The Las Vegas Convention Center's expansion and renovation was completed earlier this year. So, how does it play into the overall Las Vegas economy?
The LVCC, as locals call it, is a hub for events in Southern Nevada, most notably conventions such as CES (Consumer Electronic Show) and NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters) Show.
The facility's biggest and most recent development is its $600 million expansion, which was talked about for more than a decade, began in 2021 and was completely finished this year. It now offers 4.6 million square feet of space, with 2.5 million square feet of that being exhibit space.
“There is no doubt that this is really an exercise and an exhibition of just what happens in Vegas from a scale, from the ambition and evolution of the city,” said Vanessa Claspill, chief sales officer for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The convention center now has the capacity to hold multiple events on its campus at one time, which fills hotel rooms mid-week (when tourism slows) and stimulates the economy, according to Claspill.
The LVCC has now become the second biggest convention center in the country, with the biggest being McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill., which has 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space.
“Las Vegas is premier in terms of strategy and space — looking to have more than one event happening on location — because there's only a handful of shows that need over 1 million at square feet of paid space,” said Nancy Drapeau, vice president of research for the Center for Exhibition Industry Research.
According to Claspill, the LVCC perenially hosts more trade shows than other big hubs for conventions, such as Chicago, Orlando, and San Francisco. Drapeau cites research done in 2019, which found that Las Vegas held 716 conventions, trade shows, and non-entertainment-related events — far above its competitors.
The technological advancements that the convention center has been able to display are a highlight of these renovations. A visible example is the extremely large screens in the Central Hall atrium. Enhanced Wi-Fi capacity to accommodate attendees and exhibitors is another.
“With all of the added space and the improvements, it's an easier move-in for the exhibitors, but at the same time, those exhibitors also need to step up their game, because now the facility, the venue, is stepped up,” said Lori Duckett, who is a Las Vegas-based account executive for The Expo Group.
Exhibitors seem to like the space, Duckett added, with the only complaint being that now, there’s more space for competition. Continuous access from building to building and hall to hall, exhibitors now must capture the attention of their attendees, or they'll might drift away to another part of campus.
For convention attendees, a big issue is the lack of public transportation methods in Las Vegas. Most people will resort to Uber, but Claspill notes that The Loop tunnels that can get tourists from the convention center to the rest of The Strip.
Even considering transportation complaints, 2 million visitors travelled to Las Vegas from across the world for conventions, according to the LVCVA.
Claspill said it was among the city's highest performing first quarters, in terms of both hotel occupancy quarters and convention attendance, underlining the importance of the convention center expansion.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry saw a major dip in attendance; since its initial recovery, it's been working back up to pre-pandemic numbers.
“We're living in a very volatile business environment, right,” Drapeau said. “Every day, something new happens, and I'm fascinated by the resilience of our economy and our industry. … It was forecast to fully recover, but with all the different shocks that have happened, it's been pushed out. But we're expecting to fully recover as an industry overall in 2028.”
Guests: Vanessa Claspill, chief sales officer, LVCVA; Nancy Drapeau, vice president of research, CEIR; Lori Duckett, account executive, The Expo Group
