Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority

Created in 1955 as the Clark County Fair & Recreation Board, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) was charged with a dual mission which has essentially remained unchanged: to attract to the Las Vegas area a steadily increasing number of visitors to support the hotel and motel room inventory in Clark County; and to efficiently operate and maintain the LVCVA facilities. The LVCVA brings visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County by promoting tourism, conventions, meetings and special events.

History of the LVCVA

Las Vegas has long been a favorite recreation destination for millions of visitors. In the early 1950s, however, community leaders realized the cyclical nature of tourism caused a significant decline in the number of visitors during the weekdays, throughout the summer months, and over the Christmas season. A new market was identified in order to attract more visitors to the area during the slow periods - convention attendees.
   
Visionary elected officials were convinced that convention business was crucial to the growth of the city and went before the Nevada State Legislature to ask for funding. In 11955, the State Legislature agreed to finance the Clark County Fair and Recreation Board (the precursor to the LVCVA) with moneys acquired from a room tax levied on hotel and motel properties in Clark County. This revenue, paid for by tourists and not by local residents, allowed the Las Vegas Convention center to be constructed and operate without any tax assessment on Clark County residents, and allowed the LVCVA to begin a program of destination marketing.

On April 29, 1959, the Las Vegas Convention Center was officially opened with a 20,340 square-foot rotunda, 18 meeting rooms, and a 90,000 square-foot exhibit hall. In its first year of operation, the LVCVA hosted 8 conventions attended by 22,519 delegates. In 1998, the Las Vegas Center hosted over 60 conventions attended by almost 1.2 million delegates. Increased convention attendance has resulted in additional jobs for the citizens of Southern Nevada.

Supporting All Of Southern Nevada

Today, the entire Southern Nevada economy is heavily dependent on the hotel, gaming and convention industry, which employs over one-quarter on the county's labor force. The viability of the economy in Clark County is dependent upon the volume of visitors to the region. The LVCVA provides a vital service for the public by contributing to the growth of the economy in all of Southern Nevada. The LVCVA's marketing efforts cover all of the more than 150,000 hotel and motel rooms in Southern Nevada. The room inventory includes Las Vegas and the surrounding territories: Laughlin, Boulder City, Jean, Primm, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Mesquite.