LVCVA chief questions news report, says Las Vegas Loop is safe, has adequate oversight
TOURISM
STEVE MARCUS (2021)
Cars take on passengers at the Convention Center station for the Las Vegas Loop, Elon Musk’s underground transportation system, on April 9, 2021. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill, a longtime advocate of the loop, said a story from journalism nonprofit ProPublica published last week was “at times inaccurate” and “often misleading.”
Cars take on passengers at the Convention Center station for the Las Vegas Loop, Elon Musk’s underground transportation system, on April 9, 2021. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill, a longtime advocate of the loop, said a story from journalism nonprofit ProPublica published last week was “at times inaccurate” and “often misleading.”
The head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority defended the tunnel system connecting the Las Vegas Convention Center’s campus and Resorts World with a fleet of Tesla vehicles after a recent media report questioned safety oversight of the project.
CEO Steve Hill, a longtime advocate of the Elon Muskbacked Vegas Loop, said the piece from journalism nonprofit Pro- Publica published last week was “at times inaccurate” and “often misleading.”
ProPublica detailed the lack of public input and information around the privately funded project. Last year, the Boring Company successfully lobbied the county to remove an Amusement and Transportation Systems (ATS) permit, “another layer of county oversight,” Pro- Publica reported.
“The county has all of the authority it needs to not let this project go through, to not let it continue to operate if it so chooses because we’ve got a couple of systems that have been ready to open for some number of months,” Hill said. “If there was (no oversight), those systems would be open right now.”
He added that the Boring Company agreed when removing the permit to provide increased access, reporting and third-party audits “to make sure that this system is safe now and continues to be in the future.”
“The idea that there is not enough oversight on this project is incorrect,” Hill added.
While the loop system is only used near the Las Vegas Convention Center, the approved tunnels go up and down the Resort Corridor, reaching from downtown and Fremont Street to the south end of Harry Reid International Airport.
Hill said the Loop was the “highest-rated aspect” of the convention center campus and that it’s moved more than 3 million people since opening in 2021.
He also touted its safety, saying there’s been “nothing more ... than a fender bender.”
But workers digging the tunnels for the system across the city have had a different experience.
In a complaint filed by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration, workers said they received chemical burns after being accidentally sprayed by a mixture of chemicals and cement, Fox5 reported in February 2024.
Hill told reporters after a Tuesday meeting of the LVCVA that the issue was “old news” and was addressed last March by the tourism board.
“What I said then is this project is important to Las Vegas. Doing it right is also important to Las Vegas. We’re committed to that,” he said. “We then inserted our safety manager into their construction process, and we’ve seen some real improvement over the last 10 months.”
Fortune Magazine also found that the tunnel system had a chronic trespassing issue. The tunnel has been breached at least 67 times since 2022, the magazine reported in October. It’s free to ride the system within convention center stations, and a $5 round trip when taking it to Resorts World.
“If we look at the alternatives, and we have — the article said that has not been studied, that it has not been discussed in public,” he said. “We’ve been doing that for decades.”
When the Regional Transportation Commission previously studied different transit options for the region, it found that a subway system would cost $750 million a mile, Hill said.
Another option brought up was light rail, which cost Phoenix $250 million a mile. Logistically, he said the system also wouldn’t work for the resort corridor.
The Vegas Loop “is supported by our elected officials,” Hill said.
“This has had to go before the county. This has had to go before the city. It has been approved either unanimously or by a vast majority of those boards. They see the benefit.” kyle.chouinard@gmgvegas.com / 702-990-8923 / @Kyle_Chouinard
CEO Steve Hill, a longtime advocate of the Elon Muskbacked Vegas Loop, said the piece from journalism nonprofit Pro- Publica published last week was “at times inaccurate” and “often misleading.”
ProPublica detailed the lack of public input and information around the privately funded project. Last year, the Boring Company successfully lobbied the county to remove an Amusement and Transportation Systems (ATS) permit, “another layer of county oversight,” Pro- Publica reported.
“The county has all of the authority it needs to not let this project go through, to not let it continue to operate if it so chooses because we’ve got a couple of systems that have been ready to open for some number of months,” Hill said. “If there was (no oversight), those systems would be open right now.”
He added that the Boring Company agreed when removing the permit to provide increased access, reporting and third-party audits “to make sure that this system is safe now and continues to be in the future.”
“The idea that there is not enough oversight on this project is incorrect,” Hill added.
While the loop system is only used near the Las Vegas Convention Center, the approved tunnels go up and down the Resort Corridor, reaching from downtown and Fremont Street to the south end of Harry Reid International Airport.
Hill said the Loop was the “highest-rated aspect” of the convention center campus and that it’s moved more than 3 million people since opening in 2021.
He also touted its safety, saying there’s been “nothing more ... than a fender bender.”
But workers digging the tunnels for the system across the city have had a different experience.
In a complaint filed by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration, workers said they received chemical burns after being accidentally sprayed by a mixture of chemicals and cement, Fox5 reported in February 2024.
Hill told reporters after a Tuesday meeting of the LVCVA that the issue was “old news” and was addressed last March by the tourism board.
“What I said then is this project is important to Las Vegas. Doing it right is also important to Las Vegas. We’re committed to that,” he said. “We then inserted our safety manager into their construction process, and we’ve seen some real improvement over the last 10 months.”
Fortune Magazine also found that the tunnel system had a chronic trespassing issue. The tunnel has been breached at least 67 times since 2022, the magazine reported in October. It’s free to ride the system within convention center stations, and a $5 round trip when taking it to Resorts World.
“If we look at the alternatives, and we have — the article said that has not been studied, that it has not been discussed in public,” he said. “We’ve been doing that for decades.”
When the Regional Transportation Commission previously studied different transit options for the region, it found that a subway system would cost $750 million a mile, Hill said.
Another option brought up was light rail, which cost Phoenix $250 million a mile. Logistically, he said the system also wouldn’t work for the resort corridor.
The Vegas Loop “is supported by our elected officials,” Hill said.
“This has had to go before the county. This has had to go before the city. It has been approved either unanimously or by a vast majority of those boards. They see the benefit.” kyle.chouinard@gmgvegas.com / 702-990-8923 / @Kyle_Chouinard