Vegas Golden Knights victory parade security tight

LAS VEGAS –

Tens of thousands of Vegas Golden Knights fans, perhaps more, were expected in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip on Saturday for a Stanley Cup victory parade and rally to mark the team’s first-ever NHL championship.

For the team that played its first game as an expansion franchise in October 2017, and for tourists in hotel rooms with windows overlooking the route of the 2023 parade, the event was reminiscent of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history five years ago. Guests in high-rises overlooking the strip were awakened by guards asking to look around the windows for guns or other weapons.

The Las Vegas Police Department said they had prepared for more than 100,000 people to cram street-level viewing areas along Las Vegas Boulevard for a celebration that planners compared to annual New Year’s Eve fireworks displays that have drawn an estimated 400,000 people in recent years. Unlike midnight in the winter, Saturday evening temperatures were expected to be in the 90s.

Hotel security guards searching rooms recalled the October 2017 shooting, when a lone gunman rained bullets from the 32nd floor windows of the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of 20,000 at an outdoor country music festival across the street. Fifty-eight people died that night and two later died of their wounds. More than 850 people were injured, according to authorities. The gunman killed himself before police reached him. His motive for the attack was never firmly established.

Players who dubbed themselves the Golden Misfits after being drafted from other NHL teams embraced survivors, first responders, and volunteers, and the team has become a staple of “Vegas Strong” events over the years focused on healing community trauma.

That first year, team owner Bill Foley famously predicted that the Golden Knights would make the playoffs within three years and win the Stanley Cup within six years. The franchise surprised many by making the playoffs the first year and advancing to the championship before losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.

This year, the Golden Knights cruised through the playoffs, never facing an elimination game, and defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 on Tuesday. Team captain Mark Stone scored a three-goal “hat-trick”. Jonathan Marchessault was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Marchessault is one of the six original members of the Golden Knights expansion team. He and the others – Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb and William Carrier – were among the first to hold the Stanley Cup in post-game celebrations.

Throughout the week, players have been spotted partying at some of the same glittering resorts the procession will be passing through. The casinos have well-known names: Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Bellagio, Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, New York-New York, Aria, MGM Grand.

Officials said the Strip would be closed to the motorcade, which would begin at 7 p.m. near Flamingo Road and continue about a mile to Tropicana Avenue for a fan gathering at Toshiba Plaza and the Park District for T-Mobile. arena.

Police said the road closures would last from about 4:30 p.m. until after the end of the festivities. Glass bottles, large bags, luggage and backpacks were prohibited, as were coolers, strollers and folding chairs.

The parade route, arena and plaza also hosted a championship victory celebration last September, after the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun to win the WNBA championship. The women’s basketball team also plays at the T-Mobile Arena.

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Associated Press sportswriter Mark Anderson contributed to this report.