LVCVA eyes property acquisition, increases budget

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors took its first step Tuesday toward acquiring some property — something it hasn’t done in three years because of the recession.

The board unanimously voted to notify Clark County’s Debt Management Commission of plans to issue up to $25 million in general obligation bonds and to appoint a financing team to coordinate.

The actions were among matters in which the LVCVA began refocusing on long-range programs, thanks to improved economic health reflected by the uptick in visitor volume and higher room tax revenue.

The LVCVA has had a policy of buying land near the Las Vegas Convention Center when available to accommodate growth, whether for new buildings or auxiliary parking lots. That policy was suspended when the local tourism economy collapsed during the recession.

Rana Lacer, the LVCVA’s vice president of finance, said the agency had resumed moving on potential land acquisitions and approved a resolution notifying the county’s commission of the potential of buying up to three parcels totaling 6.5 acres. For competitive reasons, the locations of the parcels weren’t identified.

The board also approved the hiring of Hobbs, Ong & Associates and Public Financial Management Inc. as financial advisers and Swendseid & Stern as bond counsel, budgeting $175,000 for the contracts.

The board also approved a recommendation from its audit committee to increase the LVCVA budget, by $27 million in revenue and $18.8 million in expenditures.

With the $18.8 million, the LVCVA will transfer $10 million to its capital expense fund and spend $5 million on advertising, $2.7 million on community support — supplementing the budgets of municipalities and the county for public works projects — $950,000 for marketing and $106,000 for administrative expenses.

The budget augmentation will increase the LVCVA’s budget to $245.3 million for the fiscal year.

In other business, the board appropriated funds to market an off-road car race, a travel show conference coming to Las Vegas next year and this year’s Clark County Fair.

In a first-time marketing expenditure, the board approved spending $25,000 on the Mint 400 in Jean, which resumed in 2008 after a 20-year hiatus. The off-road car race will draw between 200 and 300 teams racing on a 400-mile course and is expected to attract more than 8,000 visitors, resulting in an economic impact of nearly $900,000.

The board voted to spend $399,000 to put on a promotional lunch at the Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress in St. Louis. Las Vegas will host the event July 20-23, 2013, at Mandalay Bay. About 2,600 people attend the conference, which features one-on-one hosted-buyer appointments with professionals in the meetings industry. About 35 Las Vegas-based organizations participate in the event.

The board also is spending $125,000 for the Clark County Fair, scheduled for April 12-15 in Logandale. The fair, which includes a rodeo, is expected to attract 8,000 out-of-town visitors and produce an economic impact of $860,000.