LAS VEGAS — On April 13, Nevada Governor Sisolak announced an ambitious state-wide goal: for every county to reopen at 100% capacity by June 1. “Based on consultation with our state health officials, I am pleased to announce that I’m very confident every county in the state of Nevada will be able to fully reopen at 100% capacity by June 1,” Sisolak said in a press conference. Hopes are high that Clark County, home to Las Vegas, could be among those fully reopening by June 1, though there are no guarantees, said Steve Hill, president and CEO of LVCVA. The original plan to turn over reopening decisions to each of the state’s counties remains, and the actual go-ahead to move to 100% could be made as soon as May 1 in some counties.
This is welcome news for an embattled trade show industry. Las Vegas is preparing to welcome TPE2021 (Tobacco Plus Expo) as its first show back to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC); World of Concrete (WOC) returns June 8-10 to the LVCC; and MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) will meet at CAESARS FORUM from June 15-17, the first major event in the 550,000-square-foot conference center.
The COVID pandemic’s temporary shuttering of Las Vegas did not prevent a number of expansions and renovations. The West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center added 1.4 million square feet, including 600,000 square feet of new exhibit space. Other additions in 2020 brought more than 2 million square feet of new meeting space to the city, and the citywide total to more than 14 million square feet, with more planned for later this year.
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Sisolak also plans to remove the statewide required social distancing mandate as of May 1, allowing counties to determine what’s appropriate. However, a mandatory mask mandate remains in effect.
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“Southern Nevada’s tourism industry took another important step forward with Governor Sisolak’s confidence Las Vegas can safely allow full occupancy at all venues starting June 1. The wide availability and rapid administration of vaccines will allow our valued events industry to reconvene with confidence and in its entirety. Las Vegas will continue providing the gold standard for health, wellness and safety precautions for the benefit of its workforce, the community and our visitors,” said LVCVA’s Steve Hill.
Reach LVCVA at (702) 892-0711.
