Builders, lawyers to get more work from LVCVA

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 11:04 a.m.

Many subcontractors looking for work when the Aladdin hotel-casino project winds down are now looking into doing work on the Las Vegas Convention Center's expansion project.

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority officials hope the high interest shown in the project means they'll get a good price when bids are opened Feb. 24.

The two-story, 1.3 million-square-foot addition would be built in an area presently occupied by a parking lot just south of the existing convention center. Part of the building would span Desert Inn Road between Paradise Road and Swenson Street.

The LVCVA is paying for the facility with $150 million in revenue bonds that have been the subject of recent lawsuits. Officials had hoped to start construction of the addition about six months ago and now plan to complete it by fall 2001.

Tom Smith, vice president of facilities for the LVCVA, said 218 sets of plans have been taken out by contractors and subcontractors interested in the project.

Smith said most of the major players in the construction industry have gotten plans, but there's no indication how many of them will submit bids.

"A lot of them will put together proposals and then wait until the last 10 minutes before the deadline to file them," Smith said. "These guys are competitive and they don't want to show too much interest."

A spokesman for the Perini Corp., a contracting giant that has worked on several Las Vegas resort projects, said it isn't unusual for that many plans to be distributed.

Tony Cosentino, who works in Perini's regional office in Phoenix, said subcontractors are getting a jump on the project so they can have work when the Aladdin project is completed later this summer.

"Once the Aladdin is done, there isn't another megafacility under construction or scheduled to start in the next four to eight months," Cosentino said. "So, you'll find a lot of subs (subcontractors) that want to keep their crews at work."

Although Smith said contractors like to have the experience of a major project like a convention center on their resumes, Cosentino said the large contractors just want to keep busy.

"I kind of hate to say this, but to us, the convention center expansion is just another job," Cosentino said.

Meanwhile, another industry -- the legal profession -- is expected to get more work, courtesy of the expansion project.

The LVCVA board of directors approved the hiring of a Washington, D.C., law firm to fight a lawsuit expected to be filed on behalf of the Nevada Environmental Coalition.

The organization gave notice in November to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state, Clark County, the LVCVA and other agencies that it plans to file suit for violations of the Clean Air Act. The law stipulates that a 60-day notification must be made prior to any legal filing.

The LVCVA retained the firm of Latham & Watkins. One of the firm's attorneys, Robert Sussman, is a former deputy administrator of the EPA.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, an LVCVA board member and formerly a practicing attorney, said the firm's price tag is high -- Sussman's fee is $420 an hour. Under terms of the representation agreement, the firm and the LVCVA would consult if fees exceed $25,000 a month.

LVCVA legal counsel Luke Puschnig touted the credentials of Sussman and said his expertise would be critical in fighting a suit and, ultimately, keeping the project from being delayed.

Board members also questioned why the LVCVA couldn't combine efforts with the county and other entities with similar interests and fight suits with one firm. The county and the developers of a private monorail have hired other firms to represent their interests if they are hit with Clean Air Act suits.

LVCVA President Manny Cortez said depending on the content of the suits, the LVCVA could be at odds with the other parties and it was decided it would be best to hire different firms.