LVCVA OKs massive Convention Center expansion

By Thomas Moore

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 | 12:44 p.m.

The financing — $900 million worth of bonds — and a plan to spend almost $1.5 billion to expand and renovate the Las Vegas Convention Center were approved Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The plan is part of a decadeslong effort that culminated in a 2016 special session of the Nevada Legislature which approved supplemental funding for the Convention Center’s improvements.

The legislation authorized a $750 million public contribution toward building an NFL stadium in Las Vegas and another $420 million for an expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Both of the projects will be made possible through increases in the Clark County hotel room tax rate, 0.88 and 0.5 percent increases, respectively.

In addition to approving funding for the expansion, the legislation also created an Oversight Panel for Convention Facilities to create a plan that would detail the funding mechanisms and create an overall plan to guide the design and construction of the massive project.

It was that plan that the LVCVA board approved Tuesday.

The first phase of the expansion, the purchase and demolition of the Riviera and construction of a parking lot with exhibition facilities, has already been completed.

The second phase is the construction of a 1.4-million-square-foot expansion that will cost $860 million. Construction of that phase should begin in January after the design team, the design and the construction manager have been chosen.

The third phase, the $540 million renovation of the existing convention space, will begin in 2020, which is also the midway point for construction of the second phase.

According to the plan, the entire project is expected to be completed by 2023.