CLARK COUNTY (KTNV) – Clark County Commissioners unanimously approved a new ordinance at their meeting Tuesday that will create a new team to work on special events across the county.
The new team will be known as the Sports and Special Events Division.
The department’s role will be to manage special events in the county and ensure that all county agencies act on the same path.
“This is like a grown-up process so we as a county can plan for the impacts,” said Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick.
The department will manage all special events in the county, including the Super Bowl, Formula 1, the NFL Draft, marathons on county roads and more.
Here is a breakdown of some of the information each special event must submit to the new department
- Purpose of the event
- Date and time
- First aid/emergency medical plan
- Site plan showing temporary structures and impacts on public/private property including roads
- A complete traffic management plan
- Public Safety Plan
Additional information for submitting special events:
- The application must be submitted no later than 60 days after the first day of the event.
- Pre-approval/rejection issues within 15 days of submission
- A service fee will be charged for plans submitted late or incompletely.
- Special events may still be inspected by the Clark County Commission and are subject to a public hearing.
- A worksheet may be required after the event
Public hearing required if:
- A special event will close Las Vegas Boulevard or cause significant impacts to the roadway
- Requires county resources such as city police or health department
- More than 15,000 participants simultaneously
- Event can disturb the peace in the neighborhood
- The event has several activities across the country
- Previous compliance issues with the event
- The Committee decides that the applicant must explain why the event should not be rejected
Ordinance on special events by yolanda.cruz on Scribd
This division does not relieve the County Commission of the need to review the event submission. It will continue to review the submission as necessary.
Several business owners we introduced to you last year were present at the commission meeting on Tuesday, claiming they lost millions as a result of last year’s F1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas.
Since the new team will be handling Formula 1 as one of its many special events, the business owners spoke at the meeting about their problems with last year’s race.
“You are hurting the business, you are hurting my family,” said Gino Ferraro, owner of Ferraro’s Ristorante
“We are preparing for lower customer numbers, reservations and revenue,” said Randy Markin, owner of Battista’s Hole in the Wall.
“All I ask is that you put us first,” said Tanya Markin, owner of Stagedoor Casino.
These three business owners joined several others and numerous Strip employees in voicing their concerns with Formula 1.
A public hearing was scheduled as an agenda item for this new regulation.
After several people expressed their problems with Formula 1 during the hearing, Clark County Commissioners Michael Naft and Jim Gibson intervened and made a point of keeping everyone on the topic of the ordinance itself.
This led to numerous outbursts of anger between the commissioners and the business owners.
Once this point had been made clear, several speakers sat down and waited until after the meeting, during the final public comment period, to present their issues on Formula 1.
Several workers on the Strip reported difficulties navigating the resort corridor during construction for Formula 1 last year.
“Sometimes it takes two hours just to get to work,” said Bryce Chung, valet parking attendant at the Venetian and Palazzo.
This year, too, the new department will be in charge of the events starting in January.
