by Ray Smith, Exhibit City News
LVCVA Boardroom Talk
The highly anticipated Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix is getting a little more expensive to host.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will spend $300,000 to transport 10,000 Strip workers to hotels and casinos within the Grand Prix race circuit when the international event takes place Nov. 16-18.
At its October meeting, the LVCVA board unanimously approved awarding a contract, open to competitive bidding, for transportation services to shuttle workers from several satellite locations in Las Vegas Convention Center parking lots.
The expense in preparing for the race adds to the $6.5 million marketing budget previously approved by the LVCVA.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is expected to bring an estimated 100,000 race fans to the resort corridor and requires the closure of a section of the Strip, as well as Koval Lane, Harmon and Sands avenues. That’s going to make it difficult for people to get to work during race days.
“It’s going to be an incredible event,” says Brian Yost, chief operating officer of the LVCVA. “It’s critical to get employees to work, and we anticipate a considerable constraint on traffic.”
The convention center is offering 4,300 free parking spaces to resort employees, as well as $1 rides on the monorail. The goal is to augment the monorail’s maximum capacity, Yost explains.
The transportation contract bid calls for 25 motor coaches with drivers, staff to assist with loading and unloading, and reimbursement of permit costs with Nevada Transportation Authority.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman asked if the shuttle ride includes gratuities, and whether LVCVA would pay the monorail fare. Yost said fares would be paid by either the employee or employer.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is being hyped as a game-changer as the city evolves into a sports destination, capitalizing on the influx of professional teams such as the NFL Raiders, NHL Golden Knights and WNBA Aces. But one citizen expressed his dismay during the meeting’s public comment period.
“Where do the citizens and small business benefit from all this?” asks Ed Uehling. “I see how the hotels and how the politicians benefit, but how do the people benefit?”
SECURITY TRAINING
In other action, the LVCVA board approved $300,000 for a contract with Critical Training Solutions to provide customer safety consulting and training services for the 4.6 million-square-foot convention center.
“There are several aspects to what we do,” President and CEO Steve Hill says of the convention center operations. “We have over 400 employees. We are not experts in every aspect of what we do to provide for our customers, so we bring in experts to recommend changes and improvements, to take a look at the entire spectrum of how we provide security in our buildings.”
Among the policies to be reviewed and developed: use of force, de-escalation, custody and handcuffing, incident reporting, issuance of trespass notices, response to citizen activists, crowd control, and contract security. Many conventions and trade shows hire private security for specific events.
The LVCVA’s safety department has 73 full-time employees, along with on-call staff, working around-the-clock shifts every day to provide customer safety. Security measures include video surveillance, guard stations, bicycle and foot patrol, and dogs for explosive detection.
NETWORK LICENSE
The board authorized a contract with ConvergeOne in the amount of $1.6 million for network operating system licenses and hardware maintenance through 2026.
The Las Vegas Convention Center uses standardized Cisco infrastructure for the backbone of its administrative network, which requires right-to-use licenses to operate and hardware maintenance coverage. Renewal of the licenses and maintenance coverage will allow uninterrupted operation of the equipment and network security software.
