Following its 150th anniversary last year, the Silver State continues to see a brightening economic forecast. In its October 2015 Nevada Business Conditions report, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Center for Business and Economic Research finds “significant positive signals” including year-on-year increases in statewide employment and taxable sales. Visitor volume is also up, with total air arrivals up 8.5 percent, including an 8.8 percent increase into McCarran International Airport.
In Las Vegas, America’s trade show leader for the past 21 consecutive years, exhibitors’ signals are flashing red hot.
In October, one week after a record-setting IMEX America (see “Brand Power” sidebar, page 128), managers of the nation’s top trade shows came to Las Vegas to talk candidly about the future. Like SEMA, the world’s premier automotive specialty products event, each is “bursting at the seams” and needs room to grow—fast. For Las Vegas and Nevada’s other group locales, it’s an opportunity to “build it and they will come” like never before.
Call to Action
Across from the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas mega-resort now taking shape on the mid-Strip stands the shuttered Riviera. “Future Las Vegas Convention Center Expansion” reads the colorful sidewalk boarding wrapping the 60-year-old hotel/casino, which the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) acquired in February as a critical component of the proposed Las Vegas Convention Center District (LVCCD).
Described by the LVCVA as its “most aggressive master plan” ever, the LVCCD is as ambitious as its projected $2.3 billion price tag. Intended to further Las Vegas’ global MICE market competitiveness for the next three decades, the multi-angled plan includes building a new 600,000-square-foot exhibit hall on the 26-acre Riviera site.
Step one is demolishing the Riviera’s 13 structures, including its 2,100-room, 23-story main tower. Vegas may be “booming” again, but implosion may not be suitable for the Riviera, pending environmental review. However it comes down, though, the site must be ready for CONEXPO-CON/AGG in 2017.
As the triennial show for the international construction, aggregates and ready-mix concrete industries, CONEXPO-CON/AGG, co-located with IFPE (expo for the fluid power, motion control and power transmission markets), is Las Vegas’ largest event by exhibit space.
Following a record-breaking 2014 show, including its second-highest attendance ever, CONEXPO-CON/AGG, which stages exhibits in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s parking lots, reportedly requires another 1 million net square feet of space for 2017—scheduled for the cleared Riviera site. The deadline appears to be in good hands, with Sacramento, Calif.-based Cordell Corp., veterans of major convention center and stadium projects around the U.S., reportedly on track and on budget to commence demolition in the first quarter of 2016.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is not alone in requiring more space. In October, the show’s organizers came to Las Vegas along with representatives from the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), National Association of Broadcasters, SEMA, International Council of Shopping Centers and UBM Advanstar, producers of MAGIC, the world’s largest fashion marketplace.
Their meeting with the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee—the multi-stakeholder group enacted by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval in July to formally identify and prioritize convention, tourism and gaming improvement projects and funding mechanisms—was purposeful and pointed.
Challenged to accommodate rising demand for more attendees, more exhibit space and more educational programs, the six-member panel urged the committee to take action now on expanding and enhancing the Las Vegas convention campus, or risk their possible consideration of other destinations.
“If you build it, we will come and we will stay,” stated Megan Tanel, vice president of exhibitions and events at CONEXPO-CON/AGG. “It’s critical that the Las Vegas Convention Center keep pace with our growth, as well as our exhibitors’ growing demand for world-class indoor and outdoor space.”
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Upping the Ante
One major step forward was the August 2015 debut of the 350,000-square-foot expansion of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, which hosted fashion tradeshow MAGIC as its first event. With completion of the $70 million project’s second and final phase anticipated for next month, the Center will offer more than 2 million total square feet and over 900,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, making it the world’s fifth largest in both categories.
Mandalay Bay is also progressing with a 3,000-room remodel, while its sibling, Delano Las Vegas, debuted the exciting new 63rd-floor Rivea restaurant and Skyfall Lounge this October.
Yet, coordinated, across-the-board action is required to solve what the Las Vegas Review-Journal calls “an enormous puzzle.” As Chris Brown, executive vice president of conventions and business operations for the National Association of Broadcasters told the committee in October, “This is a critical moment for the history of the city.” With the stakes raised, stay tuned—the committee makes its recommendations to Gov. Sandoval by July 31, 2016.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas is advancing on other fronts. It’s all hail Caesars Palace as the center-Strip icon celebrates its golden anniversary with the anticipated Jan. 1, 2016 debut of the new 587-room Julius Tower, the $75 million reinvention of the hotel’s original Roman Tower. Destined for its own iconic status is MGM’s highly anticipated $375 million, 20,000-seat Las Vegas Arena, slated to open in April 2016.
Promising to feature revolutionary advancements in how spectators experience sporting action, concerts and other events, the new arena will also serve as home ice for an NHL expansion franchise. With more than 13,000 season tickets sold—critical to establishing the business case for a new team—Las Vegas is reportedly a front-runner, along with Quebec City, to become the NHL’s 31st and 32nd teams.
Also on the competitive front, South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa continues to strengthen its sporting credentials by hosting the United States Bowling Congress’ 2016 Women’s World Championships at its 64-lane bowling center. Running from early April 9 to July 10, it’s the world’s largest women’s bowling tournament, attracting more than 14,000 competitors.
The resort-casino, offering 2,079 rooms and 165,000 square feet of meeting, function and exhibit space just south of the Strip, also attracts equestrian events to its 4,400-seat Equestrian Arena. Attached to South Point’s 80,000-square-foot exhibit hall, it’s the only facility of its kind in Las Vegas.
Applause for the Sands Expo and Convention Center, host venue for IMEX America 2015 and celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, includes its exemplary dedication to sustainability and the environment.
Achieving LEED Gold certification in 2010, the high-performance facility follows green practices in accordance with Sands’ global ECO360° sustainability strategy. With resources that include a dedicated Green Meeting Concierge and green event-planning tools, show producers and organizers can customize events to match their client’s commitment to sustainability, including developing environmental impact metrics.
“Green meetings are an amazing opportunity for us,” states Katarina Tesarova, Las Vegas Sands’ vice president, global sustainability, on the venue’s website. “Working with clients that value and appreciate sustainability enables us to further advance our green meeting efforts by piloting new practices and programs. Such collaboration results in sustainable events for our customers and helps improve our own operations.”
Offering more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space, Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is currently undergoing a sweeping $100 million renovation that includes 1,200 remodeled Signature Rooms, 300 new timeshare villas, the all-new International Bar, and a fully renovated pool deck. Strengthening Downtown’s group appeal, the D Las Vegas offers more than 11,000 square feet of newly renovated convention space, four new breakout rooms and brand new outdoor patio space at its 6,000-square-foot Detroit Ballroom.
In early November, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide announced that it was taking over partial management of the struggling SLS Las Vegas. Plans reportedly call for the transformation of one of the resort’s three towers, with 289-rooms, into a W Hotel by the third quarter of 2016. The other two towers, comprising 1,324 rooms, may subsequently be converted to the W brand as well.
Also last month, it was announced that the failed $2 billion Fontainebleau project was back on the market, for an estimated $630 million. The anticipated revival of the 68-story, 3,875-room mega-resort, mothballed in 2009 and only 70 percent completed, is significant in more ways than one—standing adjacent to the Riviera, it’s the last remaining monument to the economic crash.
Side Bets
Investment is also surging to meet rising demand in the Reno-Tahoe and Lake Tahoe regions.
“Group bookings for 2014-2015 were up 41 percent over the previous fiscal year, for a five-year high at facilities operated by our organization,” reports Jennifer Cunningham, interim managing director for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority. “Nearly 60 percent of these bookings represented new business, proving that Reno Tahoe is a viable destination for any group looking to expand into new markets.”
With investment highlights that include a new $5 billion factory from Tesla Motors and the world’s largest data center from Switch, the region’s booming technology and manufacturing sectors are dramatically expanding area employment and opportunity.
“We’re expecting growth in business travel associated with this explosion of industry, with a resulting boost in convention business,” Cunningham says.
Strongly tied to the sporting event and SMERF markets, the bureau is developing new relationships with computer software groups and engineering, scientific and education associations through its new partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno.
As the only resort directly connected to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the AAA Four Diamond Atlantis Casino Resort Spa offers 824 rooms and 50,000 square feet of versatile space, including 22 meeting rooms, a 14,000-plus-square-foot Grand Ballroom and a high-tech executive boardroom.
Slated for a 2016 opening, downtown’s Siena Hotel Casino is being rebranded as a Renaissance hotel, one of several new non-smoking, non-gaming hotels diversifying the region’s mix.
“We’re also seeing a renaissance of our local food scene, highlighted by a recent influx of national award-winning brewpubs,” Cunningham says. “With the success of JetBlue’s new daily, nonstop flights to JFK, we’re also focused on increasing air service to enhance our appeal.”
South Lake Tahoe is presently amid more than $150 million in new construction and property upgrades.
“The Lake Tahoe South Shore renaissance continues with renovations, new development and the additional recreational opportunities that this region is known for,” says Carol Chaplin, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “It’s a value proposition for the meeting segment with unrivaled Sierra Nevada scenery, quality lodging and venue variety, and increased air service for convenient access.”
Reinvigoration highlights include MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, which completed this spring the $24 million “Scandinavian fantasy” renovation of all 36 suites and 401 rooms, plus its convention center and casino floor. Additional upgrades, including refreshing the 1,334-seat MontBleu Theater Showroom and building exteriors, are scheduled for completion this winter.
In January 2015, the new $60 million Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe opened in the former Horizon, offering 539 rooms, multiple restaurants and bars, and assorted indoor and outdoor entertainment options. Rock memorabilia includes one of Michael Jackson’s gloves and outfits from Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.
Next door, the lakeside Edgewood Tahoe golf course has broken ground on an LEED-designed lodge with 154 lake-view hotel rooms, a conference center, health spa and bistro-style restaurant. Harrah’s Lake Tahoe is undergoing a $12 million renovation of its convention center and comprehensive refresh of all 520 hotel rooms
Set along I-80 in the high desert of northeastern Nevada, Elko is planning to unveil the new 18,000-square-foot Elko Conference Center this month. Sharing an event-capable outdoor plaza with the Elko Convention Center, the facility can flexibly accommodate up to 1,500 attendees.
