Las Vegas’ incentive to drive local shopping? Free parking

The city of Las Vegas is offering free parking downtown on Saturday, hoping it will be a boon to local businesses on the annual consumer holiday that encourages shopping locally.

For Small Business Saturday, the city said it will offer free on-street meter parking in the Fremont East District, and it noted that street parking is always free in the Arts District.

“While things look different this holiday shopping season, free parking will allow customers to support local stores and restaurants, whether it’s dining in, shopping in-store or picking-up orders curbside,” the city said in a statement.

It reminded shoppers to wear masks and practice social distancing at all times.

Late November is generally one of the busiest times for shoppers, but the pandemic is expected to slow down in-store spending on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, and many jobless Nevadans are tightening typical holiday budgets.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.