Las Vegas prepared for party of the year

Jace Radke

Friday, Dec. 29, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

As the annual New Year's tourist explosion starts to filter in to town today, a year of planning by police, emergency services providers, businesses and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is beginning to take form.

From barricades to fireworks, those involved with one of the biggest New Year's party spots in the country say they are ready.

"We're prepared and ready to go," Metro Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Darcy said.

For 750 Metro officers New Year's will be a massive exercise in crowd control, mainly along Las Vegas Boulevard, and also at the Fremont Street Experience. Deputy Chief Mike Zagorski estimates that the crowd on the Strip could be as small as 250,000 or as big as half a million.

The LVCVA is predicting that more than 263,000 visitors will be in Las Vegas this weekend to celebrate with the city's 1.3 million people.

Tim Anderson, general manager of two radio stations that report highway information for those traveling along Interstate 15 between California and Las Vegas, says that traffic heading to Las Vegas has been steady and growing since Tuesday.

"It has been a constant flow of traffic out there on the highway going into Vegas," Anderson said.

As the crowd grows along the Strip on New Year's Eve, Metro will employ metal barricades to slowly close the street to traffic, and open it up to pedestrians. The street will eventually be completely closed to vehicles, although there is no exact time for the closing.

Instead of simply walking the Strip revelers will be treated to a $500,000, 13,000-shell firework show that will began at midnight at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino and stretch to the rooftops of 10 other hotel-casinos before climaxing at the Stratosphere Tower.

Fireworks also will be a part of the party at the Fremont Street Experience, where the pyrotechnics will be under the canopy. Tickets to the party on Fremont Street are still available at a cost of $30 a person, with gates opening at 5 p.m. The event covering five city blocks will include a 3D light and sound show and live entertainment.

Revelers are asked not to bring any glass containers or bottles to Fremont Street or Las Vegas Boulevard, where police will be enforcing the county's bottle ordinance. The ordinance, however, allows plastic containers during New Year's.

Those looking for a ride to or from their party destination can catch a CAT bus free of charge beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday and running through 6 p.m. Monday.

For those who may have had a little too much to drink Stop DUI is offering free rides home through noon on Monday. Those needing a ride can call 456-STOP and a driver will be dropped off to drive the caller and their car home, Stop DUI spokeswoman Sandy Heverly said.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get home," Heverly said. "We don't want to have any more fatal accidents."