Never has there been an implosion Las Vegas didn’t crave — especially if it’s to satiate the city’s appetite for cutting-edge amenities and affinity for the novel.
The latest rubble-rousing happened during the demolition of the iconic 60-year-old Riviera Hotel & Casino one year ago to make way for the $1.4 billion expansion project of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In its quest to offer a buffet of the latest and greatest, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is planning to build a 1.4-million square-foot expansion on a prime piece of real estate on the famed Las Vegas Strip.
Construction of the 600,000 square feet of planned exhibit space begins in 2018 and is due to be completed in 2021. Leslie Gallin, president of footwear at UBM Advanstar, has on her wish list a design without columns. “It is possible,” Gallin said. “The venues in Singapore are state-of-the-art. It surprised me that our facilities here in the U.S. weren’t more like those.”
Gallin believes Las Vegas’ 60-year history of holding footwear shows makes the city a great host for conventions because “Vegas has it all — hotels (at all price points), restaurants, consistently good weather, shows and gambling.”
The city was recognized by the Trade Show News Network as the No. 1 show destination in the country for the 23rd consecutive year, hosting 57 of the top 250 largest in North America.
“Las Vegas has maintained its reputation as a leading destination for business travel because our destination has a long tradition of working together to make great strides that benefit both our visitors and those who call Southern Nevada home,” explained Lawrence Weekly, chairman of the LVCVA and a Clark County commissioner. “The [Las Vegas Convention Center District] project is among the most thoroughly vetted, most approved projects in this region, and it represents a tremendous opportunity to create jobs, support local families, stimulate our economy and continue to move Las Vegas forward.”
For her part, Gallin is looking forward to what’s to come. “We will have to see how the final plans shake out for the space,” she said. “We hope our input will be considered regarding how the space is configured.”
