Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003 | 11:09 a.m.
Although most Southern Nevada attractions reported strong Labor Day visitation over the three-day weekend, Arnie Sealove has started to shudder when he hears the phrase "Hoover Dam Bypass Project."
But visitation could be even stronger than this year's favorable showing by Labor Day 2004.
By the end of summer next year, the $234 million bridge that will route U.S. 93 traffic between Arizona and Las Vegas should be well under construction and the best place to see the project develop will be from Hoover Dam.
"I don't really like the 'bypass' part of the name because I think people should see Hoover Dam," said Sealove, who handles marketing for the visitor center at the Colorado River landmark on the Arizona-Nevada border.
Visitors traveling to Las Vegas over Hoover Dam this Labor Day weekend could see the beginnings of the project on the Arizona side of the approach to the dam. With construction on the bridge itself scheduled to begin later this year, the four-lane concrete composite arch bridge 1,500 feet downstream from the dam will become an attraction itself when the heavy tourism season for the dam begins next Memorial Day.
Sealove said visitation for the traditional close of the summer vacation season was about standard for a three-day weekend, with 10,573 people taking tours at the dam Friday through Monday. That compares with 10,376 people touring during Labor Day 2002.
Sealove said visitation at the dam has nearly reached tourism levels that had occurred prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast. Visitation was curtailed after the attacks because the dam was considered a potential terrorist target and security was raised dramatically.
Hoover Dam did away with a special limited-access tour and a hard-hat tour that allowed visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at dam operations. Now, Sealove said, visitors take the dam's "Discovery Tour" and the hard hats that were distributed in the special tour are sold as souvenirs at the visitor center.
But Sealove is optimistic for next year.
"Starting next year, you'll be able to see some amazing bridge construction and Hoover Dam will be the place to see it from," Sealove said. "We think that will encourage some local visitors to come out."
When the bridge opens in 2007, it should reduce the traffic bottleneck that occasionally occurs between Arizona and Las Vegas. Slowdowns were more prevalent on Interstate 15 to Southern California when the weekend came to a close Monday, as Las Vegas capitalized on the three-day farewell to summer.
"Although we won't have any statistical information for a few days, anecdotally, I can tell you the town seemed full," said Rob Powers, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
"There was a lot of activity and the fact that the three-day weekend hit right after the MAGIC show (the Men's Apparel Guild in California convention), it kept our momentum going," Powers said. "Some people I have spoken to at some of the restaurants and showrooms said they were filled."
The LVCVA had forecast 275,000 visitors for the weekend -- 3.8 percent more than had come for Labor Day 2002 -- and Powers said all indications pointed to that level being met. Based on typical spending patterns, 275,000 tourists would produce a nongaming economic impact of $165.5 million on the city and an occupancy rate of 93.5 percent for Southern Nevada's motels and hotels, LVCVA officials said.
Visitation was high despite a recent spike in gasoline prices that saw prices at the pump jump to an average of $2.16 a gallon for regular unleaded fuel in California. The AAA reported gas was selling for $2.13 a gallon in the Los Angeles area. The price in Las Vegas last week and over the weekend averaged $1.95 a gallon.
Debbie Millett, a spokeswoman at McCarran International Airport, said an estimated 100,000 passengers a day -- some of them inbound, some of them outbound -- used the airport over the holiday weekend.
She said those figures were based on historic levels for three-day weekends and were not actual counts, which won't be available for several days.
"Labor Day is like most three-day weekends, as far as our numbers are concerned," Millett said. "It doesn't stand out like the Thanksgiving holiday period, but all of our three-day weekends normally are pretty busy."
She said airport lines ran smoothly and there were no long lines at security checkpoints, which Millett attributed to passengers understanding new procedures and planning ahead.
There were mixed results over the weekend for several resorts and attractions around Las Vegas, but most reported having a strong weekend.
The Rio and Harrah's properties in Las Vegas also were at capacity over the weekend. Rate information wasn't available at press time.
"This was probably one of our top five weekends of the year," Rio spokeswoman Madeleine Weekley said.
Casino volume was high as a lot of "good customers" came into town to partake in special events including a "Millionaire Maker" slot tournament at Harrah's, she said. The company also received incremental non-gaming revenue from the MAGIC convention, she said.
At Park Place Entertainment Corp. properties, occupancy rates were high and comparable to last year, while average daily rates were up on a comparable basis. Increasing consumer confidence as well as a companywide effort to increase rates through added guest attractions helped boost results, especially at the company's Caesars Palace and Paris resorts, company spokesman Michael Coldwell said.
Star Trek The Experience, a tourism attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton, reported a heavier weekend than normal for Labor Day.
Joe Reuter, vice president of the attraction operated by Paramount Parks, said the company does not make its visitation numbers public, but that more than 2 million people have seen it since it opened in January 1998.
"We were quite busy," Reuter said. "We normally get a lot more people here during the summer vacation time."
Alan Feldman, a spokesman for MGM MIRAGE, said the Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy, an attraction at the Mirage hotel-casino, had a strong Labor Day weekend.
"As a general rule, we don't give out numbers, but visitation is always up during three-day weekends and when the weather is good," Feldman said.
He said visitation was "roughly the same as last year."
But not everybody had glowing reports for Labor Day 2003.
Duane Krohn, chief financial officer of the Riviera hotel-casino, said the Labor Day weekend was "mediocre" for his and other Strip properties.
The Riviera was full to capacity but rates were down slightly from last year, he said.
"That's about what we expected. Everyone is still stuck with the economy, the war and the aftermath of the war," he said. "The stock market is up but people are still a bit skittish."
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