As Oakland A’s executives plan to visit Las Vegas next week to eye relocation opportunities, the CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority touted the potential for adding more sports franchises that will make Southern Nevada an even greater tourist destination.
LVCVA head Steve Hill also told business leaders Thursday that he’s excited about the development opportunities on the north end of the Strip at the former Riviera site the LVCVA is selling and the long-mothballed Fontainebleau project .
Hill said Las Vegas is fortunate that the Las Vegas Raiders and Vegas Golden Knights have had success and that their owners have done “a fabulous job” in integrating into the community. Las Vegas is also the headquarters of the UFC and will return as the host of the NBA Summer League this year.
“It has drawn the recognition of other professional sports leagues out there,” said Hill who spoke to the Southern Nevada chapter of NAIOP. “I think Major League Soccer will be here at some point. I’m sure the NBA will be here at some point. Baseball is interested as well. They see the success of the right ownership of those franchises and the national attention and sponsorships that Las Vegas brings. That’s going to allow Vegas to grow in the professional sports business going forward.”
Raiders President Marc Badain said the success of the Knights brought “the microscope of the sports world into Las Vegas” and that his organization got caught up in that as well.
Badain said executives from an NFL franchise were in town looking at Allegiant Stadium. One of the executives told him that he’s never seen a city support its teams like Las Vegas does.
“He comes from a team that has been around for 100 years and is successful in the league, so that’s a nice compliment,” Badain said. “We know the NBA is looking here, and that has a lot of potential. I don’t want to comment on the A’s. I don’t think it would be appropriate for me, because we’ve had a challenging relationship as co-tenants. This market is a gem.”
In talking about the north end of the Strip out to where the Convention Center has expanded, Hill said he’s excited about the corridor with the opening of Resorts World on June 2 and the future development of the Fontainebleau site.
Earlier this year, developer Jeffrey Soffer and the real estate division of Koch Industries acquired the property.
“I think the Fontainebleau gets finished and up and running, and that will make a huge difference in the neighborhood,” Hill said. “There’s been speculation on whether it makes sense. It seems to me it should pencil. I think the owners are committed to making that happen and hope to see it moving forward by the end of this year.”
Hill said he’s excited about the rest of the north Strip getting developed and creating an entertainment district, which would be advantageous for the Convention Center and other properties in the area.
“I think it unlocks the north end of the Strip,” Hill said. “Resorts World has built a fabulous property and we’re excited about that opening in a month. We have a great partnership with them and it provides a whole new set of opportunities here with customers at the Convention Center.”
In 2019, the LVCVA announced plans to sell 10 acres of the former Riviera site it acquired for the center’s expansion out to the Strip and that remains the plan, Hill said. The site has Strip frontage.
“We’ve had a fair amount of conversation about it even through the pandemic and hope to be able to announce something relatively soon,” Hill said. “We think we’re making some real progress. It’s a parcel that has a lot of opportunity. It directly connects to the Convention Center from a boundary standpoint and is directly across the street from Resorts World and Fontainebleau. What you can do there has the ability to bring the entire neighborhood together in that spot. I think those who have been interested in the property are seeing that.”
Hill also talked about the future of building a public-transportation tunnel in the resort corridor that he said “will be a gamechanger in Las Vegas.” It will connect from Fremont Street downtown to Allegiant Stadium and McCarran International Airport.
