Risking it all on red, or pulling off a five-card trick are the vices on which Las Vegas has built its larger than life metropolis. However, as business travellers increase, revenue is being directed away from the Strip’s technicolor casinos, and into the MICE circuit.
It is an opportunity that the Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority (LVCVA) hasn’t missed, as it nears completion on its grand $2.3bn Las Vegas Convention Center District Project, a dramatic update to turn its aging facility into one of the destination’s premiere exhibition hubs.
Construction of the facility is expected to generate 7,000 high-paying construction jobs and 6,000 full-time permanent jobs, with $400m-$700m in incremental economic impact.
Never a destination to let a potential spectacle go to waste, the LVCVA marked a key phase in the project – the implosion of the Monaco Tower on the LVCVA owned Riviera Hotel and Casino site – with a dramatic firework display in June.
“We’re doing this to remain number one for trade shows. We’re listening to client needs and we know we need to grow and modernise,” the LVCVA’s senior director business sales John Schreiber told EW. “It will be ready in time for CONEXPO-CON/AGG in February, but January’s CES will, I believe, have space for parking.”
The LVCVA’s project is being managed by its owner’s representative, Cordell Corporation, and the Las Vegas tourism bureau purchased the Riviera last year for $191m. The property closed after 60 years in business with a demolition’s priced at a reported $42m. The Riviera sign, meanwhile, is slated to be preserved and displayed at the Neon Museum.
“It’s quite a project. On our books right now we have an amazing amount of business. The current clients represent about $25bn in forward business over the next 15 years, and 18 million visitors. It’s about exceeding current standards. First we have to take halls offline without losing the business,” Schreiber added.
The pomp and splendour that marked the Riviera demolition also marked a sea change for Vegas, which is increasingly embracing its business customers.
Total visitors to the destination increased 2.5 per cent in 2015 to a record 42.3 million tourists, yet gambling revenue stayed almost stagnant. On the previous year, gambling revenue grew only 0.7 per cent, with revenue actually falling 0.4% year-over-year on the Strip, helped somewhat by an increase in the smaller downtown area.
While the gambling industry is still reaping stratospheric rewards, the MICE industry is no gamble. During 2015, convention attendance surged more than 13 per cent in Las Vegas over 2014. More than 21,000 conventions and business meetings were held during the year, hosting nearly six million convention attendees.
As a result of these booming business traveller numbers, casino companies like MGM Resorts International and Las Vegas Sands are betting big on the new, non-gaming economy. The $154m Aria expansion will add 18,580sqm to the property’s convention centre, while, a $70m, 32,516sqm addition to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center is another project befitting the destination’s grandeur.
“The cliche is that Vegas is very gaming focused, but over 70 per cent of our revenue is non gaming. We just invested in The Park and built the T-Mobile Arena along with AEG and we’ve got several proposals to add event spaces to our existing resorts, Elizabeth Pena, convention sales manager MGM Grand, told EW.
“Exhibitions are like a game of Tetris for us, as we try to get things to fit in and add new areas,”.
Elsewhere, the site of the former Stardust Resort and Casino and the failed Echelon project will now be occupied by a multi-billion-dollar Asian-themed integrated resort, owned by major casino operator Genting Malaysia. Resorts World Las Vegas has received the necessary regulatory approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission and developers are now ready to move forward with the mega-resort, initially valued at the amount of $4bn.
Vegas, then, could become a little more buttoned-up and business-like in future. From 9-5 at least.
Las Vegas’ top shows in 2017
• CES 2017 Jan 165,000
• Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW) 2017 November 140,000
• ConExpo March 129,000
• National Association of Broadcasters 2017 April 103,000
• MAGIC Marketplace Spring Show 2017 February 85,000
• MAGIC Marketplace Fall Show 2017 August 85,000
• Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT) January 62,000
• World of Concrete 2017 January 60,000
• International Air-Conditioning,
LVCCD project in stats
The Las Vegas Convention Center District Project is a major expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Phase One consists of the acquisition of the 26-acre Riviera Hotel property, demolition of the existing Riviera structures and construction of outdoor exhibit space.
Phase Two will include the development of a new exhibit hall and its ancillary spaces on the existing LVCC Gold Lot and the Riviera Hotel property.
Phase Three will be the renovation and alteration of the existing Convention Center.
LVCCD project in numbers:
• 7,000 construction jobs
• 3,700-6,000 full-time permanent jobs
• $3.1bn construction impact
• 2030: date the LVCCD is currently booking tradeshows into
