LVCVA close to issuing $50 million in bonds for Global Business District
In its first meeting of the year, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority’s board of directors on Tuesday approved a 2014 bond resolution that secures the authority $50 million.
The Clark County general obligation and LVCVA bonds will help fund the decade-long Las Vegas Global Business District project that has an estimated cost of $2.5 billion.
The plan to re-create the Las Vegas Convention Center at 3150 Paradise Road and the surrounding area calls for aesthetic improvements, technological enhancements, a World Trade Center and overall Las Vegas branding.
As the final step in the bond process, the Clark County Commission will be asked to approve the item at its Jan. 21 meeting.
If it receives final approval, the authority board says the bonds will be issued on or about Jan. 30 and closed Feb. 20. Officials expect the bonds will yield between 4.5 percent and 5 percent.
“This looks like it’s going to be a good month to be in the bond market,” said Rana Lacer, the authority’s senior vice president of finance.
In other convention authority news, the board is entering into its 13th year of a 15-year contract with Aramark to manage its food service concessions.
On Tuesday, the board approved a contract revision that increases the money that goes into the agreement’s repair and maintenance account by 2 percent, which will go toward creating new Asian or Italian restaurants and adding an outdoor seating area. Pop-up restaurants also are a possibility depending on space available during trade shows.
During the 2014 International CES held at the Las Vegas Convention Center last week, Aramark debuted a grab-and-go sandwich counter named Vegas Express located just outside Central Hall.
The contract change also cuts the authority’s commission for food sales to 30 percent.
The repair and maintenance account is used to fund kitchen repairs, equipment replacement and facility improvements.
With the increase, the account will be funded at 2.5 percent of the gross revenue.
Over the three-year period, the repair and maintenance funding is estimated to be $1.34 million.
The Aramark agreement runs through Dec. 31, 2016.
Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @lscvegas on Twitter.
