Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Industry	tourism conventions
Founded	1955; 66 years ago (1955)
Founder	Nevada Legislature
Headquarters	Winchester, Nevada, U.S.
Area served	Southern Nevada
Total assets	Las Vegas Convention Center
Website	lvcva.com

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is a government agency and the official destination marketing organization for Southern Nevada.^[1] It was founded by the Nevada Legislature in 1955. The LVCVA owns and operates the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and is responsible for the advertising campaigns for the Clark County, Nevada area. The LVCVA previously operated the Cashman Center complex; however the City of Las Vegas took control of Cashman Center at the end of 2017 and is evaluating possibilities for the facility's future.^[2]

The fourteen-member board of directors of LVCVA is made up of eight elected officials appointed from each local municipality and six private-industry members appointed equally by the Nevada Resort Association and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce. Funding is provided by a room tax on all hotels in the county and through building revenue from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and through issuing bonds.^[3][4]

Branding[]

One of the primary tasks for the LVCVA is the promotion and branding of Las Vegas. Since 2007, the Las Vegas brand is the second-most recognized brand in the U.S. following Google.^[5]

The authority is also responsible for the advertising campaigns for Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. Working with the advertising company R&R Partners since 1982, they have developed advertising campaigns including:

• Only in Vegas
• What happens here, stays here

"What happens here, stays here"[]

After the $1 sale of the "What happens here, stays here" trademark to R&R Partners on November 9, 2004, the LVCVA paid $321,000 in attorney's fees because of an investigation into the legality of the controversial sale.^[6] The sale was later overturned by a federal judge who claimed that the sale was made without the knowledge of the board.^[7]

According to internal LVCVA documents, the advertising campaign "What happens here, stays here" has had little impact as most people, about 70%, stated to R&R (the advertising firm who created the ad and conducted the market research) that the slogan had no impact on their decision to visit Las Vegas.^[8] A recent^[when?] study by Applied Analysis shows that the advertising efforts of the LVCVA return $26 for every $1 spent.^{[citation needed]}

VegasMeansBusiness.com[]

In March 2009, the LVCVA launched VegasMeansBusiness.com,^[9] a resource for the business community to keep up-to-date on the latest news and events in Las Vegas and the meetings and conventions industry. The website also promotes Las Vegas' attributes as a leading destination for meetings and conventions, including the approximately 150,000 rooms and more than 11,500,000 square feet (1,070,000 m²) of meeting space available and proximity to McCarran International Airport.^[10] The LVCVA created VegasMeansBusiness.com to increase awareness of Las Vegas as the premier location to foster innovation, new ideas and creativity.

Las Vegas Convention Center District[]

The authority has announced plans to expand the direction of the LVCC by creating a Las Vegas Convention Center District.^[11] Those plans resulted in the announcement for a planned acquisition of the Riviera in February 2015 for $182.5 million.^[12]

Plans are being made to expand the Las Vegas Convention Center, adding 1.4 million square feet to the facility, with an expected completion date of 2021.^[13]

Activities[]

The authority works to bring events to the Las Vegas area, sometimes by providing funds to subsidize events.^{[citation needed]} These events include:

• National Finals Rodeo
• Professional Bull Riders World Finals
• USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament
• 2009 NASCAR Champions Week
• 2009 NHL Awards Ceremony
• 2007 NBA All-Star Game
• 2006 Tennis Channel Open Tennis Tournament

The authority is also a sponsor of the National Hockey League and have the naming rights to Las Vegas Ballpark in a 20-year, $80 million naming rights agreement.

Visitor profile study[]

Since the mid-1970s, the LVCVA has published a Visitor Profile Study, based on thousands of personal interviews with visitors. The latest study (covering the year to December 31, 2016) showed that:

• The overall average age of a Las Vegas visitor is 44 years old.
• First-time visitors represented approximately 27% of visitors.
• International travelers represent approximately 19% of visitors.
• 54% of visitors arrived by ground transportation, 46% by air.
• The average trip expenditures on food and drink was $318; shopping was $157; shows was $68.
• The average gambling budget per trip, per person, was $619.^[14]

The LVCVA posts research publications about Las Vegas visitors at LVCVA.com.^[15]

Board of directors[]

The authority is governed by a 14-member board.^[16] The members are chosen according to a specific formula set out in the Nevada Revised Statutes:^[17]

Eight must be elected officials:

• two from the Clark County Commission
• two from the City of Las Vegas (including councilors and the mayor)
• one each from the cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Mesquite, and North Las Vegas

The above eight members then select six more from business:

• three persons nominated by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, of which two must represent tourism, with the remaining one representing tourism-related commerce
• three persons nominated by "the association of gaming establishments whose membership in the county collectively paid the most gross revenue fees to the State": i.e., the Nevada Resort Association^[18]

Terms on the board are the same as an elected official's, or two years for business members.^[17]

As of June 2021, the board is composed of:^[19]

Role on LVCVA board	Name	Organization(s) represented	Role at organization(s)	Term start	Term end
Chair	John Marz	City of Henderson	Councilman	August 2017	December 2022
Vice Chair	Marilyn Spiegel	Wynn and Encore	President	July 2019	June 2021
Secretary	James B. Gibson	Clark County	Commissioner	January 2021	December 2022
Treasurer	Anton Nikodemus	CityCenter Aria Resort & Casino / Vdara Hotel & Spa	President and COO	July 2019	June 2021
Member	Scott DeAngelo	Allegiant Travel Company	Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer	July 2020	June 2022
Member	Michele Fiore	City of Las Vegas	Councilwoman	March 2018	November 2022
Member	Carolyn Goodman	City of Las Vegas	Mayor	July 2019	November 2024
Member	Pamela Goynes-Brown	City of North Las Vegas	Councilwoman and Mayor pro tem	August 2018	November 2024
Member	Jan Jones Blackhurst	Caesars Entertainment; International Gaming Institute at UNLV	Board member; Chief Executive in Residence	September 2020	June 2021
Member	Kiernan McManus	City of Boulder City	Mayor	August 2019	November 2022
Member	Michael Naft	Clark County	Commissioner	January 2021	December 2022
Member	Mary Beth Sewald	Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce	President and CEO	July 2019	June 2021
Member	Steve Thompson	Boyd Gaming Corporation	Executive Vice President, Operations	July 2019	June 2022
Member	Brian Wursten	City of Mesquite	Councilman	February 2021	June 2021

Awards[]

In 2018, Las Vegas was named the country’s No. 1 trade show destination for the 24th consecutive year according to Trade Show News Network.^[20]

In 2017, Las Vegas was named the World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination for the fifth consecutive year according to the World Travel Awards.^[21]

In 2017 the LVCVA was awarded Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the 33rd consecutive year by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).^[22]

In 2017, the LVCVA was recognized with the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Financial Reporting for the fiscal year 2016 Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the 10th consecutive year by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).^[22]

In 2007, the LVCVA won the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award sponsored by the American Psychological Association.^[23]

Controversy[]

The Nevada Policy Research Institute uncovered fiscal mismanagement with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a public agency in Las Vegas which is funded by visitor-paid room tax dollars.^[24] According to NPRI's investigation the LVCVA entered into a ten-year no-bid contract with R&R, a marketing firm, where R&R overcharged the LVCVA and despite the LVCVA uncovering the over-billing management refused to seek repayment. The LVCVA also allowed R&R to approve its own expenses, and failed to question or oversee most of the expenses being billed to them. The contract with R&R is worth $87 million, including a $40 million advertising contract, which includes a commission for R&R, where the LVCVA cannot identify R&R's expenses.^[25] Public records show that Rossi Ralenkotter approved approximately $30,000 in spending that included multiple dinners with bottles of wine, veal, fillets, chocolate mousse dessert and a $25,000 donation to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, a Denver-based hospital which was giving Ralenkotter an award that year. The documents also show that Ralenkotter used tax dollars to pay for limousine services and a tuxedo.^[26][27]

According to NPRI, the LVCVA is funded by the room tax ($220 million in revenue), taking in more money than the Clark County School District, and is also a state agency subject to state laws regarding employees, benefits, and travel expenses.^[28] According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the problems uncovered by NPRI's reports were already documented by an internal auditor and the problems have been addressed by management.^[29]

In 2018, an audit committee report disclosed, among other irregularities, board members had been using gift cards, which Southwest Airlines had been providing since 2012, for personal travel. Misuse of the cards had been known since February, 2017.^[30]

In March 2020, Ed Finger, the chief financial officer for LVCVA, and Luke Puschnig, the agency's former legal counsel, were among a half-dozen witnesses subpoenaed to testify at a hearing in front of Las Vegas Justice of the Peace, Harmony Letizia.^[31]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website