By Ray Smith, Exhibit City News
In an effort to attract more international flights, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors rubber-stamped an expenditure of $150,000 for design and construction of an exhibit booth at 2024 World Routes, slated for Oct. 6-8 in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Approval of the agenda item at the board’s Aug. 13 regular meeting followed a presentation by Joel Van Over, senior director of Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting, who noted that international air service to Las Vegas is 88 percent recovered from the pandemic years.
The airline industry is facing strong “headwinds,” Van Over says, including a shortage of aircraft, component supply issues and a shortage of pilots. Also, many Americans are forgoing summer vacations due to high prices, looking for better deals at home.
While domestic flights to Las Vegas have bounced back to near peak levels, there’s “still a lot of work to be done” on the international side, the airline consultant emphasizes.
That’s why it’s important for Las Vegas to have a presence at World Routes, insists Fletch Brunelle, vice president of marketing for LVCVA.
After reviewing multiple proposals, LVCVA selected Conex Exhibition Services as its vendor of choice for the design and construction of the exhibition booth. It’s the third contract awarded to Conex, headquartered in Miami, Fla., with offices in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Spain. In July, the board approved $528,000 for Conex to design and build an exhibit booth for IMEX America, and in April it was $300,000 for a booth at IPW in Los Angeles.
Though the booth was touted for its cost-saving sustainability, Conex was unable to reuse some of the components from previous shows, Brunelle explains to the board. Without any future shows in the Middle East, the World Routes booth will probably be “one and done,” he says.
“We have two international shows, WTM in London and ITB in Germany, but when they tried to ship things, they couldn’t ship to Bahrain,” Brunelle tells ECN. “It was not cost effective.”
World Routes brings together 3,000 senior decision-makers from aviation and tourism industries in more than 130 countries to meet and discuss the future of air services, develop and plan network strategies and explore new route opportunities. The forum was previously held three times in Las Vegas, most recently in 2021.
By attending past World Routes, airline development staff at LVCVA brought in new flights from El Salvador (Avianca Airlines), Dublin, Ireland (Aer Lingus), and London Gatwick (Norse Atlantic).
TOPPING-OFF CEREMONY
Executives from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Hunt-Penta celebrated the “topping off” of the $600 million Phase III renovation of Las Vegas Convention Center, a project that will bring architectural uniformity and building enhancements to the nation’s No. 1 convention center.
Construction crews lifted the final piece of structural steel on Aug. 13, a 50-foot beam signed by CEO Steve Hill, LVCVA Board Chairman Jim Gibson, local officials and some 300 construction workers. The beam was placed on the exterior framing over the Central Hall.
“Topping Out” is an important milestone in the construction project, which broke ground in 2023 with the purpose of matching the contemporary design and architecture of the West Hall. Work on the South Hall was completed in January and will continue in the Central and North halls through 2025, scheduled around tradeshows.
The renovation enhances back-of-house systems and adds a new entrance lobby at the South Hall; adds major modifications to the front of the convention center including North Hall connector, new main lobby and Central Hall to South Hall connector; enhances exhibit halls, concourses, restrooms and meeting rooms; and upgrades parking lots and site security.
At the LVCVA board meeting following the topping-off ceremony, COO Brian Yost summarized work currently underway, including drywall and ceiling work, a ramp to the Paradise Road pedestrian bridge, storm drain trenching, and 80 percent completion of the roof membrane.
Meetings and conventions are vital to Southern Nevada, contributing more than $15 billion to the local economy. In 2023, the LVCC hosted 48 conventions with 1.2 million attendees and is home to the country’s largest and most significant tradeshows.
EXPANSION JOINTS
The board approved a $455,257 contract with All 5’s Construction of Las Vegas to replace expansion joints in the South Hall of Las Vegas Convention Center. The joints, which connect walls and flooring of the exhibit hall, are beyond repair and present a hazard for vehicular damage and tripping, says Randy Shingleton, vice president of facilities. The only other bid for the project was $1.15 million, from Monument Construction of Henderson.
ROOF REPLACEMENT
The board approved a $1.34 million contract with Eberhard Southwest Roofing to replace the roof of the digital antennae system and engineering warehouse building at Las Vegas Convention Center. The current roof is prone to leaking, jeopardizing equipment in the building, Shingleton notes. Other bids came from A.W Farrell Roofing ($1.35 million), Western Single Ply ($1.5 million), and Commercial Roofers ($1.6 million).
LVCC RENOVATION
CEO Steve Hill was delegated authority to execute construction services in the amount of $492.2 million for renovation of Las Vegas Convention Center, increasing from $462.2 million. Since the project is far enough along in progress, the owner-controlled $30 million contingency fund will be put back into the Hunt-Penta contract, COO Brian Yost said. The overall budget for the renovation remains at $600 million.
