by Ray Smith, Exhibit City News
Las Vegas has claimed the crown as king of convention and meetings destinations for nearly three decades, and convention authority CEO Steve Hill wants to hold that sovereignty for the next 30 years.
Officials with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority staged a ceremonial groundbreaking May 9 to start construction on a $600 million renovation of the South Hall and North Hall, an improvement that follows the opening of the $1 billion West Hall in 2021.
“This project has a long history,” Hill says at the ceremony. “It’s been a 20-year process. This conversation had real momentum two decades ago and was interrupted by the Great Recession and again by the pandemic.”
SIGNIFICANT CONTRAST
Hill describes the contrast between the West Hall and the North and South halls as “pretty significant.” The renovation will give tradeshow exhibitors the same experience throughout the 4.6 million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center, one of the largest in the nation.
It will extend the technology innovation, customer experience, and contemporary design and architecture of the 1.4 million-square-foot West Hall, the CEO explains.
“We have a number of shows that made the point they were starting to run out of space,” Hill says. “We’re doing everything we can to minimize the disruption. They all wanted this to happen, just not during their show.”
Klai Juba Wald serves as architect, Penta Building Group and Hunt Construction are the general contractors, and Miller Project Management Group oversees the project for the LVCVA. More than 600 tradesmen are working on the construction, which is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2026.
RENOVATION HIGHLIGHTS
Key highlights of the renovation:
NEW SHOWS
The Las Vegas Convention Center hosted 56 conventions in 2022 with an attendance of nearly 900,000, and several shows came to Las Vegas for the first time, Hill says. He’s sure the renovation will attract new business.
“Absolutely there are shows interested (in coming). Las Vegas is building up our capacity because we said we’re No. 1, and we want to stay there,” Hill says.
With nearly 15 million square feet of meeting and event space throughout the destination, the convention industry contributes significantly to Southern Nevada’s economy. According to a report from LVCVA’s research center, spending by nearly 5 million convention attendees supported 38,000 jobs, generated $2.1 billion in wages, and created an economic impact of $7.5 billion in 2022.
