Las Vegas Convention Center

History

In the 1950s, the Las Vegas city and county leaders recognized the need for a convention facility. The initial goal was to increase the occupancy rates of hotels during low tourist months. Leaders chose a site one block east of the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the Las Vegas Park Speedway, a failed horse and automobile racing facility from the early 1950s. A 6,300 capacity, silver-domed rotunda with an adjoining 90000 sqft exhibition hall opened in April 1959. The architect of the original structure was Adrian Jennings Wilson (1898–1988) of Los Angeles. It hosted The Beatles on August 20, 1964.

The Convention Center was also the site of several major professional boxing fights in the 1960s: Gene Fullmer versus Sugar Ray Robinson on March 4, 1961; Fullmer versus Benny Paret on December 9, 1961; Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson II on July 22, 1963; and Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965.

Led Zeppelin was supposed to perform at the convention center on April 19, 1970, as the final show of their Spring 1970 North American Tour, but the concert was canceled because lead singer Robert Plant fell ill the previous night.

The venue was home to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team from 1966 to 1982. The original silver dome was demolished in 1991, creating space for expansion. Upon completion, there was vastly more space: 1.6 e6sqft, including 1.3 e6sqft for exhibitors, making it one of the largest single-level facilities in the world.

The Las Vegas Convention Center Act of 1971 authorized the use of $7 million to rebuild, remodel or expand the center. By 1985, the center had held 7,000 conventions since its opening.

The Convention Center dome hosted two Billy Graham Crusades between 1978 and 1980.

On December 19, 1993, the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup was held at the building.

In 1993, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) purchased the defunct Landmark hotel-casino, which was across from the convention center. LVCVA demolished the resort in 1995 to develop additional parking on the site for convention guests. An expansion in 1998 increased the center to 1.9 e6sqft.

While it functioned, COMDEX was the most attended trade show in the United States, with over 200,000 attendees on several occasions.

In 2000, early planning began for another expansion of the center. The new $150 million South Hall was topped out on February 20, 2001. It would consist of 1.3 e6sqft. Upon completion in 2004, it crossed a major roadway (Desert Inn Road), with four bridges connecting the facilities.

As of 2009, the Consumer Electronics Show is the most attended annual trade show at this location, with more than 140,000 attendees.

Expansion

In 2018, the Las Vegas Convention Center released plans to undergo yet another $890 million expansion, the 14th in its history. The expansion intended to increase the center's meeting space and improve the building's overall design. Updates would feature the latest in technology, as well as to connect the Convention Center to the Las Vegas Strip. The authority has announced plans to expand the direction of the LVCC by creating a Las Vegas Global Business District. Those plans resulted in the announcement for the acquisition of the Riviera in February 2015 for $182.5 million.

Work was underway on the expansion in 2019 on land previously occupied by the Landmark and Riviera resorts. The 1.4 e6sqft expansion includes 150000 sqft of dedicated meeting space and 600000 sqft of exhibit space. The expansion was complete as of 2021.

Construction of an underground Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, people mover by The Boring Company began in late 2019 to reduce walking times within the center. Twin tunnels opened in June 2021 at a cost of $53 million with three stations 40 feet below the surface, shuttling passengers in conventional, human-driven Tesla vehicles. While the long-term goal of the system is to have autonomous vehicles operating at higher speeds, as of May 2021 no date has been set for this.

In popular culture

A variety of shows have been taped in the convention center including Food Network specials and the 2009 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. Numerous conventions produce live shows in the facility.

In The Boss Baby, the Forever puppies got launched here via Puppyco's in-house built rocket but failed to deliver.

From April 17-21, 2025, the convention center hosted WWE's WWE World at WrestleMania convention which featured live pro wrestling matches, autograph signings from various WWE talent, meet-and-greets, memorabilia displays, and fan activities. The Pat McAfee Show also aired special episodes from the convention on ESPN, ESPN+, and YouTube.

References

References

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6. (January 6, 1985). "'Winning streak': 1984 was another 'very good' year for Las Vegas". Los Angeles Times.
7. (July 3, 1993). "Las Vegas Convention Authority wants to buy closed Landmark". Reno Gazette-Journal.
8. "Landmark property ownership". Clark County Assessor's Office.
9. Buntain, Rex. (November 7, 1995). "Landmark Falls". Las Vegas Sun.
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13. (February 17, 2015). "Tourism authority plans to buy, tear down the historic Riviera". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
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16. Velotta, Richard N.. (April 8, 2021). "New Convention Center hall makes debut. Take a look inside". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
17. Romero, Dennis. (November 16, 2019). "In Las Vegas, Elon Musk's tunneling company digs in". NBC News.
18. Velotta, Richard N.. (2021-06-08). "Boring Co.'s underground loop begins moving customers in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
19. O'Kane, Sean. (2021-05-26). "The Boring Company tests its 'Teslas in Tunnels' system in Las Vegas".
20. (2017-03-30). "'The Boss Baby:' A Meme Pretending to Be a Movie".
21. (April 18, 2025). "WrestleMania fans hit jackpot in Vegas with WWE World experience". KSNV.