Following a comprehensive effort to gather input from the public and professional design teams to create a permanent memorial to remember the events of the 1 October tragedy, Clark County’s 1 October Memorial Committee will recommend to the County Commission a concept presented by JCJ Architecture to serve as the community’s memorial project.

The design was one of five concepts submitted as part of a process launched in June 2022 to gather ideas for a memorial to remember the victims of the shooting that occurred at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip on Oct. 1, 2017, and honor the survivors, first responders and the resiliency and compassion that continues to be demonstrated by our community in the years since.

At today’s 1 October Memorial Committee meeting, the committee reviewed evaluation scores for the five team design concepts submitted as part of the process. The recommended JCJ Architecture design they selected had the highest-ranking score in the evaluation process. The project that ranked second in that process, designed by OLIN + Andy Scott, will be recommended to serve as an alternate. Evaluation criteria was based on priorities established by the committee over the course of its public meetings and included design concept narrative and renderings, community outreach efforts, public response to the designs, envisioned realm of user experience, programming and team. The committee’s recommendation for the memorial is scheduled to be presented to the County Commission at its 9 a.m. meeting at the Clark County Government Center in Commission Chambers on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Following approval of a project concept, the County Commission is expected to consider the next steps for building and maintaining the memorial.

“We are grateful to everyone who has participated with us in this process,” said Committee Chairman Tennille Pereira, who also serves as director of the County’s Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. “We have deep appreciation for all those involved in expressing their thoughts and ideas about what our memorial should be and to the professional teams that honored our community through the amazing creativity displayed in each of the design concepts presented to us.”

 In addition to JCJ Architecture and OLIN + Andy Scott, other teams that participated in the competition included Aaron Neubert Architects+studioSTIGSGAARD, Paul Murdoch Architects and SWA Group. All five designs will continue to be on display in the Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery as part of the 1 October Memorial Design Team Exhibit through Sept. 7. The project selected to serve as the recommended concept for the memorial project will be on display as part of a 1 October Memorial exhibit that will be in place in conjunction with the 6^th anniversary of the incident.  Detailed information about the recommended project and other concepts that were developed as part of the committee’s process are available on the 1 October Memorial Committee’s website at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov/1OctoberMemorial.

The 1 October Memorial Committee was appointed by the County Commission to gather ideas and recommendations for a permanent memorial to remember the events of 1 October. As a result of the committee’s work, MGM Resorts International is donating two acres on the northeast corner of the concert site off Reno Avenue and Giles Street for the memorial. The donation was offered after a clear majority of respondents in a committee survey indicated a preference for a memorial to be built at the festival site. The committee unveiled a process in 2022 to gather ideas from the public and professional teams for the memorial. The first phase of the process invited the public to submit artwork and ideas for the memorial while calling upon professional design teams to express interest in participating. The second phase began in January 2023 when five teams selected by the committee were introduced to the community and began developing formal concept proposals for the memorial. The teams were asked to review creative expression submissions received from the public and were encouraged to offer community engagement opportunities to gather feedback during their design process.

Members of the 1 October Memorial Committee include Tennille Pereira, chairwoman of the committee and Director of the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center; Karessa Royce, a 1 October survivor, serving as vice chairwoman; Mynda Smith, the sister of 1 October Victim Neysa Tonks; Kelly McMahill, a now retired deputy chief for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; architect Dr. Robert Fielden, who established the UNLV School of Architecture; Rebecca Holden, public art project manager for the city of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs; and Harold Bradford, a local artist. Staff from Clark County’s Parks and Recreation Department and other County departments support the committee’s activities.  

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About Clark County: 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 11^th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.6 million visitors a year (2019). Included are the nation’s 8^th-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.