This is finally the weekend where Zarkana will end its run at Aria. The show was relatively new having replaced another Cirque Du Soleil show, Viva Elvis, three years ago. Regardless of ticket sales that may or may not have been good MGM Resorts has decided not to replace the show. In fact, they’ve decided to remove the showroom altogether.
The closing of the show is, at least in part, so that MGM Resorts can expand the meeting and convention space at Aria. As previously reported, the $154-million convention space expansion will create an additional 200,000 square feet of technologically advanced, flexible meeting space across four stories at Aria.
Conventions and meetings aren’t a new thing in Las Vegas. Last year Las Vegas was the #2 destination for meetings in America, according to CVent. Last Vegas is often somewhere in the top five destinations for various convention and meetings destination lists. The new Aria convention area won’t be the largest in Las Vegas but some of the biggest and most respected convention centers already exist in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Convention Center is considered the crown jewel of convention centers in Las Vegas. Not including meeting space next door at the Westgate (formerly Las Vegas Hilton), the Las Vegas Convention Center has over 2 million square feet of convention space located in multiple buildings. There are plans to extend their convention facilities out to the Vegas Strip with the purchase and current demolition of the Riviera to make the convention center even more desirable.
Last year Mandalay Bay completed an expansion of their massive meeting and convention space. There is now just over 2 million square feet of convention space inside Mandalay Bay. The expansion of 350,000 square feet vaulted Mandalay Bay into one of the top 10 largest convention centers in America. Over the past few years, Mandalay Bay has renovated the entire property and it could possibly be the best location in the world to have a convention.
The third largest convention center in Las Vegas is located in between The Venetian and The Palazzo. The Sands Expo & Convention Center occupies about 1.2 million square feet in between the two properties. Las Vegas Sands is constantly rotating restaurants at both hotels and the Grand Canal Shoppes making this a great location to be “stuck” at a convention. Much like Mandalay Bay, you can do just about everything you’d want during a meeting or convention without ever leaving the building(s).
Convention space is one of the least expensive ways to potentially increase revenue for a hotel and we should expect Las Vegas Convention activity to continue to grow. Convention and meeting goers often stay, eat and party at the host hotel. While the Hard Rock may not be thought of as a corporate meeting and convention destination they just completed an expansion that includes 80,000 square feet of flexible meeting and convention space that uses previously unused land on the property.
Even entertainment attractions like Topgolf at MGM Grand are including meeting space when building out a business. When it opens the golf attraction will include private meeting rooms and flexible event space that can host up to 3,000 people. A corporate getaway at a golf attraction sounds like a good time!
Conventions have seemingly always been big business in Las Vegas. The hotel, resort and casino operators see this as an inexpensive growth opportunity in the future. Las Vegas fans will love the proximity to the action of casinos while naysayers can have conventions that never have to take attendees inside a casino. One of the best reasons to have a corporate meeting or convention in Las Vegas is that there’s something for everyone here.
