Editorial: City needs backup plan for centennial

Thursday, July 8, 2004 | 8:44 a.m.

After the Las Vegas City Council in October chose national media giant Clear Channel to manage the city's 2005 centennial celebration, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman was ebullient. "This is a very momentous occasion for the City Council," he said. "(Clear Channel) has all the contacts we need with the major companies we need. This is going to galvanize the Las Vegas we know today."

Today, however, with the centennial just six months away, the tone around City Hall is much different. One of Clear Channel's major contractual responsibilities was to find corporate sponsors for the celebration. Without sponsors, the celebration will fizzle, not sizzle. The contract was clear -- by June 30, Clear Channel was to have signed at least two primary and two secondary sponsors. "They were supposed to have two 'number ones' and two "number twos,' " groused Councilman Gary Reese, a member of the city's centennial committee. More than a week has passed since the deadline, and there's been no word from Clear Channel about any sponsors.

The centennial committee is scheduled to meet Friday and a representative from Clear Channel is expected to attend. In our view, if Clear Channel does not have a good answer for missing the deadline, and cannot produce any sponsors, the city should find a local firm to manage our celebration. As the "Entertainment Capital of the World," Las Vegas is very capable of managing its own world-class event.