Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority
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The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is a
government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...
and the official destination marketing organization for Southern Nevada. It was founded by the
Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...
in 1955. The LVCVA owns and operates the
Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it h ...
(LVCC) and is responsible for the
advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
s for the
Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acros ...
area. The LVCVA also owns the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, the Las Vegas Monorail, and the Las Vegas News Bureau. The LVCVA previously operated the
Cashman Center The Cashman Center or the Cashman Field Center is a complex on a site in Las Vegas, Nevada. Operated by the City of Las Vegas, it includes Cashman Field and a permanently closed convention center. The center was mostly used for local events, ...
complex; however the City of Las Vegas took control at the end of 2017 and is evaluating possibilities for the facility's future. 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 Vegas Chamber. 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.


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 Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
. 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 What Happens Here, Stays Here (also referred to as What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas) is a slogan and advertising campaign for the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The original slogan was created in 2003 by the Las Vegas Convention and ...
" 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. The sale was later overturned by a federal judge who claimed that the sale was made without the knowledge of the board. 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. A recent study by Applied Analysis shows that the advertising efforts of the LVCVA return $26 for every $1 spent.


VegasMeansBusiness.com

In March 2009, the LVCVA launched VegasMeansBusiness.com, 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 of meeting space available and proximity to
McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...
. The LVCVA created VegasMeansBusiness.com to increase awareness of Las Vegas as the premier location to foster innovation, new ideas and creativity.


West Hall Expansion

The LVCVA submitted a master plan to the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee in 2015 that laid the groundwork for the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. A special session of the Nevada Legislature was called in October 2016 where an increase in the lodging tax was approved to secure $1.4 billion for the expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center and $750 million for a future NFL stadium. Those plans resulted in the announcement for a planned acquisition of the
Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two area ...
in February 2015 for $182.5 million. The Riviera was imploded in 2016 with construction work on the expansion officially beginning in September 2018. Substantial construction of the new West Hall was completed in December 2020 at a final cost of $1 billion. The expansion added 1.4 million square feet of space to the LVCC campus and includes a 600,000-square-foot exhibit hall. World of Concrete was the first show to make use of the West Hall in June 2021.


Activities

The authority works to bring events to the Las Vegas area, sometimes by providing funds to subsidize events. These events include: * 2022 NFL Pro Bowl *
2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and ...
*
2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game The 2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the 11th edition of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, and determined the champion of the P ...
*
2021 Concacaf Gold Cup The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was originally scheduled t ...
*2021 UFC International Fight Week * 2021 Leagues Cup Final * 2021 WWE SummerSlam *
Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival is an annual music, culinary, art, and learning festival held in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It debuted in 2013 as a three-day event. In 2019, it was one of the world's highest grossing festi ...
*
National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...
* Professional Bull Riders World Finals *
USA Sevens The USA Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually during March in the United States. The USA Sevens is the largest annual rugby competition in North America, drawing over 60,000 fans, and is broadcast live in the United States by ESPN. ...
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 The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
and have the naming rights to
Las Vegas Ballpark Las Vegas Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Summerlin South, Nevada, Summerlin South, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley. It is the home field for the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League. The stadium is owned by the Howard Hughes Corporati ...
in a 20-year, $80 million naming rights agreement.


Research

The LVCVA has an in-house research team that conducts research projects and initiates programs that help track the tourism industry in Southern Nevada, the United States, and across the globe. Key pieces of ongoing research include:
Visitation Reports

Visitor Profile Studies

Top Air Feeder Markets to Las Vegas

Economic Impact of the Tourism Industry on Southern Nevada


Board of directors

The authority is governed by a 14-member board. The members are chosen according to a specific formula set out in the
Nevada Revised Statutes The Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) are all the current codified laws of the State of Nevada. Nevada law consists of the Constitution of Nevada (the state constitution) and Nevada Revised Statutes. The Nevada Supreme Court interprets the law and cons ...
: Eight must be elected officials: * two from the
Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. The comm ...
* two from the City of Las Vegas (including councilors and the mayor) * one each from the cities of
Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of on ...
,
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...
,
Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...
, and
North Las Vegas North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 216,961, with an estimated population of 251,974 in 2019. The city was incorporated on May 1, 19 ...
The above eight members then select six more from business: * three persons nominated by the Vegas Chamber, 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 Terms on the board are the same as an elected official's, or two years for business members. As of June 2021, the board is composed of:


Awards

In 2020, the Las Vegas Convention Center was awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR facility accreditation to control the risks associated with infectious agents, including the virus responsible for COVID-19. In 2020, Las Vegas was named the country’s No. 1 trade show destination for the 26th consecutive year according to Trade Show News Network. In 2017, Las Vegas was named the World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination for the fifth consecutive year according to the World Travel Awards. 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). 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). In 2007, the LVCVA won the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award sponsored by the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
.


Controversy

The
Nevada Policy Research Institute Nevada Policy Research Institute is a private non-profit, free-market and limited-government policy research organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada Policy seeks to promote private, rather than government solutions to issues facing Nevada ...
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In 2018, an audit committee report disclosed, among other irregularities, board members had been using gift cards, which
Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...
had been providing since 2012, for personal travel. Misuse of the cards had been known since February, 2017. In March 2020, Ed Finger, the
chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
for LVCVA, and Luke Puschnig, the agency's former
legal counsel A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...
, were among a half-dozen witnesses
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed to testify at a hearing in front of Las Vegas
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, Harmony Letizia.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority 1955 establishments in Nevada Clark County, Nevada Government agencies established in 1955 Government of Clark County, Nevada Tourism agencies