After helping reward the state financially by luring several major companies to begin business operations in Nevada, one of the key players behind the dealings received an award of his own.
Caesars Entertainment Monday night presented Steve Hill the Caesars Community Hero Award for his efforts to strengthen the state through economic development and work done in and around Las Vegas.
Although the award was solely for him, the former executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development said he couldn't have done it alone.
“It’s certainly an honor, but I’ve had lots of help from lots of people,” said Hill, who now acts as chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. “The honor is for everyone, from the governor on down. I’m proud to be a part of it, but it’s really for everybody.”
Hill helped the state land notable deals with Tesla, Apple and Hyperloop One, among others.
In doing so, Hill helped carry out Gov. Brian Sandoval’s vision for Nevada, focused on diversifying the state’s economy after he was elected in 2010, while the state was still suffering from the economic downturn of 2007. Sandoval brought Hill in to help attract new and innovative industries to the state.
“I needed the right person at the right time to the new economic development,” Sandoval said. “We passed a bill that put economic development with the governor's office and appointed Steve (Hill) as the executive director, and the rest is history.”
Hill also was the point man in working with state officials to secure public funding by way of a 0.88 percent room tax to help fund a $1.9 billion NFL stadium, helping seal the Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas and the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Those two projects have since set off a chain reaction of other developments poised to bolster Las Vegas’ economy.
“What we’re seeing here is a couple of major projects (the stadium and convention center) helping to drive other growth, like Resorts World and The Drew,” he said. “We’re really becoming not only the entertainment capital of the world, but the sports and entertainment capital of the world. It’s just another chapter in the reinvention of Las Vegas.”
Because of Hill's hard work and perseverance, the NFL team drawn to Southern Nevada isn't the only one building a fan base here.
“I am such a Steve Hill fan,” said Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president for government relations and corporate responsibility for Caesars Entertainment. “(After Sandoval and Hill’s work) all of sudden we were a hub of technology … All of a sudden, we were a better place to live than California.”