Strip fireworks may return for New Year’s

Monday, May 22, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is planning for a New Year's celebration that may include pyrotechnics with the unanimous approval of its $153 million spending plan for 2001.

Included in the financial blueprint is a $500,000 allocation for a New Year's Eve community celebration. LVCVA President Manny Cortez told members of the agency's board of directors last week that his office has been contacted by several fireworks exhibitors hoping to land a deal to light up the sky when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a member of the LVCVA board, said his office has been inundated with criticism worldwide after Las Vegas' 2000 celebration fizzled.

Several critics said Las Vegas' failure to offer a Millennium community celebration like those put on by Paris, London and New York reflected badly on the city's claim to be the "Entertainment Capital of the World."

By approving the budget, the LVCVA assured that funds would be available for a fireworks display. Cortez cautioned that plans haven't been finalized on what the New Year's Eve community celebration would include.

Most items approved in the budget return for formal approval by the board when the agency is about to make the expenditure.

The LVCVA's budget approval vote was free of controversy and was completed in less than an hour, with the few mentions of the fireworks garnering the most attention.

The spending plan for the 2001 fiscal year, which begins July 1, is 7 percent higher than last year's $142.5 million budget. The agency anticipates receiving $121.6 million in room tax revenues, 5 percent more than the previous year, and $1.92 million in gaming taxes, about 1 percent above last year's total. The LVCVA also expects $20.7 million for facilities usage, 7 percent higher than in 2000.

Other budget highlights:

Richard N. Velotta is a business writer for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4061 or by e-mail at velotta@lasvegassun.com.