$32M renovation starts on Fremont Street Experience canopy

Construction workers lower an old panel during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Construction workers use a lift during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Construction workers work around the exterior of the canopy during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Construction workers install a new panel during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Construction workers prepare to installl a new panel during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Construction workers watch as an old panel is lowered during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Construction use a lift during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Two newly installed panels are seen during the second day of renovations of the Viva Vision canopy along the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The $32 million dollar project is slated to be completed by the end of the year. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

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By Bailey Schulz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

May 7, 2019 - 3:03 pm

Updated May 7, 2019 - 3:34 pm

Visitors on Fremont Street can see something new underneath the Viva Vision canopy in addition to street performers and souvenir kiosks: construction crews.

The Fremont Street Experience began its $32 million renovation of the world’s largest single video screen on Monday morning.

Patrick Hughes, president and CEO of the Fremont Street Experience, said work will be done in eight sections, focusing on about 200 feet at a time, and should wrap up in six months. Viva Vision shows will continue to play throughout the process.

Some video of one of the new panels going up for installation at the Viva Vision canopy at the Fremont Street Experience (@fselv) pic.twitter.com/Ayiy9c1qlE

— Chase Stevens (@CSStevensphoto) May 7, 2019

The canopy, which debuted in 1995, was last renovated in 2004. Hughes said the screen’s outdated LED lights will be replaced, making the shows on the 1,500-foot-long, 90-foot-wide canopy seven times brighter with four times the resolution.

“People can expect to see a variety of new content along with daytime programming once the canopy is complete,” Hughes told the Review-Journal via email.

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Fremont Street Experience draws more than 22 million annual visitors, and more than half of all downtown Las Vegas visitors in 2018 said they made the trip to see the Fremont Street Experience.

The renovations are funded by a public-private partnership involving the city of Las Vegas, the convention authority, Fremont Street Experience and Fremont Street casino owners. Tre Builders is the general contractor on the project.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.