Las Vegas Sands may build Detroit convention center

Sarah Karush

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.

DETROIT -- Regional officials are in discussions with a Las Vegas casino operator about building a new convention center, complete with a hotel and a casino, Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams said Wednesday.

Officials from the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which runs the Venetian Resort and Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, visited Detroit on Monday to discuss a facility that would replace the aging Cobo Center, Adams said.

Adams said that he and officials from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties met with William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands. Weidner also toured the North American International Auto Show, the annual event that has provided the main impetus for expanding or replacing Cobo.

Adams said Weidner first met with Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to discuss the project about three or four months ago. Following Monday's meeting, he again met with Kilpatrick, who was in Washington attending a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese declined to comment.

Adams said Las Vegas Sands is not the only potential investor in a new convention center.

"This group has made tremendous inroads in advancing their proposal publicly," he said. "There is at least one other proposal that from a land-acquisition standpoint is a lot more advanced. ... They've gone out and done due diligence, identified properties they would have to acquire."

Adams said several locations for a new convention center are under consideration but declined to give specifics.

With 700,000 square feet of exhibition space, Cobo is considered cramped for the auto show, which is southeastern Michigan's biggest annual event. State politicians fear the show could abandon the city.

Suburban officials, who are wary of expanding the center at the taxpayers' expense, were cheered by Monday's meetings.

"Brooks is encouraged by the unanimous support," said Bob Dustman, a spokesman for Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "But his position is that the ball is really in the court of the Las Vegas investor."

One hurdle for any investor would be obtaining a Detroit casino license. That could be solved by purchasing MGM Grand Detroit or the MotorCity Casino.

One of the two casinos is expected to be up for sale soon because of a pending merger between MGM Mirage Inc., which owns MGM Grand Detroit Casino, and Mandalay Resort Group, which owns a majority stake in the MotorCity Casino. State law forbids any company or person from owning more than one Detroit casino.

Dan Gustafson, executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board, said that the companies were focusing on selling MGM Grand, rather than MotorCity.

Gustafson said he is aware of a few bidders for MGM Grand. He said that they include "major players in Las Vegas" but that he did not know whether Las Vegas Sands was one of them.

One concern about building a bigger convention center is that it might be difficult to fill the space most of the year. But Adams expressed confidence that the problem would resolve itself.

"Once you have an expanded facility with hotel rooms you have a lot more to market," he said.