LVCVA Pushes Back Expansion

Completion date for Las Vegas CC renovation pushed back two years

By Lisa Plummer -- Tradeshow Week, 2/26/2007

Las Vegas—Two more years. That's how much extra time the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority needs to complete the $737 million renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Despite the delay, an LVCVA spokesman said there was no talk of increasing the cost budgeted for the project.

A full year after the LVCVA board first approved the original master plan enhancement program, it has approved the project management team's request to push the completion date from 2010 to 2012. The team said designers and builders needed more time to make necessary improvements, while avoiding too much inconvenience to existing customers.

According to Mike Musgrave, MWH Americas architect and project manager, a new, phased construction schedule will cause fewer disruptions to tradeshows booked during the renovation.

"We were at risk of interrupting shows, which we thought wasn't acceptable, so our best approach was to push it back to 2012," explained Musgrave. "We were stressed in a number of areas to complete by 2010, most importantly in customer experience."

With major construction on the existing building still on track to begin in mid-2008, the renovation strategy now is to build new facilities before taking existing venues off line. Construction will be organized in seven to nine separate phases with much of the work to be done during off-hours. Though the renovation won't add any extra square footage to the convention center, it will provide significantly more meeting space, along with improved circulation patterns and amenities.

The schematic design is set to be completed April 1, when it will be broken into the smaller projects for more detailed design. A complete design and budget will be ready by May or June. The LVCVA has allocated additional resources for design management and construction planning. It hired Terry Franklin to act as full-time program manager for the project and plans to continue consulting with building users as plans progress.

Before changing its plan, the LVCVA set up focus groups with 35 show directors, managers, and event planners to review issues relevant to them. The authority conducted surveys, and 10 show representatives met one-on-one with the project management team to discuss how the construction would impact their shows.

"We heard some of the things we needed to hear," said Chris Brown, Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters executive vice president of convention and business operations, "such as what the schedule is going to be, which was the missing piece of the equation at the last focus group."

Brown said the mindset of everyone in the rooms was, "Fine, do all this stuff, we just don't want to know it's happening while we're in town," while the reality must be that "it'll have an impact for anyone that has dates in the building."

Chuck Schwartz, chairman of ConvExx and another focus group participant, said, "If their schedule stays on track, we'll be prepared for everything. You have to look at the end result. The main things for me are the lobby and South Hall. Those two changes are going to have a big impact on that building, and it's going to be good."

Others were bracing themselves for the possibility that they might not have all the space they need for their shows, particularly during the extended construction period.

"(There are) pluses and minuses for us, as we utilize all the outdoor space," said Megan Tanel, CONEXPO-CON/AGG show director. "(While) the new timeline made us happy for '08, we'll have serious challenges for 2011. We'll consider our options and keep the lines of communication open with the LVCC."

Despite the new strategy and the rationale for pushing back the project completion date (five years from now), some LVCVA board members raised eyebrows at the delay.

"We could get this done quicker, but we're playing a balancing act," explained LVCVA Senior Vice President of Operations Jim Gans. "We're at 70-percent occupancy almost all the time, so we need to work around that. Even routine maintenance has been difficult."

Musgrave emphasized that the new plan was meant to accommodate existing customers as much as possible.

"Wherever we can escalate the process we will," he said. "We're pleased with where we are and the direction we're headed in."