Convention Center expansion could be put on hold

By Sun Staff (contact)

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 9:17 a.m.

Faced with a dramatic decline in visitation and convention attendance, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority staff said today it is recommending suspension of the $890 million expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The recommendation is expected to be approved by the LVCVA board of directors next week.

"Given the current state of the economy, it is in the best interest of the LVCVA to suspend activity on the Enhancement Program," Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the LVCVA, said in a statement today. "We committed from the beginning to be fiscally responsible with this project, and we do not feel it would be prudent to move forward with the program given the general economic conditions and uncertainty in the capital markets."

Projects already under construction will be completed. The LVCVA will re-evaluate the program in the second quarter of 2010 to determine a possible new timeline.

The LVCVA said the $890 million enhancement program is a comprehensive plan to renovate and integrate the entire 3.2 million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center into a seamless and cohesive facility. The master plan proposes to renovate the entire existing building to update key infrastructure, utilities and aesthetics; add a meeting room concourse to the South Halls; construct a new lobby and concourse with a distinct design; and add a new transportation center in front of the building.

The number of visitors to Las Vegas in December 2008 dropped nearly 11 percent compared to the same time the previous year, the LVCVA reported last month.

The agency said 2,739,699 people visited the city, compared to 3,075,831 visitors in December 2007, for a drop of 10.9 percent.

During that time period, hotel occupancy dropped from 83.2 percent to 73.3 percent. Average daily room rates fell more than 14 percent, from $112.36 in December 2007 to $96.39 in December 2008, the LVCVA reported.

The number of conventions in Las Vegas dropped almost 17 percent, from 1,285 to 1,071, while the number of people attending those conventions fell 4.7 percent, to 123,588 people in December 2008.