Las Vegas Convention Center Bets On $890 Million Upgrade

After 11 previous renovations, thousands of events and millions of meeting attendees in the 49 years since its establishment, the Las Vegas Convention Center will undergo another major renovation beginning in the middle of this year.

The $890 million project—the largest investment in the center's history—will include the construction of a new grand lobby that will connect all of the center's three halls, and the development of a meeting room concourse, adjacent to the South Hall, that will provide 87,000 square feet of new meeting space, for a total of 321,000 square feet, said Jeremy Handel, spokesperson for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which owns and operates the center

The LVCVA also will upgrade building's infrastructure and pedestrian and vehicle traffic flow and ingress/egress to and from the property. Additionally, it will build an enclosed connector to and from the Las Vegas Monorail and a police and fire station.

"We are not adding exhibit space during this construction project," Handel said, "as the major focus is to enhance the facility to ensure we continue to offer the greatest possible experience to our building's clients."

However, the renovation does include an upgrade of all of the center's 144 meeting rooms, said LVCVA spokesperson Erika Pope. When the renovation project is complete in 2012, she said, the Las Vegas Convention Center will be comprised of 3.8 million square feet overall, including 1.9 million square feet of exhibit space.

"With nearly 2 million square feet of space to fill, our sales staff focuses on getting major conventions to come to Las Vegas," Pope said, "but we also serve the corporate market and incentive groups by working to attract meetings, and as an extension of the sales forces of the city's hotels."