LVCVA Commits $5 Million to Forever One Memorial Project
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will contribute $5 million toward a permanent memorial for the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) announced a $5 million pledge to the Vegas Strong Fund to help complete the Forever One Memorial, a permanent tribute to the 60 people killed and more than 400 wounded at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in October 2017. The new commitment follows a $10 million allocation from Clark County approved in January 2024 and a separate $5 million donation plus a two-acre land gift from MGM Resorts International.
Related: Las Vegas Strip to Install Memorial Honoring 2017 Mass Shooting
Funding Package and Next Steps
Officials said the combined public and private contributions aim to move the project out of planning and into design and construction. The Clark County Commission designated the Vegas Strong Fund in 2024 to oversee fundraising, the design competition, permitting and the eventual build of the Forever One Memorial, which is intended to honor victims and first responders while reflecting resilience in the Las Vegas community.
"This donation from the LVCVA is a critical step toward delivering a dignified, permanent place of remembrance", said a spokesperson for the Vegas Strong Fund. "Families, survivors and first responders have waited for a site that offers both reflection and a public record of what this community endured and how it responded."
Representatives from the LVCVA emphasized the memorial’s broader civic importance. "Las Vegas depends on visitors and on community memory alike", said an LVCVA official. "By supporting Forever One, we recognize a responsibility to ensure the loss and bravery of Oct. 1 are never forgotten." The authority has long funded tourism promotion and civic initiatives; this commitment signals a rare, targeted investment in a public memorial.
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Design, Site and Community Response
MGM Resorts’ previous offer to donate two acres for the site and its $5 million pledge narrowed the range of potential locations and provided an early anchor for fundraising. The exact placement and final design will depend on the results of a design process overseen by the Vegas Strong Fund and subject to local permitting and community review. Organizers have indicated that they will invite designers and stakeholders to contribute concepts that balance commemoration with public access.
Community leaders and survivors who have been involved in advisory roles welcomed the LVCVA’s support but urged transparency on budgets and timelines. "We need a memorial that speaks to the lives lost and the first responders who ran toward danger", said a Clark County commissioner. "That requires careful design and accountability for how funds are spent and how decisions are made."
Independent experts in memorial design say the next phase typically involves public input sessions, a design competition or curated selection process, and environmental and building reviews that can take months. Costs for high-profile memorials can exceed initial estimates, particularly when sites require extensive landscaping, security considerations and year-round maintenance.
Fundraising Progress and Oversight
With $20 million now committed publicly and privately, the Vegas Strong Fund and county officials say they will provide updated budgets and timetables once an architect and site plan are selected. The fund has a statutory responsibility to ensure that donor dollars are used for the memorial’s direct costs and long-term care; oversight mechanisms and a donor reporting schedule are expected to be published ahead of construction.
Long-term maintenance, access for survivors and educational programming are among outstanding decisions organizers must resolve. For families and the wider Las Vegas community, the question is no longer whether there will be a permanent memorial, but how it will look, where it will stand and how it will preserve the memory of Oct. 1 for future generations.
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