Las Vegas Motor Speedway has invested "millions of dollars to enhance the fan experience and improve the upscale race-viewing options" as the venue adds a second NASCAR weekend to its schedule in '18, according to Alan Snel of LVSPORTSBIZ.com. The fan enhancements "include three renovated clubhouses areas, the new 'Turn One Social Pavilion,' two loge-box seat offerings and a racing-inspired interactive social lounge." Construction has "already begun and the improvements will be up and running for fans for the Speedway's first of two tripleheader NASCAR weekends" in '18. The clubhouse experience will be "redefined with an air of exclusivity as rails will separate the club seating sections and gates will mark the ends of aisles leading to general seating." There will also be a "terrace between club seating and clubhouses," creating an "outdoor social zone." Track President Chris Powell said, "These changes will help modernize and diversify our facility." Below the Richard Petty Terrace near Turn 1, LVMS will "highlight several different seating options, including loge boxes." This area will "seat about 200 fans and will cater to die-hard race fans who want to be close to the racing but also enjoy the comforts of swiveling armchairs, padded seating and all-inclusive food and drink stations from concessionaire Levy Restaurants." Detroit-based architectural firm Rossetti "designed the Speedway renovations." Fans who have "purchased annual and weekend grandstand tickets, along with premium-seat holders, will have access to the Speedway's new interactive sports lounge, a 5,200-square-foot space in a reconfigured area located above the general seating between Turn 4 and the start-finish line" (LVSPORTSBIZ.com, 11/6). In Las Vegas, Ron Kantowski notes the Turn One Social Pavilion will "offer a platform with multiple seating areas, social zones and game playing." The interactive sports lounge will "include a wall of flat-screen TVs and a bar in the middle with food zones and multiple seating options." There will be "a lot more to see and do at LVMS during caution periods" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/8).
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Adam Stern reports both LVMS and track owner SMI "declined to disclose the project’s cost." However, LVMS Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Kevin Camper said it is a "significant commitment." Camper added of increased competition in the Vegas market, "With us being in the entertainment capital of the world and what’s happening here on the sports landscape in town, we really wanted to make sure that our facility was on par or above that to the other properties coming online." Stern also notes Rossetti "designed recent projects" at two other NASCAR tracks -- Daytona and Phoenix. The LVMS upgrades comes after the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority earlier this year voted to give the track $17.5M over seven years as "part of an incentive package" that came with landing a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/6 issue).
