Resorts World’s new Vegas Loop station ‘a milestone’
Connecting Resorts World with the Las Vegas Convention Center via an underground transportation system is just the beginning, says the two-year-old property’s president.
Resorts World President Scott Sibella gave local media a tour Monday of the resort’s new station located underground in a basement area and the tunnel that links it to the Riviera Station in the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot.
The Resorts World station is the first of 55 stations scheduled to open within the next few years.
“It’s a milestone in itself because we’re the first property to actually connect to the tunnel,” Sibella said. “Having a station here gives our convention center guests easy access to come down the escalator and into a car in less than 40 seconds.”
The tunnel system was developed by Elon Musk’s The Boring Co., with plans to ultimately have it run along the Strip and into downtown. Known as the Vegas Loop, the system will utilize Tesla automobiles to move passengers from point-to-point.
The underground system has been in operation at the convention center for about a year and a half, linking the three exhibition halls.
The system features 70 Tesla model vehicles at peak, but more vehicles will be added to the fleet with the opening of the Resorts World station, according to Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Currently, there is one tunnel linking the convention center with Resorts World and the cars go both directions. “Eventually we will have two tunnels coming into Resorts World station, which hopefully they’ll start digging in the next couple of months,” Sibella said.
Sibella said that when Resorts World learned about Boring’s plans, resort officials wanted to take part.
“It was the number one priority to get it done here. … it took a lot of hard work and luckily we had this basement, so we were able to convert it into the Resorts World station,” he said.
Those catching a ride from the resort can get an all-day pass to use the system for $2.50, Sibella said.
“People love it,” he said. “They can just do the (QR) code on the wall on their phone and they’re off and running. They can use it as much as they like.”
The next phases of the Vegas Loop are planned for the area around Allegiant Stadium and the South Strip, the Caesars Loop near Flamingo and an offshoot extension to the Westgate. Portions of those phases are hoped to be ready for use sometime next year, Hill said.
Those will eventually be connected down the line and into downtown for the full buildout of 55 stations.
Hill said the system has been vetted by local first responders and Clark County officials, including during planning, building and operating processes. They are safe from fires and other natural disasters, he said.
“There are any number of safety precautions that have not only been designed into the system, but have already been proven to work,” Hill said.
As the tunnels stretch farther into the Resort Corridor and downtown Las Vegas, additional measures will be put into place.
“They (safety measures) will continue to be done for each segment,” Hill said. “There is an emergency evacuation area that will be built periodically throughout the system. You can use every station for that. They’ve built specialty cars to respond to problems if they come up and they will be available for police and fire to use, as well as the Boring Co. themselves.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.