First Look: The New Las Vegas Convention Center Loop

Ahead of the full return of the city, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has unveiled a glimpse of what the future of Sin City will look like.

The LVCVA this week gave a first look into the new Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, a new underground transportation system that will help serve the city and its visitors when it opens in June 2021.

The system cost $52.5 million to build and the hope is that it will be able to ease traffic congestion for visitors traveling around Las Vegas’ Resort Corridor—from as far north as Downtown Las Vegas and as far south as Allegiant Stadium near the Mandalay Bay. It includes two one-way, .8-mile tunnels and three passenger stations that connect the Vegas Convention Center’s main campus to the 1.4 million square foot West Hall expansion.

The Loop is essentially an underground tunnel system, located 40 feet beneath the Strip’s sidewalks, that lets guests travel in all-electric Tesla vehicles (the city collaborated with Tesla, The Boring Company, and Elon Musk to build the system) at 35 to 40 miles per hour. While the vehicles have the capacity to go up to 150 mph, they will be limited to about 40 mph at the start. 

According to the LVCVA, 4,400 convention attendees will be able to travel on the system per hour free of charge. While the trip would take about 25 minutes on foot, the full trip on the Loop will take just under two minutes.

At first, the system will be staffed with drivers initially with the plan to operate them autonomously in the future.

“We are excited to have partnered with Elon’s company to bring this transportation ‘first’ to our valued convention customers,” says Steve Hill, LVCVA president, and CEO. “The expanded Loop system, when developed, will be a game-changer and a new ‘must experience’ attraction for our visitors.”

Here’s a first look at what the ride looks like, courtesy of the Boring Company and the Las Vegas Sun.