The Clark County Commission voted today to designate the non-profit Vegas Strong Fund to oversee fundraising, design and construction of the community’s 1 October Memorial project to remember the events of the tragedy that occurred at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip on Oct. 1, 2017.

The designation of the Vegas Strong Fund to oversee fundraising and construction of the memorial project follows a multi-year year effort completed last summer by Clark County’s 1 October Committee to gather extensive input from family members of victims, survivors and the public to recommend a design concept for a permanent memorial. The goal of a memorial project is to remember the victims of the tragedy and honor the survivors and first responders and to recognize the resiliency and compassion of the Las Vegas community. The winning concept, submitted as part of a request for proposal process developed by the committee, was created by JCJ Architecture and accepted by the County Commission in September 2023.

“We have a beautiful concept for a memorial that reflects an extensive amount of community engagement thanks to the efforts of our 1 October Memorial Committee,” said Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson. whose Commission District includes the festival site. “The next big step in this process is to raise money to build the project, and we believe the Vegas Strong Fund is the right nonprofit group to help us create a world-class memorial that honors all those affected by the events of 1 October and celebrates the resiliency of our community.”

“This is a new milestone in a process that started in 2019 when the County Commission created the 1 October Memorial Committee to gather input from the public for a permanent memorial,” said Clark County Manager Kevin Schiller. “Since the committee finished its work, we have been reaching out to other communities that have created memorials to understand the best way to move forward with our project. The Vegas Strong Fund organization has the expertise and dedication to ensure the memorial we create will be a lasting tribute.”

As part of the County Commission’s action, a total of $143,986 in donations collected from the County’s 1 October Memorial Fund will be transferred to the Vegas Strong Fund. The County created the fund at the request of the 1 October committee due to interest from the public wishing to make donations for a memorial.

Fundraising and construction of the memorial will revolve around the JCJ Architecture concept, which includes a tower of light, 58 vertical candles representing the victims who died in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, and a community plaza. The memorial will be built on two acres in the northeast corner of the festival site off Reno Avenue and Giles Street. MGM Resorts International offered to donate the acreage after a clear majority of respondents in a committee survey indicated a preference for a memorial to be built on the festival site.                                                           

                                                                                                ###

Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability.  With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 11th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.4 million citizens and 43 million visitors a year. Included are the nation’s 7th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.