Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Horse capital

There's a good chance that the Volvo World Cup, one of the world's most prestigious equestrian events, will be conducted in Las Vegas in the year 2000.

"Coming from a casino executive, I'd say the odds are great," said Ed Crispell, general manager of the Imperial Palace Hotel and chairman-elect of Las Vegas Events.

A five-member delegation from Las Vegas left Monday for Geneva to persuade the World Cup Committee to schedule the event in Las Vegas in the year 2000.

The delegation includes Las Vegas Events President Tucker DiEdwardo, Thomas & Mack Center Director Pat Christenson, Las Vegas Events trustees Lorraine Hunt and Bob Maxey and Horses magazine publisher John Quirk.

The Las Vegas group will make a presentation to the 22-member World Cup Committee on Saturday, when the international panel of horse jumping experts is expected to decide among three sites for the event.

If the group is successful, the Volvo World Cup would be presented by Las Vegas Events, in cooperation with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and would be conducted at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Las Vegas is competing against Toronto and Monterrey, Mexico, in its bid to host the event.

"We have some strong competition," Crispell said. "But after a delegation from World Cup visited Las Vegas last December, the members certainly expressed a much higher interest in Las Vegas than the other cities."

Hosting Volvo World Cup would mean international exposure and millions of dollars in revenue for Las Vegas, Crispell said.

"One of the most exciting things about the Volvo World Cup is that it puts more than 10,000 international visitors into your arena each night for four nights," Crispell said. "And these are the types of people who bring their horses into town on specially equipped 747s."

Quirk, a member of the Las Vegas delegation, organized the last Volvo World Cup conducted in the United States, in Del Mar, Calif., and heads the team vying to produce the 2000 World Cup for Las Vegas Events.

The owner of three horses that have competed in World Cup finals, Quirk said Las Vegas, with its unique combination of tourist accommodations and entertainment offerings, is a favorite to land the event.

"Las Vegas is believed to have the inside track," Quirk said.

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