Utah company builds, maintains iconic Vegas landmarks including Sphere, Allegiant Stadium
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A company rich with Utah roots is responsible for some of the most popular and recognizable signs and displays in Las Vegas.
“My grandfather started selling signs in Vegas, before Vegas was Vegas,” said Jeff Young, Executive Vice President for Young Electric Sign Company. “He started selling signs in the 20’s and 30’s and then after the war particularly in the late 40’s and 50’s Vegas just exploded.”
YESCO first illuminated in Ogden, Utah in the 1920’s.
With a factory in Salt Lake City and others around the country, including Las Vegas, YESCO is seemingly everywhere around you.
“We integrated the exterior screen on the sphere,” said Young. “Allegiant Stadium of course with the Super Bowl is a massive project for us, it’s been done for a couple of years. We put nearly 4,000 signs in and outside the Allegiant Stadium.”
The Allegiant project helped YESCO stay afloat during the pandemic. The project provided some much-needed work during a time of uncertainty.
“My first journey into Allegiant you know after it was done someone said you know 4,000 signs how could it be? We got at the top of the escalator and well we did a 360 and we counted nearly 50 signs,” said Young. “The Allegiant spans 564 feet, that’s 188 yards long. It doesn’t look like that from a distance, but they are massive, massive signs.”
YESCO is also responsible for part of the recent signage revamp of the Delta Center.
“You take signs for granted in some respect but every single one has to be meticulously designed and installed in a perfect way,” said Young.
Vegas is home to some of the most photographed signs in the world, including the iconic ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign.
YESCO maintains the sign along with hundreds of others in and around the Vegas strip.
“We have our eyes on every sign in Las Vegas at least once a week, in some cases in constant where we have cameras installed on some of our large digital displays some of which are massive,” said Young.
YESCO is virtually everywhere. From Maverik gas stations to local restaurants and billboards, there’s a chance the sign you’re looking at was made from a company deeply rooted in Utah history.
Read the full article written by Brian Schnee on kutv.com