NFL Experience ‘theme park’ an enormous project

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Setting up and tearing down shows is nothing new in Las Vegas, but creating the NFL Experience is a mountain of a project.

As construction workers dodged camera crews and reporters who were on hand for a preview of the big event on Wednesday, it looked like it would take a miracle to finish in time for the crowds that will be there when the gates open at noon on Thursday. It’s a free event, so you can bet there will be crowds.

Stages, LED boards and a variety of vendor booths are still being pieced together as people zoom around the lot that’s just behind the High Roller. The small fields for various activities — a 40-yard dash, a field goal kick, a vertical jump, youth flag football clinics, dance-offs and the “FedEx Ground Challenge” — are already in place. The interactive events are sure to be crowd-pleasers.

But if the NFL Draft Theater is any indication, the NFL’s “football theme park” will be a hit with fans. The theater is ready to rock, and it’s where all the action will be as draft picks are announced. And when the picks have ended for the day, performers including Weezer, Ice Cube and Marshmello will take over. Yes, for free.

Football fans will have plenty to see, with memorabilia and displays that celebrate the game’s biggest stars. There’s an extra emphasis on the Raiders and their past and present.

So here’s to the crews that will be working tonight and right up to the opening of the event … Las Vegas is ready for the NFL Experience to deliver on the league’s reputation for quality events. Be safe out there, and let’s hope for light breezes instead of strong winds.