Las Vegas CC Plans $400-MIL Upgrade
More meeting space and transportation stops proposed for the venue
By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 1/24/2005
Las Vegas—The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority gathered a few hundred of its closest friends on Jan. 13 to unveil its latest self-reinvention: a $400-million expansion and renovation intended to turn the Las Vegas Convention Center into a more meeting-friendly facility.
The project, already approved by the LVCVA board of directors, will add about 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, but the focal point is the conference space. This will not only increase by about 260,000 sq. ft., but will also see the addition of amenities like carpet and built-in presentation technology.
"You hear all this stuff about other buildings expanding and improving their meeting space," said Chris Meyer, LVCVA director of convention center sales. "We just sat back and watched them do their thing, but we have every intention of staying number one."
Besides sitting back and watching the competition, Las Vegas was also doing its homework. To determine the best direction for its growth, the LVCVA solicited input from current and prospective customers and hired Conventions, Sports & Leisure Intl. to conduct market research.
The result was a picture of a changing landscape, dominated for the foreseeable future by association meetings, corporate events and other gatherings that require more high-end conference space than vast exhibit halls.
The study noted that "major expansions appear to have leveled off, and instead, efforts are being made to enhance existing facilities through the development of meeting/general session space, technology enhancements and overall improvements to facility function and appearance. These are areas of competitive disadvantage for the LVCC."
Looking specifically at Las Vegas' competition in Chicago, Orlando and other top-tier destinations, CSLI concluded that the LVCC's ratio of meeting to exhibit space was too low, and that both an uptick in the meetings and convention business and stability in the LVCC's occupancy (at about 70 percent) justified making the investment to better compete in this area.
The Jan. 13 presentation outlined several elements of the revamp. A grand lobby would be added to tie together the entire building, improve circulation and increase pre-function space. Central halls 1 and 2 would be reconfigured into two spaces of 100,000 sq. ft. each: one for exhibits and the other for general sessions. A new lobby for the South Hall would allow for the addition of as much as 150,000 sq. ft. of meeting space there.
Other parts of the plan include: renovating new and existing space; building a covered connector to the LVCC stop on the Las Vegas Monorail; adding administrative offices; improving shuttle bus and taxi flow; and enhancing existing security and technology.
Meyer said the final result would be designed to attract "the entire medical community and a lot more association business." He said the current building prevents bookings of multiple conventions at the same time, or shows with large conferences.
"We have Cisco Systems' networking show coming here in 2006," he said, by way of example. "They require 100 meeting rooms, and that wipes out my entire inventory."
LVCC clients are going to drive the design process (which, at this point, does not have a definite timeline), according to Meyer. "We'll bring them out, sit them down, show them plans and ask their suggestions."
The next step will be in March, when the LVCVA will finalize architectural details and a cost estimate of the plan, then start the bidding process.
At the same time, a process for selling bonds could start. However, Meyer noted, "It looks like we may actually do a pay-as-we-go, paying for this out of cash flow." Due to a savings plan the LVCVA has been on since Sept. 11, he said, there's enough cash in reserve to avoid funding the entire project through construction bonds.
