applicable to future Formula One races as well as other events of that size.
“The County Manager’s public debrief will identify a better structure for facilitating the race specific to the engagement of county departments, regional entities, and race organizers,” the county said in a statement Wednesday night. “This process will help to reduce the public impact of the race in the months and weeks leading up to it.”
Also mentioned in the statement was the return of the Flamingo Road Bridge over Koval Lane, which drew the ire of local business owners along East Flamingo Road for blocking entryways claiming the bridge made access more difficult and cost some owners millions of dollars.
In an email to the Sun, Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, who represents the group of businesses originally impacted by the Flamingo Road temporary bridge, said that none of her clients have been involved in discussions about the bridge returning and minimizing its impact.
In January, the county announced the Flamingo Road Bridge would be removed before the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. The construction was cleared, and the intersection was opened up to its former look ahead of schedule.
But businesses owners — like Randy Markin from the Stage Door Casino, Stage Door Liquor and Battista’s Hole in the Wall — were told Feb. 2 that East Flamingo Road would once again see months of construction; this time, to fix old pipes that were leaking near the site of the temporary bridge.
Jason Gifford, assistant public information coordinator at the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said the pipes may have leaked due to old age and possibly some extra weight that wasn’t there a year before.
But the water district wasn’t quick to blame Formula One, and said it was “most likely a combination of factors” that led to the leak. Construction on the road is set to begin in late-March or early-April, and continue up until the fall before the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix race.
The county said the temporary bridge “will be needed once again, but conversations are occurring with the intent to minimize its impact.”
It was not mentioned who is involved with these conversations or when the bridge will be returning.
