Fremont Street Experience counts down to reopening

Fremont Street Experience is a famously jammed tourist attraction, drawing thousands of revelers on peak nights at its performance stages and outdoor bars.

Now, FSE only needs to work against that very appeal, and be a lot less jammed as it reopens at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

It won’t be easy, but nobody said reopening in COVID-19 would be a cakewalk, socially distant or otherwise. Integrating FSE’s reopening with a public-safety message, FSE President Patrick Hughes is pressing forward with a return to the attraction’s “Downtown Rocks” marketing blitz.

That campaign, originally promoting the FSE’s summer concert series, now promotes social distancing.

“In previous years, our tagline has been ‘One Louder’” Hughes said during a lunchtime chat Friday. “Now, we’ve changed it to, ‘One Longer,’ so we’re encouraging people we want people to go 7 feet between each other, instead of 6.”

For evidence, check the Fremont Street walkway. Decals are placed seven feet apart in traditionally high-traffic areas. Of course, “encouraging” the FSE crowd to stay 7 feet from each other is a civic challenge for the ages.

These folks are apt to drape their arms around a hairy busker in a diaper for an Instagram pic. This is a real concern.