Las Vegas officials assist organizers affected by Cashman closure
The city of Las Vegas will hold a meeting with concerned trade show organizers whose events will be displaced when Cashman Center facilities are mothballed at the end of the year.
Debra Hansen, who has put on the Bridal Spectacular show that annually hosts 2,500 engaged couples at Cashman Center, has been unable to find another local venue for the show.
“We have looked. Nobody in Las Vegas wants us,” Hansen told the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday. “… This is a bigger problem than you think. We need this event, our vendors need this event.”
In addition to the stadium where the Las Vegas 51s play, Cashman also has 98,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 1,922-seat theater and 12 meeting rooms.
Hansen and a handful of other event organizers brought their concerns to the City Council on Wednesday. The council approved a transfer agreement for the Cashman site with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which puts the property back into the city’s hands sooner and allows the city to continue a redevelopment push for the 51-acre site.
Las Vegas officials do not intend to operate the convention space beyond 2017, the city’s economic development director Bill Arent said. Efforts are underway to help affected expo and trade show events find new venues, Arent added.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman said a meeting will happen soon to address those concerns.
The property will be transferred to the city on June 1. Goodman envisions Cashman as the ideal spot for a professional sports stadium.
The city plans to shutter the convention center and theater Dec. 31. LVCVA will operate and maintain the stadium and parking areas through 2022, when the lease between the 51s and the city ends.
Other speakers said exhibition space at casino resorts cannot work as alternative venues because they ask for 100 to 200 room guarantees for use of the event space.
“We are definitely involved, concerned and want to help,” Goodman said.
Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.
