Mandalay building massive convention center at Strip resort

Thursday, April 26, 2001 | 3:21 a.m.

Mandalay Resort Group announced plans Thursday to build a 1.8 million-square-foot convention center at its flagship property on the Las Vegas Strip.

The cost of the convention center, to be built just south of Mandalay Bay on 16.5 acres of land, was not disclosed. Construction will begin in June, with the center's first shows coming next summer.

Mandalay Bay currently has 190,000 square feet of convention and meeting space.

The project would boost Mandalay Bay above the Venetian, in terms of total convention and meeting space. Once complete, Mandalay Bay will boast nearly 2 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space; the Venetian and Sands Expo Center have a combined 1.65 million square feet of space.

"We found we were so in demand (as a convention location) that we were turning business away, business that desperately wanted to be here," said Danielle Babilino, vice president of hotel sales for Mandalay Bay. "With two sister hotels (the Luxor and Excalibur), in conjunction with Four Seasons (at Mandalay Bay) we have over 12,000 guest rooms to offer at various price points ... under one contract."

The three-level convention center will give Mandalay 1 million square feet of exhibit space, allowing the property to attract huge trade shows that only the Las Vegas Convention Center and Sands Expo Center can now host. The facility will also include a 100,000-square-foot "MegaBallroom," which Mandalay is calling the largest hotel ballroom in the nation.

The decision to build the center will not affect Mandalay's long-discussed plans to build a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping mall between Mandalay Bay and Luxor, said John Marz, vice president of marketing for Mandalay. No timeframe for that project has been disclosed yet.