The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the most prominent sports arenas in the world. It is located in the western part of the city, near the gambling mecca of Las Vegas. Home to the famous Las Vegas Golden Nuggets, the LVMS is one of the main attractions of the area. In fact, the facility offers more than meets the eye: apart from sports, the LVMS is also the location of the Festival Of Arts, which is regarded as the “Olympics” of the arts. In summer, concerts and festivals are hosted here as well.
The grandstands, which are situated around the entire perimeter of the track, can accommodate up to 60,000 spectators. Construction on the stands began in the 1960s and it was originally known as the Las Vegas Sports Arena. In addition to sports, the LVMS hosts a variety of concerts and other events throughout the year. Some of the bigger names that have performed here include U2, The Rolling Stones, and The Who.
The Rise Of Grandstand Seating
The seating capacity at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has increased to around 70,000, as a result of major renovations that were completed in 2007. The previous record holder was the 60,000-capacity Los Angeles Coliseum, which was also the venue for the Super Bowl back in 2007. In order to accommodate more people, the LVMS instituted a number of changes, which included reconfiguring the seating areas. Most notably, the speedway erected a second tier of seating, which is known as the “Skybox” and “Box Office Balcony.” These are the two grandstands that were built above the main level, which remains the same as before.
The Box Office Balcony is where ticket holders can have easy access to the action on the track. In fact, they can even get a good view of the stage. Similarly, the Skybox gives patrons easy access to a 360-degree vista of the track and the surrounding area. These two sections can hold up to 4,000 people apiece.
Major Renovations
Before the start of the 2007 season, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway underwent a major renovation, which lasted for well over a year and cost around $30 million. The goal was to give the venue a more modern and up-to-date appearance while also increasing its capacity. Among other things, the speedway completely rebuilt the lower tier of seating. It also replaced most of the concrete with pre-cast stone pavers and added a sprinkler system. The result is a more pleasant and comfortable environment for patrons and event organizers alike. This is a stark difference from the the Las Vegas Motor Speedway of yore, which was plagued by poor attendance and frequent equipment failures.
The Impact Of Seating On Event Attendance
One of the important things that the Las Vegas Motor Speedway does is host various types of sports and concerts. These events are some of the biggest draws of the area, regardless of the season. As a result of the seating reconfiguration, as mentioned above, the attendance rate at these events has increased. In fact, the capacity of the speedway has increased by 14% as a result of the renovations. While the 60,000-seat LA Coliseum has seen an increase in attendance of 7%, the 70,000-seat Las Vegas Motor Speedway has seen an increase of 16%. Similarly, the number of sold-out events at the venue has also increased from 6 to 16 since the renovations.
Why Is Concert-Goer Flocking To Las Vegas?
With the exception of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo, the Las Vegas metropolitan area is typically the world’s biggest sports and concert venue. This is in large part due to the area’s unique mix of glamorous entertainment and athletics. Additionally, there are also a number of high-quality restaurants and hotels in the area. This makes it a perfect vacation spot for any music fan or sport enthusiast. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the concerts and other events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway are some of the biggest draws of the area. This is due in part to the fact that tickets for these events are widely available and relatively inexpensive. In fact, the average ticket price here is just under $20. This makes the Vegas Motor Speedway a destination that much more people can afford.
How Bad Was The Last Year Of Sports At The Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
The last year of sports activities at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was pretty bad, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. The track did not open at all in 2020 and held its final event, an exhibition game, in March 2021. It wasn’t until mid-June 2021 that they started taking steps to get sports back on track. The first competition that they hosted was the NASCAR RIDESHIP REPORT Symposium, which was held in mid-June and featured the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans as the headline acts. The inaugural race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was on August 23, 2021 and it was the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series event. Since then, they have slowly but surely been adding races to their schedule (as well as events, such as monster truck rallies and vintage car shows).
The Impact Of COVID-19
The last year of sports at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was not only troubled by the pandemic, but it was also marred by a number of safety concerns, as well. One of the biggest issues that the track had to deal with was the high rate of COVID-19 infections among spectators and staff. While no one knows for sure how many cases there were at the track, many fear that the virus may have been highly under-reported. The Nevada Center For Infectious Diseases (NCID) investigated 44 cases of COVID-19 and found that 23 (52%) were among people associated with the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including 10 (22%) of those who attended events there. This makes it one of the largest and most prominent sporting events in the country to be impacted by the pandemic. Many fans and attendees have criticized the speedway for not taking adequate safety measures. It wasn’t until the end of April that the speedway implemented enhanced cleaning and safety protocols. This included sanitizing all touchable surfaces and implementing temperature checks at the entrance. Since the beginning of May, the speedway has also required all attendees to wear masks and gloves. Additionally, the track shut down the restrooms and stopped allowing patrons to bring food and drink into the grounds. These are all precautionary measures that are intended to reduce the spread of the virus.