With a chorus of praise for his performance as president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Steve Hill received a 9 percent pay increase and 50 percent salary bonus at the July 8 board of directors monthly meeting.
That takes him from an annual salary of $495,000 last year to $539,550, padded with a $247,500 bonus.
“I often say I have the best job in Nevada and the easiest product to sell,” Hill says after the board’s unanimous approval. “I believe both are still true.”
Brian Gullbrants, chairman of the LVCVA compensation committee, felt that a 40 percent bonus was too low, considering Hill’s been at his job for seven years, compared with the average five. He also mentioned that Hill was making less than the CEO in 2017. A study by Korn Ferry found the market median for a CEO similar to Hill’s role to be $523,000.
Hill gave a brief overview of his agency’s goals and objectives, starting with the most important: driving visitors to Las Vegas. RevPAR, revenue generated from Las Vegas’s 150,000 available hotel rooms, is trending down, the CEO notes, but still plateauing at its highest level.
The Authority’s social media team is “hitting on all cylinders,” Hill says, making Las Vegas the most followed U.S. destination on TikTok, adding 1.8 million followers last year.
That can be partly attributed to the tourism agency’s partnership with Formula One racing. The Las Vegas Grand Prix has created an international culture, bolstered by the city being prominently featured in the recently released “F1: The Movie.”
Hill, who also heads the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, touted the groundbreaking for the 35,000-seat MLB stadium that will be home to the former Oakland Athletics. The $2 billion project, at the site of the demolished Tropicana hotel, is on track to open in 2028. A’s players currently wear Las Vegas logo patches on their uniform sleeves.
Other sports highlights include WWE WrestleMania at Allegiant Stadium; UFC International Fight Week; the 2028 NCAA College Football Playoff championship, also at Allegiant; and the 2028 NCAA Final Four men’s basketball tournament coming to Allegiant.
Las Vegas Convention Center attendance is “not quite on track” for its 2025 goal of 1.51 million, Hill concedes. LVCC hosted 1.34 million attendees in 2024, beating the goal of 1.3 million.
“We’re slightly behind where we want to be,” Hill says, considering Las Vegas has increased its total convention and meeting space from 11.5 million square feet to 15 million square feet.
The $600 million Phase III renovation of LVCC is coming along “exceptionally well,” Hill adds, 80 percent complete and on budget. No shows were lost during the expansion and renovation.
“It’s truly impressive what you and your entire team have accomplished, truly impressive,” Gullbrants lauded.
CHIEF SPORTS OFFICER
The LVCVA board unanimously approved the establishment of a chief sports officer, a new executive position in the E-3 salary range ($208,000 to $291,000). The CSO will be responsible for bringing collegiate, youth, and amateur sporting events that generate economic impact to Southern Nevada and further amplify the destination’s status as the “sports capital of the world.”
ROUTES WORLD BOOTH
The board authorized a $180,000 contract with Conex Exhibition Services to design and build LVCVA’s exhibition booth for Routes World 2025, taking place Sept. 24-26 in Hong Kong. Conex has been awarded more than $1.5 million to build LVCVA exhibition booths at IMEX America, IMEX Frankfurt, and past Routes World shows.
The tradeshow is important to Las Vegas in the development of air service at Reid International Airport. About 3,500 representatives from airlines, airports and tourism agencies will attend the show. Las Vegas has landed flights from Avianca Airlines (El Salvador), Porter Airlines (Toronto), Aer Lingus (Dublin), and Norse Atlantic (London) at past Routes Worlds, says Fletch Brunelle, vice president of marketing.
