The historic Las Vegas Convention Center projects a post-pandemic record when it hosts 48 conventions with 1.23 million attendees in 2026.
The massive CES tradeshow starts Tuesday, but several new shows debut this year, including the Sweets and Snacks Expo with 16,000 people and McDonald’s Worldwide with 15,000. Among returning shows is the International Air Conditioning and Heating Expo with 50,000 attendees, INFOCOMM with 30,000 attendees, National Association of Convenience Stores with 26,000 people, and FABTECH with 30,000 attendees.
Those don’t include conventions held at hotel convention centers, such as the Global Gaming Expo at the Venetian Expo. Southern Nevada features nearly 15 million square feet of meeting and convention space, more than any other U.S. destination.
Renovations on the 4.6-million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center campus are essentially completed, with the opening of the Central Hall on Monday. The renovation of the Central Hall at a cost of $600 million was part of the transformation of the legacy campus that began in 2023. The Convention Center opened in 1959 and hosted numerous luminaries and sporting events, was in need of renovation. In 2021, the center opened the $1 billion West Hall that puts it adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip.
Nevada lawmakers approved a specific 0.5% room tax increase for the major Convention Center expansion.
“This milestone signals the next leap for trade shows in Las Vegas, delivering a world-class Convention Center experience that reflects the scale and ambition of our city,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the LVCVA. “It’s fitting to share this moment with CES, the world’s most influential technology show and our long-standing partner. Their continued commitment underscores the future of global events in Las Vegas.”
Meetings and conventions are essential to Las Vegas’s tourism infrastructure, helping fill the destination’s 150,000 hotel rooms Sunday through Thursday, Hill said. The projected 1.23 million tradeshow attendees in 2026 are an increase from approximately 1.06 million in 2025. “With a full calendar of large tradeshows throughout the destination in 2026, Las Vegas could reach a record level of post-pandemic convention attendance,” Hill said.
The modernized Central Hall Grand Lobby features a glass curtain wall and an abundance of natural light. A 75-foot-by-42-foot digital screen and two complementary screens anchor the space and provide branding opportunities for organizers and exhibitors. A climate-controlled interior concourse located between the North and South halls allows attendees to move throughout the entire facility without exiting the building.
A redesigned South Hall features a new entrance on the east side of the building, a state-of-the-art boardroom, and a new administrative office complex. The extension of the West Hall’s signature exterior ribbon roof creates architectural cohesion across the campus.
Las Vegas has hosted CES since 1978, drawing attendees from more than 150 countries. CES 2026 will span more than 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space across 13 official venues and airlines have added more than 360 flights, including from nine different countries, to Harry Reid International Airport to accommodate delegates traveling to Las Vegas. The show will cover the entire city, as attendees enjoy entertainment offerings, world-class dining, and Vegas experiences.
“CES demands the best in hospitality and logistical precision and Las Vegas delivers that better than any other location,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association that puts on the show. “No other place in the world can support a show of this complexity and magnitude and no other city continues to invest so ambitiously in a better attendee experience, including this remarkable renovation of the LVCC.”
When it opened in April 1959, the Las Vegas Convention Center featured a 90,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a 6,300-seat arena. The inaugural show was the World Congress of Flight, the first air show held in the U.S.
The Convention Center has more than 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space, nearly 400,000 square feet of meeting space, 225 meeting rooms, and parking for more than 5,000 vehicles.
In May 1967, the Convention Center broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot expansion, the first of several expansions between 1967 and1982, which added nearly 700,000 square feet to the facility.
In November 1998, the 325,000-square-foot expansion of the North Hall was completed. In January 2002, the South Hall opened, more than doubling the size of the Convention Center to 3.2 million square feet. Another 1.4 million square foot was added in June 2021 when the West Hall debuted.
Among the convention center’s highlights President John F. Kennedy became the first U.S. president to speak inside the LVCC in September 1963. In April 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed the NAACP’s freedom banquet at the LVCC. In August 1964, the Beatles played two sold-out shows at the LVCC, the only time they performed in Las Vegas. In November 1965, the Muhammad Ali versus Floyd Patterson heavyweight title fight was hosted at the LVCC. In December 1993, the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup was held at the LVCC, placing an international
spotlight on Las Vegas.
