Construction of the Formula 1 track and its related infrastructure has Las Vegas residents up in arms. Speaking to residents there, it would seem that many don’t actually want the race to come at all; construction for everything is causing many headaches. Now residents have another headache they’ll have to deal with: blocked public viewing of the race. Police have already placed view-blocking film over pedestrian bridges, meaning current visitors to the city can’t see.
I guess F1 only wants people who pay one percenter ticket prices to view the race. (They probably don’t want people crowding on the bridges to watch to be fair. —ED) The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that film has appeared on pedestrian bridges that cross over a portion of the race course. And people are tearing it down in protest.
The film — which is being described as similar to what’s used on vehicle wraps — has been placed on glass plates along the pedestrian bridges linking Wynn Las Vegas and The Venetian. These bridges also happen to be two of the most popular spots for taking tourist photos, especially since the construction of the Sphere, which can be seen from one of the bridges.
While most people the Review-Journal spoke with seem to be more annoyed with the fact that they can’t snap a great photo with the Sphere in the background, some are onto what F1 is really up to with the wraps. One man visiting from Missouri explained he sees why they wrapped the glass, but doesn’t think F1 will pay off for the city in the long run. “I guess there are people smarter than me who have thought this through, but I doubt I’ll be coming back to Las Vegas before next year’s race.”
In a strange twist, apparently Las Vegas Police were the ones who requested that the wrap be placed on the bridges; a spokesperson for Clark County confirmed this with The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Journal then reached out to confirm with the police department but got no response. We’ve done the same and will update this post if they get back to us.
Until then, it looks like you’re going to have to actually pay if you find yourself in Las Vegas and want to watch the race. If you’re just going for good tourist views, maybe hold out for a few months.
Update Nov. 3, 2023: Las Vegas Police Department got back to us with a statement regarding their reasoning for placing the film over the panels on pedestrian bridges. The department says that everything is being done to protect pedestrian from race debris and drivers from objects above.
Safety both on and off the track is always the number one priority at every Formula 1 race. In consultation with local emergency response officials, we collectively developed a safety plan for the public and private pedestrian bridges that cross the race circuit to ensure that drivers are safe from objects from above, and pedestrians are safe on all bridges from any errant track debris. We are confident the safety scrims and barriers, once completely installed and secured, will play an important role in ensuring a safe event for drivers and pedestrians alike.
Safety scrims and barriers are added to pedestrian bridges at all F1 races, even when the bridges are within the circuit footprint and used exclusively by ticketed guests.