City and county community leaders realized in the 1950s, the need for a convention facility. The initial goal was to increase the occupancy rates of hotels during slow tourist months. A site was chosen one block east of the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the Las Vegas Park Speedway, a failed horse and automobile racing facility from the early 1950s. A 6,300 seat, silver-domed rotunda, with an adjoining exhibit hall opened in April 1959. It hosted The Beatles on August 20, 1964. The Convention Center was the site of several major professional boxing fights in the 1960s, including Gene Fullmer versus Sugar Ray Robinson on March 4, 1961; Fulmer versus Benny Paret on December 9, 1961; Sonny Liston versus Floyd Patterson on July 22, 1963; and Muhammad Ali versus Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965. Also, the venue was home to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team from 1966 to 1982. It was demolished in 1990 creating space for expansion. When completed,, with for exhibitors, makes 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. In 1993, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority purchased the closed Landmark hotel-casino, located across from the convention center. LVCVA had the resort demolished in 1995 to develop additional parking on the site for convention guests. A 1998 expansion 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 an expansion of the center. The new $150 million South Hall was topped out on February 20, 2001. It would consist of. When completed in 2004, it crossed over a major roadway with four bridges connecting the facilities. As of 2009, the Consumer Electronics Show is the most attended annual trade show at this location with more than 140,000 attendees. Led Zeppelin were supposed to perform at the convention center on April 19, 1970, as the final show of their Spring 1970 North American Tour, but the gig was cancelled due to lead singer Robert Plant falling ill the night before. The Convention Center dome hosted two Billy Graham Crusades between 1978 and 1980. On December 19, 1993, the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup was held at the building,
Film history
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.
Expansion plans
In 2018, plans were released for the Las Vegas Convention Center to undergo an $890 million expansion, the 14th in its history. The expansion is intended to increase the center's meeting space and improve the building's overall design updating it and feature the latest in technology, as well as to connect the Convention Center to the Las Vegas Strip. The expansion includes of dedicated meeting space. 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 a planned acquisition of the Riviera in February 2015 for $182.5 million. The project is expected to add:
Enclosed pedestrian access for the Las Vegas Monorail
Police and fire facilities on property
Work was underway on the expansion in 2019. It is being built on land previously occupied by the Landmark and Riviera resorts. Construction of a people mover by The Boring Company began in late 2019. The $53 million twin-tunnel Loop system will have three stops 40 feet below the surface.
