It takes a lot of manpower to stage Las Vegas Cup races

Friday, Sept. 19, 1997 | 9:18 a.m.

As many 100,000 people are expected to converge on the Boulder Beach area of Lake Mead this weekend for the 1997 Las Vegas Cup unlimited hydroplane and powerboat races.

As the largest free sporting event in Nevada, the Las Vegas Cup is produced by a team of several hundred volunteers, many of whom work on the massive special event on a year-round basis.

This year's race marks the return of the unlimited hydroplanes, the world's fastest racing boats, to Lake Mead for the first time since 1990. Presented by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Las Vegas Cup will host Round 9 of the 10-race 1997 Jasper Thunder Tour along with Round 6 of the seven-race 1997 Formula One P.R.O.P. Tour powerboat series.

Both tours are presented by Las Vegas and sanctioned and produced by the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association (UHRA) and the Professional Racing Outboard Performance (P.R.O.P.) Tour.

Starting last Sunday, race co-directors Dean and Beth Thomas have helped these volunteers erect a temporary city small enough to fit in the Boulder Beach area, but big enough to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators.

Safety, communication, food, medical and entertainment needs all are addressed when planning for the Las Vegas Cup, resulting in tons of equipment being moved into and out of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Below are just a few of items needed to help create the 1997 Las Vegas Cup:

* 2,630 feet of fencing

* 90,000 pounds of anchors

* 9,000 feet of rope

* 30 buoys

* 17 hard-line/20 cellular telephones

* 35 national TV crew

* 75 two-way radios

* 45 fire extinguishers

* 25 patrol boats

* 20 hospitality tents

* 3,000 recycling bags