LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KTNV) — The first public leg of the underground Vegas Loop, a series of Tesla-filled transportation tunnels, officially opened Monday.
It connects the Las Vegas Convention Center's four stations to Resorts World Casino & Hotel.
The move is the first of many steps to expand the closed convention loop to encompass a miles-long system between Harry Reid International Airport and Downtown Las Vegas.
"It's been a long time in the making," said Scott Sibella, president of Resorts World.
Sibella said the immediate benefit of connecting Resorts World to the second-largest convention space in the U.S. is great. But he added that plans to build the system out into a nearly 30-mile loop with more than 55 stations at resorts, Allegiant Stadium, the airport, and Downtown Las Vegas could be game-changing.
"It will give everyone easy access to get from point A to point B without any traffic," he said. "You can get from here to Allegiant Stadium in less than five minutes."
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill said one of the most exciting parts of future construction of the loop is they won't have to foot the bill for construction like they did under the convention center, where rides are free to convention attendees.
"We paid for that system because the Boring Company doesn't have any way to make a return on that investment," Hill said.
Outside of the convention space, riders will have to pay a fee, so the Boring Company will pay to build the remainder of the system of tunnels and stations.
At peak capacity when finished, Hill said the system should move more than 50,000 passengers an hour.
"It's not intended to be the only transportation system in Las Vegas," he said. "It's just one with very high capacity. Nothing else has that kind of capacity other than our road system."
Hill said if permits from area governments are approved in a timely manner, Strip visitors could see more expansion in the first half of 2023 with expectations to complete the loop within five years.
This story was originally reported by Sean DeLancey on ktnv.com.
