Venue Notes: MGM Grand, Hard Rock Expand 

Lisa Plummer -- Tradeshow Week, 2/1/2008 2:31:00 PM

• The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino is expanding its convention space with the Marquee Ballroom. The column-free, 92,000 square foot space is next to the MGM Grand Conference Center and can hold up to 6,000 people. The new ballroom will increase MGM’s total event and convention space to 602,000 sq. ft.  

• The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s $750 million expansion and renovation is underway. When it’s done, penciled in for mid-2009, the property will have doubled in size, adding 950 rooms and suites, and a 60,000 sq. ft. convention center. In March, construction crews will begin work on a 15-story, 500-room tower, and a separate 400-suite VIP tower. Meanwhile, a renovation of the existing 650-room tower is in progress. 

• The Mirage Casino-Hotel will introduce new room decor with a $110 million redesign. The project, to begin early this year, will apply four new color palettes, luxury furnishings and high-end amenities to 2,765 deluxe rooms and suites. The project is supposed to be finished this spring. The Mirage now has 3,044 rooms and 171,359 sq. ft. of convention space.