The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

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 has of exhibit space and hosts shows with an estimated 200,000 participants. The Conexpo-Con/Agg construction trade show in 2008 used the most space, . At the end of 2010, the entire

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan St ...

had more than of exhibit space.

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 The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

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 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 Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarde ...

on March 4, 1961; Fullmer versus Benny Paret on December 9, 1961;

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( – December 30, 1970), nicknamed "the Big Bear", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1962 after k ...

versus

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...

on July 22, 1963; and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

versus Patterson on November 22, 1965.

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

was supposed to perform at the convention center on April 19, 1970, capping the final show of their Spring 1970 North American Tour, but the gig was cancelled due to lead singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

falling 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 demolished in 1991, creating space for expansion. Upon completion, there was vastly more space: , including 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 William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

Crusades between 1978 and 1980. On December 19, 1993, the draw for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

was held at the building. In 1993, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) purchased the defunct

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

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 . 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 . Upon completion in 2004, it crossed a major

roadway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

( Desert Inn Road), with four bridges connecting the facilities. As of 2009, the

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

is the most attended annual trade show at this location, with more than 140,000 attendees. 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 expansion includes of dedicated meeting space and of exhibit space. The expansion was complete as of 2021.

Construction of an underground

Las Vegas Convention Center Loop The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (LVCC Loop) is an underground public transportation system that serves the Las Vegas Convention Center. Operating since 2021, the system uses Tesla Model Y vehicles to shuttle passengers among five stations. ...

, 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.

References

External links

* * {{UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball navbox 1959 establishments in Nevada Buildings and structures in Winchester, Nevada Convention centers in the Las Vegas Valley Convention centers in Nevada Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Event venues established in 1959 Government buildings completed in 1959 Sports venues in the Las Vegas Valley Boxing venues in the Las Vegas Valley Indoor arenas in the Las Vegas Valley UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball