McCarran plans USO facility

J. Craig Anderson

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006 | 8:27 a.m.

Upscale passengers flying US Airways will have Clark County taxpayers and men and women in uniform to thank for a new VIP lounge at McCarran International Airport if the County Commission approves a proposed measure today.

County officials insist the real benefit of spending $750,000 to move the lounge is that it would make room for a United Service Organizations facility where traveling soldiers and their families could rest.

To establish the USO area, the county's Aviation Department has proposed paying half the estimated $1.5 million cost to move the US Airways Club - available only to fee-paying passengers - to an area beyond the airport security checkpoint.

The remaining cost would be covered by private donations collected by the USO, county Director of Aviation Randall Walker said.

The airline's existing VIP lounge, in a nonsecure area of Terminal 1, would be converted to a USO facility where troops on active duty and their families could relax, receive travel assistance and enjoy entertainment and refreshments.

"The reason we're doing this is obvious," said County Commission Chairman Rory Reid. "We have servicemen and women coming through the airport, and they don't have any place to rest."

The plan also would benefit US Airways passengers, who pay an annual fee of $260 to $435 for access to the VIP lounge, because they would not have to pass through security after spending time there prior to flights.

The airline, which merged recently with America West Airlines, has three similar lounges at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, all of which are located in the secured gate areas.

US Airways spokeswoman Zoe Guynn stressed that McCarran officials proposed moving the VIP lounge, the only one of its kind at the airport.

"If they're asking us to do it, it makes sense that they would help pay for it," she said.

Walker said airport officials suggested the relocation to America West a few years ago and offered to split the cost, but the airline did not want to pay half of the expense.

Currently, VIP lounge patrons who visit the facility must leave and re-enter the secured gate areas, creating extra foot traffic at the checkpoint during busy times, Walker said.

The USO recently approached airport officials and offered to pay the airline's costs in exchange for keeping all of the furniture and equipment located in the existing US Airways Club.

"They don't really see any expense at all" to convert the facility, Walker said.

USO Inc., a nonprofit group that operates 124 military lounges worldwide, was created before World War II to provide comfort and entertainment to soldiers.

Donna St. John, the USO's vice president of communications, said the group has long discussed the possibility of opening a lounge in Las Vegas. She estimated that the lounge could open in 14 to 18 months.

In many cities, the host airport pays for the facility and the USO covers operational costs and staffing, St. John said.

American troops and their family members made more than 5 million visits to USO facilities in 2005, she said.

Reid said the cost to move the VIP lounge is miniscule compared with the more than $2 billion being spent on other expansion projects at McCarran. He said building a more convenient US Airways Club also would be good for tourism.

"It also has the added benefit of serving the men and women in uniform," he said.

J. Craig Anderson can be reached at 259-2320 or at craig@lasvegassun.com.