Betting On Demand: New Center, More Hotels To Come
<H1> Betting On Demand: New Center, More Hotels To Come</H1>y Maria Lenhart
<B>T</B>he latest construction boom will bring 20,000 new hotel rooms and several new venues for group events to the country's gambling capital over the next several years.
Las Vegas is expected to get its first freestanding conference center by the end of next year-the 15,000-square-foot Regent Center. The facility will offer seven meeting rooms equipped with videoconferencing capabilities, a 1,500-seat theater wired for videoconferencing and a rooftop function area that can accommodate up to 2,000 people.
In addition, Texas-based Polyphase Corp. this fall will begin work on a 200,000-square-foot convention center adjacent to a new football stadium. Both structures will be situated on a 190-acre site near the downtown area. The center will offer conference and exhibition space, while the stadium will be available to groups for special events.
Plans also are in the works for a 300,000-square-foot expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center on the side nearest the Las Vegas Hilton. The expansion, which the Convention and Visitors Authority hopes to see finished by the end of next year, will bring the total size to 1.5 million square feet.
Because of the city's high level of group business and leisure travel, hotel occupancies are running above 90 percent. To accommodate the high levels of demand, several new hotels are currently under development.
The newest property to punctuate the glittering skyline is Stratosphere Tower, a 1,500-room hotel soaring 1,200 feet above the Las Vegas Strip. While the casino and guest rooms are clustered at the base of the tower, the top is encircled by the world's highest roller coaster. At the 800-foot level are three small meeting rooms affording panoramic views.
Another property, set to open June 21, is the 3,000-room Monte Carlo. The Victorian-themed property, jointly developed by Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus Enterprises, will be fronting the Las Vegas Strip across from the MGM Grand Hotel. Facilities will include 15,000 square feet of meeting space and a 1,200-seat theater.
December will see the opening of New York New York, a $300 million joint venture between MGM Grand and Primadonna Resorts. The 2,000-room property will include 5,000 square feet of meeting space situated in 12 high-rise replicas of Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building.
Also making a December debut will be The Orleans, an 840-room New Orleans-themed resort which will feature 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 17,000-square-foot ballroom.
Other development projects underway include the Bellagio, a $1.25 billion upscale property being developed by Mirage Resorts and set to open in 1998; and the Las Vegas Club, a sports-themed hotel downtown that is almost doubling its room inventory and adding meeting space for up to 400 people.