Vegas Airport Could Build Parking Garage Next to Fuel Tanks

Posted on: November 4, 2025, 02:34h. 

Last updated on: November 4, 2025, 02:45h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.
  • A new proposal seeks to place a 2,200-car parking garage within close proximity to eight large fuel tanks at Harry Reid International Airport
  • Airport officials have safety concerns regarding the structure’s proposed location
  • Fuel tanks at the airport came under fire during the Harvest Music Festival shooting in 2017

The Clark County Commission is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, November 5, on whether to approve a controversial proposal for a new parking garage at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport. The proposal raises safety concerns due to its proximity to eight large jet fuel tanks, the nearest being less than 100 feet away.

This aerial photo shows the distance between a proposed six-story parking garage, currently occupied by a Sky Chefs building, and the Las Vegas Airport’s east-side “fuel farm.” (Image Google Earth)

The 2,200-car structure would be situated on 3.8 acres just north of Terminal 1, a space currently occupied by airline food supplier Sky Chefs, whose building is slated for demolition. Terminal 1 is home to Las Vegas’ busiest airline, Southwest.

The garage is being proposed by land owner American Nevada Co., a legacy developer known for master-planned communities and commercial developments throughout Las Vegas. It was founded in 1972 by Hank Greenspun, the late publisher of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, and his wife, Barbara.

A street-level view illustrates the proximity of the proposed garage site (the building with the trucks on the left) to the jet fuel tanks. (Image: Google Street View)

According to a county staff report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Clark County Department of Aviation, which runs the airport and would also need to approve the project, has raised “numerous safety and security concerns.”

The main one is that the new structure would provide an “elevated, direct line of sight” to the tanks.

According to the staff report, the developer will be required to build a solid wall obscuring views to the tanks and airfield from any part of the parking structure — especially its roof. In addition, the garage must be surrounded by a “vehicle crash mitigation rail” capable of stopping a 15K-pound vehicle doing 50 mph.

A fuel tank on the west side of the airport was targeted by Stephen Paddock during the Route 91 Harvest Music festival massacre that claimed 58 lives on the night of Oct. 1, 2017. Two bullets, fired from the gunman’s perch on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay, hit the tank but caused little visible damage, according to reports at the time.

Hank Greenspun’s descendants maintain close ties to local politics. Clark County Commission chair Jim Gibson was the president and CEO of the online travel agency Vegas.com from 2010-2013, when it was owned by the Greenspun Corporation.

A public comment session is scheduled to be held at the commission meeting on Wednesday.