Governor names oversight panel for Las Vegas convention center expansion
CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval on Tuesday selected seven members of a panel that will oversee the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The panel was created during the 30th Special Session of the Legislature in October and will be responsible for reviewing, providing recommendations to and approval of the renovation and expansion plans including the issuing of project bonds.
“The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expansion is critical to the longevity of Nevada’s tourism industry,” Sandoval said in a statement.
Appointed effective immediately are William (Bill) Ham, Tom Thomas, John Littell, Ron Frye, Michael Crome, Rob Cilento and Gary Bogan to the Oversight Panel for Convention Facilities.
Ham is president of design and construction, MGM Resorts International Design; Thomas is owner and managing partner, Thomas & Mack Corp.; Crome is vice president of finance, planning, and analysis, Pinnacle Entertainment; Frye is vice president of design and construction, Boyd Gaming Corp.; Cilento is vice president of corporate finance, Las Vegas Sands Corp.; Littell is president and chief operating officer, Wynn Design & Development; Bogan is vice president of facilities maintenance and compliance, Caesars Entertainment.
The legislation set specific qualifications for the panel members which included a requirement that all appointees must live in Clark County, no two panel members may be representatives of the same company or its affiliate, five members be “executives or directors of construction for a resort hotel” and two must have experience in the financing of capital projects in Nevada.
The $1.4 billion project will modernize and add 600,000 square feet of new meeting space. It is being funded in part with a 0.5 percent increase in the Clark County room tax.
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Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.
