Vegas banks on glitz and glamour
New banking and improved fan facilities will make Las Vegas the best in world, says its owner.
Picture: LVMS
Amajor refurbishment of Las Vegas Motor Speecway will make it "the greatest speedway in the world", according to its owner.
The multimillion-dollar renovation project is set to begin following this year's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. The project will create a new fan-friendly garage, increase the banking on the superspeedway, relocate the pit road closer to the grandstands and provide a state-of-the-art media centre.
"We are going to make Las Vegas Motor Speedway the greatest speedway in the world," said Speedway Motorsports chairman Bruton Smith. "Las Vegas is all about glitz and glamour. This speedway will be as spectacular as anything on the Las Vegas Strip when we are finished."
The centerpiece of the project will be the new garage area for the Nextel Cup teams and fan interactive area. The garage buildings will be constructed in a diamond shape with the team trucks parked on the outside and fans allowed on the inside. The two-level, four-building garage area will cover some 32,000 square feet. A 52,000-square-foot roof deck will allow fans to look directly down into the individual garage stalls as the teams work on their cars. There also will be windows on the lower level where fans can watch the teams work.
In addition to the close proximity of fans and race teams, the fan area will feature concession stands and an area where live bands and other entertainers can perform.
This speedway will be as spectacular as anything on the Las Vegas Strip when we are finished.
Bruton Smith
"This area will offer a perspective on the sport of auto racing that never has been available to the average race fan," said Chris Powell, LVMS general manager. "And the fan interactive area will bring an element of entertainment that is befitting of the culture of Las Vegas. The possibilities will be limitless."
The most dramatic changes for the race teams will be the added banking to the superspeedway and the new pit road. The speedway's turns will change from 12-degree banking to 20 degrees. The new pit road will be 150 feet closer to the grandstands than the current pit road.
The track changes were penned by Eberly and Associates of Atlanta, which was also responsible for the redesign of Atlanta Motor Speedway as well as the current configuration of Texas Motor Speedway.
"The new track design will offer more side-by-side racing and give our speedway one of the most competitive tracks on the circuit," Powell said. "By moving pit road closer to the grandstands, race fans will have a much crisper view of the exciting action in the pits."
The relocated pit road also will allow for the construction of a quarter-mile oval in front of the main grandstand. This track will feature Legends, Bandolero and Thunder Roadster races.
A new media centre will be constructed behind the new pit road. The structure will accommodate more than 500 members of the media and will have room for drivers' meetings and a full-service spa for the racers and their families. The 58,600-square-foot facility will be equipped with meeting rooms, offices, interview rooms and a cafeteria. The media centre will be capped off with a corporate hospitality suite and a veranda on which suite guests can view the races.
Construction crews will begin their work immediately following the March 10-12 NASCAR Weekend.
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