Security Will Be ‘Like It’s New Year’s Eve’ For Vegas Race

(TNS) – Security will be tight for next week’s Las  Vegas Grand Prix on the Strip with multiple public service agencies, both local and federal, monitoring the international event.

Officials estimate 20,000 to 30,000 people will watch the 50-lap, 192.56-mile Formula One race from specially built grandstands that require the closure of parts of the heart of the Strip in the early evenings and mornings from Thursday through the overnight into Nov. 19. The race will start at 10 p.m. on Nov. 18.

“We’re planning for this like it’s New Year’s Eve,” Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said during a news conference Thursday. “I think that’s the best way to look at it. The number of visitors that will be here is comparable to that, so that’s what we’re planning for.”

But “the preparation for this epic event has been unlike anything that we have gone through before,” he said.

Heightened security

Metro police “will have a large presence both inside the track and outside the track” and have a liaison provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “in case we need anything from our federal partners” to help with security, Walsh said.

“You’ll also see hundreds of private sector security folks working inside the track each night,” he said.

Safety screens will be installed on all private and public pedestrian bridges over the track and in and around the footprint of the race to control the flow of pedestrians and for driver safety so people can’t throw things onto the track below the bridges, Walsh said.

Traffic closures will be enforced on parts of Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane, Harmon Avenue and Sands Avenue from Thursday to Nov. 18 beginning each day at 5 p.m. with a “hard closure” at 7 and the roads reopening at around 6 a.m. the next day, “contingent on how fast the crews can clear the circuits,” he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a temporary “no drone zone” over the track area and those trying to fly drones, perhaps to get an overhead view of the event, face a $30,000 fine and possible criminal prosecution, Walsh said.

The…