Despite massive losses in revenue in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) said expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center is moving forward.
LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill confirmed at a recent meeting of the authority board that the much-anticipated expansion of the center’s West Hall is 77 percent complete and is due to open as planned in time for the CES trade show in January.
The expansion is budgeted at $980 million. The mile-long people mover is pegged at another $52.5 million. Hill said no cases of the Covid virus have been reported at the site and workers are observing all safety protocols for social distancing and hand-washing on the job.
But one of the casualties of the shutdown will be the planned two-year $540 million renovation of four existing exhibition halls, which was scheduled to begin as soon as the West Hall opened. Hill said that project may not be reconsidered for at least two years.
The tourism agency expects to lose up to $200 million in room tax revenue in the 2021 financial year after Governor Steve Sisolak ordered Nevada’s casinos closed until at least May 1 to curb the spread of the potentially lethal contagion.
The authority receives a little more than one-third of Las Vegas’ total room tax revenue. The other two-thirds support schools and infrastructure projects.
Also gone for now is the significant income the LVCVA receives from hosting conventions, meetings and trade shows at the Convention Center and other locations. The loss of that business is being estimated at $60 million for the year ahead.
“We expect the meetings that will happen will be somewhat smaller than they have been in the past,” Hill said. “We might get some additional clarity on that in the next few weeks, but I don’t think we’ll get significant insight because it’s based on health and safety.”
The LVCVA board has already cut $79 million from its current budget and anticipates reduced spending for the budget that begins July 1. In addition, a hiring freeze is in place, hundreds of on-call trade show workers have been furloughed, and executive salaries have been cut. The authority also is terminating contracts with more than a dozen offices outside the U.S. that market Las Vegas internationally.
