LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department held a public safety conference ahead of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday afternoon.
With about 105,000 ticketed spectators expected in the race area, public safety is taking center stage one week before the Grand Prix kicks off.
Las Vegas police have been preparing for the upcoming Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix from Nov. 15 to Nov. 18.
LVMPD's Undersheriff Andrew Walsh says the same ordinances residents and visitors are used to for New Year's Eve on the Las Vegas Strip will be in effect for the four days of the race events. That means no glass bottles, strollers or backpacks.
"Threat is huge" at Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, according to LVMPD Sheriff McMahill.
"We are no stranger to large-scale events like this, but this one serves a particular challenge for us based on the layout of the track," Walsh said. "The first year is the hardest. You just don’t know. You have to plan for a lot of things and a lot of contingencies that go into planning something of this scale."
It’s finally here! We are expecting 100,000 attendees for the #lasvegasgrandprix each day next week. If you are attending the various @F1LasVegas events beginning Wed., Nov. 15, there are some critical SAFETY things, road closures, and some prohibited items on the Strip pic.twitter.com/ihzzFdBYkb
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) November 9, 2023
When asked about expected crowd sizes, Walsh says they also plan for crowds like New Year's Eve, saying the grandstands alone hold between 20,000 to 30,000 people.
The race event will have a transparent bag policy, and those cannot exceed 12x6x12 inches. Officials say no storage or bag checks for bags in violation will be available. Smaller bags like fanny packs do not have to be transparent, but all will be searched.
They say the Department of Homeland Security is also on standby along with hundreds of private sector security working the event.
For reporting suspicious or unruly activities, the kind of issues and their location can be texted to 747 F1VEGAS with any mobile phone.
Jim Gibson with the Clark County Commission says the county recognizes the patience and constructive criticisms from residents and visitors alike as traffic and other disruptions from preparations have impacted parts of the valley.
"We thank everyone for their continued support of this," he said. "And we even appreciate the constructive criticism we have received suggesting not everyone has been that patient."
Gibson says public works employees will be on site for any damages to public infrastructure during the race, firefighters inside to deal with any accidents, and partnerships with local ambulance companies to have paramedics around the race area for spectators.
FAA officials will be restricting air space permissions in the area. Drones will be in violation and confiscated. Drone pilots who don't follow the rules can face hefty fines upwards of $30k
Grand Prix Vice President of Event Operations Vanessa Anthes talked about the F1 app, which will give people everything they need to know about safety, procedures, walking areas, and more. She says the opening ceremony will happen on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the East Harmon Fan Zone.
"The road closures are a big part of this story and they will include closures at Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane, Harmon Ave. and Sands Ave. these closures will take place from Thursday, Nov. 16th to Saturday November 18th.
Fencing and windscreens going up around the race route make coming down to the area during race weekend not a great idea without a designated/ticketed destination in mind for people coming to the race events, according to Anthes.
Switch Senior Vice President of Sustainability Alise Porto says the record post-COVID growth of professional sports in Las Vegas means public safety vigilance must remain a priority.
The full conference can be watched here:
13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears, discussed the serious security concerns that lurk, ranging from terrorist threats to upticks in specific kinds of crime.
But Sheriff Kevin McMahill previously spoke about it in July during a public program at the Mob Museum.
"F1 is, quite frankly, it's a nightmare for me. I'm not going to lie to you," McMahill said. "This type of event is something we've never dealt with before. The size of the footprint that we've never dealt with before. And, you know, the threat is huge!"
The sheriff said he has a lot of faith in his Special Events section and will count heavily on them during F1, where there will be many potential targets.
