Nearly a year after its maiden brick was put into place, the colossal 300,000 square-foot Formula 1 Pit Building is on the verge of completion. This impressive establishment is primed to serve as the crucial starting and finishing points for the forthcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, along with ample space for pit lanes, team garages, and an ultra-VIP hospitality zone.
During the race weekend slated between November 16 and 18, the F1 Pit Building will be teeming with life, encompassing around 4,500 crew members and F1 employees, all girded to ensure a smooth and thrilling experience.
The Pit Building is not the only spectacle coming to fruition. The grandstands, including those sprawling near the Pit Building and the Bellagio grandstand, are also nearing completion. A pall of sadness hangs over Bellagio, where an ironworker had a fatal run-in with an accident last month.
One final step remains on the path to race day. F1 authorities alongside the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body of F1, are required to scrutinize every span of the track to check compliance with set rules and given their ongoing close monitoring of the construction, this should be a mere formality.
Part of this final preparation includes a crucial change in terminology. The so-called “Paddock Building” has discreetly been renamed as the “F1 Pit Building” by F1. lest unintended resemblance with the infamous Stephen Paddock, mastermind behind America’s deadliest mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, draws unnecessary ire.
However, not all is rosy in the world of F1. Employees working on the Strip have been vociferous about hour-long waits to vacate their workplaces’ parking spaces due to the Pit Building’s ongoing construction. It’s expected that this predicament will amplify during race week as road closures are anticipated across a nine-hour span each race day.
In a bid to alleviate the congestion, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has proposed to open 4,300 parking slots at the Las Vegas Convention Center for Strip employees – alongside 25 shuttle buses, and round-the-clock monorail services.
Yet, it hangs in the balance whether resorts would provide for their employees’ monorail fares. The Culinary Union Local 226, the union representing the 53,000 Las Vegas hospitality workers, is advocating for the employees to be reimbursed for any additional costs faced due to the extended commute times.
