The Nevada Legislature is providing more money than ever before for security on the Las Vegas Strip for New Year’s Eve.
The nearly $357,000, three times what the state approved last year, will pay for 358 Nevada National Guard troops, also a record, who will be stationed at key locations, including the Strip, Fremont Street and McCarran International Airport. The troops also will be in Las Vegas for a longer period than in past years, about five days.
Last year, about 160 troops worked New Year’s Eve, at a cost of about $120,000.
“Special events in Southern Nevada are our greatest security concern and require the highest level of emergency resources we can provide,” Clark County Deputy Fire Chief John Steinbeck wrote in the request for the additional funds.
The region also is eligible for more security funding from the federal government following a decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to raise the popular New Year’s Eve festivities to a designation known as “Special Event Assessment Rating 1,” a category reserved for major events of national significance, such as the Super Bowl.
The new rating was handed down in the wake of the October 1 mass shooting on the Strip in which 58 people attending an outdoor concert were killed and more than 500 were injured.
Last year, the New Year’s Eve celebration was designated as a SEAR 2 event.
About $50,000 of the state money will be used to establish medical teams ready for instant mobilization. Another $22,000 will fund a “quick reaction force” that can rapidly respond to developing situations. Local fire crews will receive about $16,800.
The mobilization also will see every officer of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on duty the night of New Year’s Eve.
