An aging convention center combined with aggressive marketing by rival cities seeking convention and trade show business has organizers of some of the largest events to visit Las Vegas annually considering relocating.
According to reports in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, trade show managers from the Consumer Electronics Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Specialty Marketing Association and the International Council of Shopping Centers told members of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee in October that it’s vital to begin work on a proposed improvement plan for the Las Vegas Convention Center or risk losing the millions of dollars that each of those associations brings to the city through large events.
One story by Review-Journal reporter Richard N. Velotta states that Tim McGuinness, staff vice president of global trade expositions for the International Council of Shopping Centers, told the committee his organization’s board of directors voted 23-1 to move its annual ReCon commercial real estate show to Chicago, but changed its mind when it learned the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) had begun efforts to expand and refurbish the convention center.
Karen Chupka, senior vice president of the International Consumer Electronics Show, said her group has tested the waters in Asia, staging its first CES show in Shanghai earlier this year. The show drew 28,000 attendees. CES in Las Vegas usually draws more than 150,000 people.
Chupka also said that because of the lack of space in Las Vegas, the organization will cap attendance to the 2016 CES in January for the first time in its history.
Chris Brown, executive vice president of conventions and business operations for the National Association of Broadcasters, said the Las Vegas Convention Center’s technology is subpar compared with facilities in other locations.
In addition to the need to expand existing large shows, panelists said expanding facilities would enable the city to attract new shows that can’t get on the Las Vegas calendar because existing venues are full.
A four-phase, $2.3 billion Convention Center District improvement plan has been proposed, but only the first phase has been fully funded. The plan calls for the acquisition of 26.4 acres occupied by the old Riviera hotel-casino for future outdoor exhibits and the construction of 1.4 million square-feet of new exhibit halls, meeting rooms and support facilities. By pursuing the project in phases, the LVCVA would be able to build new facilities without disrupting the existing show schedule.
LVCVA President Rossi Ralenkotter told the committee that the loss of a 50,000-delegate convention would represent a $51 million economic hit to the community.
Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment also told the committee about their convention facilities and how they fit into the Southern Nevada transportation infrastructure. According to the Review-Journal report, while MGM and Caesars support the Las Vegas Convention Center project, Las Vegas Sands became the first local company to oppose it, stating they view it as taxpayer money being used to develop facilities of a private-company competitor.
George Markantonis, president and chief operating officer of The Venetian and Palazzo and a member of the committee, said the company supports investments in pedestrian walkways, roads, mass transit systems and even a stadium in support of citywide events and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. But he finds the investment of public money in the Convention Center to be inappropriate.
