No matter your voter registration, there’s one thing Las Vegans can agree on: Politics is an extremely popular spectator sport in a presidential election year.
For cities prepared to play host to political conventions and big-ticket debates, the crush of partisans and the influx of media can raise revenues and profiles. This past week during the final debate at the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus, Las Vegas proved it is ready to become an election year destination.
For those of us who have experienced the relative comforts and considerations other cities offer the press and public during political conventions, Las Vegas’s emergence as a national convention venue can’t come soon enough. It’s not a stretch to think landing the third debate, neatly lassoed by UNLV and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, provided a preview of coming attractions.
Contrary to the cliché, Las Vegas doesn’t need a presidential debate or major-party convention to be put “on the map.” That’s silly. But grabbing such events, in addition to the financial and marketing benefits, is a sign of mainstream acceptance in a place once known for its notorious reputation.
And it’s overdue.
As I roamed UNLV’s quiet campus a day before the debate, I couldn’t help thinking how such acceptance would have been impossible to imagine just a few years ago. University President Len Jessup had to be bursting with pride not only with the result, but with the fact approximately 1,000 students turned out to volunteer for service with press from around the world converging on Las Vegas.
Reporters weren’t coming to cover a basketball game or boxing match at the Thomas & Mack, but for the world’s political championship. With MSNBC and CNN encamped, and reporters from all over the planet beginning to pour in, it was impossible not to be caught up in the importance of the moment.
Once again, Las Vegas was providing an irresistible backdrop for a world event. And given the stars on the marquee, it was bound to be, well, entertaining.
But with due respect to those who market Las Vegas to the square world, it’s not so much that we have become like the rest of America. On the contrary, the rest of America has become more like Las Vegas.
With gambling in the majority of states and the continued push to decriminalize marijuana use, it’s pretty obvious that the country is in the process of loosening its collar. Whether that’s a good thing or a sign of impending trouble is a debate for another day. The bottom line is, it’s clearly happening.
That makes Las Vegas less Strip and more Main Street. Given the advantages built through the long-term guidance of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the casino resort operators themselves, playing host to a presidential election in 2020 seems like an easy call.
Retiring U.S. Sen. Harry Reid certainly thinks so. In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Reid called it a “good idea” and added, “Our chances are certainly improving, with an NHL team coming. We’re going to have an NFL team. When you have a presidential debate and an NFL team, you can change a lot of minds.”
For his part, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter sure hopes so. A strong push from business and government leaders landed Las Vegas as a finalist for the 2016 Republican National Convention, and a successful debate night would send an undeniable message that the city is ready for the political prime time.
There are challenges, to be sure. Transportation is one, but anyone who has attended a convention, as I did in 2012 in Tampa and Charlotte, can tell you of the soul-crushing bus rides and long delays, and the hotels positioned a dozen miles from the event site.
Although the convention effort fell short this time, Ralenkotter says, “We did have the opportunity to bid on the presidential debate, which we felt was a great first step. The fact that we won the last debate, I tell people it’s like the seventh game of the World Series. It’s the last debate before we all vote, and this has been an interesting election cycle, to say the least.”
The smooth-running final debate of the presidential season was good news for Las Vegas, and landing a major-party convention is the logical next step in the city’s political evolution.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com, or on Twitter @jlnevadasmith.
