Clock Is Ticking on Sands Expansion

“A 125-foot high, 1,500,290 square foot exposition hall and convention facility” located on a site near the corner of Sands Avenue and Koval Lane in Las Vegas. Sound familiar? It's the description of the proposed expansion, actually a stand-alone building, near the Sands Expo & Convention Center included in permit paperwork filed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. and approved by the Clark County Commission in July 2006.

Trouble is, there's only a parking lot on the site in question, leaving show managers who have booked their events in the new building, or would like to, wondering: Are they gonna build it, or not?

No one seems to know.

In January, Lance Camisasca cited “uncertainty surrounding the Sands expansion” in a presentation he made to stakeholders about possibly moving Interbike Intl. Bicycle Expo out of Las Vegas. Camisasca manages the show for owner Nielsen Business Media, historically a frequent customer of the Sands.

Also in January, Hanley Wood Exhibitions, another Sands patron, moved two of its shows to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino for multiple years. One of them, Surfaces, has been at the Sands since 1993. At the time of the announcement, show manager Dana Teague told Tradeshow Week, “There appears to be a level of uncertainty at the Sands regarding exactly what type of facility will be available in 2011, when the facility will be completed and how the transition will take place.”

Surfaces' contract with Mandalay Bay begins in 2011.

And last November, Reed Exhibitions said it would move Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade Show, which it manages for the Natl. Shooting Sports Foundation, to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando at least for 2009, and possibly 2010, depending on what happens at the Sands.

Ken McAvoy, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions USA, said, “We are in the process of booking several events into the new building. We have been promised a delivery date of Jan. 1, 2010.”

Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese did not respond to TSW's inquiries, nor to recent requests for an interview with Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, whose district includes the Sands, also declined to be interviewed. She took office after the project was approved.

When asked if the description of the project that the county had on file sounded like the facility Sands officials had described to him, McAvoy said, “That sounds correct.”

The project designs on record with the county depict a facility with a main entrance on Sands Avenue, about 200 feet from the corner of Sands and Koval. “Circular helix ramps at the north and south ends of the facility will provide vehicular access to the two levels of parking at the top of the structure,” it reads. “Building materials consist of a light warm gray EIFS finish on walls, accentuated by medium warm gray metal panels on all elevations.”

Dozens of pages on traffic studies, easement requests and plans for pedestrian access are included in the paperwork, reflecting the tricky location of the building's proposed site. Between it and the existing Sands Expo are both a large, three-story parking garage for Wynn Las Vegas employees and a section of the Las Vegas Monorail.

Wynn has voiced several objections to Las Vegas Sands' proposals, mainly related to traffic flow and parking. However, as of December 2007, when the county commission granted the Sands a waiver, excusing it from including the usual number of required parking spaces, the Sands appears to have surmounted all objections to the project and cleared the way for construction.

Not a moment too soon, either.

When Adelson first spoke of the project in February 2005, he said he thought it would take approximately one year to build. If the facility is to be ready for clients like McAvoy by January 2010, the construction timeline is closing in.

And if it's not going to be ready, they'd probably like to know.

One person they could ask is Ed Feiner. Las Vegas Sands hired him last month as senior vice president and chief architect. Feiner is charged with overseeing all the company's major projects throughout the world.

The press release announcing Feiner's appointment said, “Las Vegas Sands [sic] growth plans include the development of the Cotai Strip, where the Venetian Macao (China) opened to rave reviews in August 2007 … Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and the Sands Bethworks in Bethlehem, Penn.” It did not mention any plans in Las Vegas.

The company recently held the grand opening of its newest resort: the $1.8 billion, 3,000-suite Palazzo Las Vegas.