Longtime holiday display moving from Sunset Park to speedway

By Joe Schoenmann

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010 | 11:47 a.m.

Organizers of the Gift of Lights have found a new home.

The eight million-light drive-through holiday display will open at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway instead of Sunset Park.

Speedway President Chris Powell said $2 of each ticket, which will cost $15, will be donated to the Las Vegas Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities. Customers who bring a donation for Goodwill will get $2 off the admission price.

In addition, if Goodwill donations are brought in Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, customers will be admitted for $10.

The event will be called The Gift of Lights – Presented by US Bank. US Bank is one of the event’s sponsors. Gift of Lights was created 10 years ago by Meehan & Associates, which now partners with Winterland Inc.

It will run from Nov. 19 to Jan. 2.

Clark County and the Meehans could not come to agreement on rental fees for the use of 1.8 miles of roadway in Sunset Park. Last year’s contract called for a fee of $45,000 or $2 per car. In 2009, the county received about $51,000 in rent.

County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who threw the switch to light the 2009 display, began questioning how much money the event made in December 2009. Earlier this year, the county asked for a rent increase to about $100,000, he said, then lowered it to $80,000.

Sisolak said he specifically wanted to know if the expenses that Brenda and Chris Meehan listed included their salaries related to the event. The Meehans said expenses in 2009 cut into revenues by about 73 percent.

Sisolak said Tuesday morning he wished the Meehans good luck at their new location.

A financial summary drafted by county staff reported that the Gift of Lights had revenues of $473,000 and expenses of $360,300 in 2009. It also listed nearly $700,000 in “additional value to the community” derived from the event, including $500,000 in media value to Clark County, which was listed on all of the event’s media materials.