LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The countdown is on to the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix and right now crews are racing to finish the centerpiece of the race.
Construction personnel have been working around the clock on the paddock building at Harmon and Koval.
The 300,000-square-foot F1 Paddock Building is where the race begins and ends.
Our Anchor Reporter Joe Moeller met with a project manager who says the site is 70% complete.
"We spent a lot of time thinking about what it should be in Vegas," said Terry Miller, the design and construction project manager for the paddock building. "This is where the control of the race happens, this is also where all the broadcast feed comes in."
Right now, crews are continuing work on the bottom floor. That is where we can start to see the 13 garages with three bays designed to store the race cars.
The garages will be the largest out of all the F1 Paddock facilities in the world.
"In addition to that the paddock building is where we have our highest end customers," Miller says.
The building will also have VIP suites. Their balconies are being assembled and crews are putting in windows as we enter the summer months.
They are also working on the rooftop where bars and viewing areas will be positioned to overlook the race and the Las Vegas Strip.
After the November race comes and goes, the building will still be put to use.
Renee Wilm, the CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, tells us, "we have this incredible building we will be activating on a year-round basis."
She says the building itself will be an attraction which can be rented out for events. According to Wilm, some bookings are already in the works.
In addition to the paddock building, residents and visitors will start to see more temporary structures being assembled for the race.
"You will begin to see a significant amount of presence by the September, October timeframe and it will be pop up locations like a grandstand going up," Wilm says.
The repaving of the track on the strip has been causing traffic headaches, but the CEO told us its only temporary.
MORE: Las Vegas Strip repaving for Formula 1 race causes heavy traffic, delays
"We so appreciate the patience of everyone in the community as they sit in traffic as we bury power lines and re-asphalt, this is a year one endeavor it will not be like this year after year."
Organizers expect construction to be finished in October, with the grand opening of the paddock facility to follow weeks later at the start of the race, November 16.
