A view of the Las Vegas Convention Center lobby during the Magic fashion convention Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017 | 2 a.m.
The massive expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center could take a step forward today if the winner of a design competition passes the next hurdle in the process.
The 1.4 million-square-foot expansion is the second phase of the overall $1.5 billion revamp of the entire facility approved last year in a special session of the Nevada Legislature that also approved the funding of an NFL stadium in Las Vegas.
A special session was called because both projects are to be financed, in part, from an increase in the Clark County room tax.
The Las Vegas Convention Center District Committee (LVCCD), a subcommittee of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) board of directors, will meet this morning to decide if TVS Design/Design Las Vegas, the winner of the design competition, gets to move on to the next step.
The other two final entries in the design competition were RV Architecture/Friedmutter Group and Populous/Klai Juba Wald/LGA/ZimmerRay.
Eight design firms initially responded to a June 15 deadline issued by the LVCVA staff. An evaluation team deemed only six to move to the next step. On Sept. 15, the evaluation team chose three of the six to compete for the final recommendation.
Each finalist made a presentation on Oct. 25 before a joint meeting of the LVCCD and the Oversight Panel for Convention Facilities in Clark County. Because it won the competition, TVS Design/Design Las Vegas was placed on the agenda for the today’s meeting of the LVCCD.
After the LVCCD gives its OK, the LVCVA board is scheduled to meet Nov. 14 to accept the subcommittee’s recommendation and approve the final design.
The design will include at least 600,000 square feet of new exhibition space, according to a press release from the LVCVA. Staff members worked with Cordell Corp. principal Terry Miller to develop the vision for the expansion and renovation project.
“This design competition marks a tremendous milestone for the LVCVA and our Convention Center District and is an important step toward ensuring we continue to provide a world-class facility and experience to our customers,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, LVCVA president and CEO. “We will have a design team in place by the end of this year and we anticipate breaking ground on the expansion early next year.”
The project will generate an additional $2.1 billion in economic activity during construction, according to the press release. When it’s completed, it is expected to have an annual incremental economic impact of $810 million while attracting more than 600,000 additional visitors each year.
