Question of the Day - 08 May 2021

According to our own research, the Shriners held what is considered Las Vegas' first bona fide convention in 1935, when 5,000 attended a get-together here. 

Beyond that, as University of Nevada-Las Vegas history professor Dr. Michael Green responds, “The opening of the Convention Center in 1959 marked Las Vegas' really serious foray into attracting convention business. The Convention Center was the first facility designed to attract trade shows.

“As for bringing more attendees, it's a bit harder to judge,” Green continues. “The last [in-person] CES drew 180,000-plus attendees. The PBR is spread out over several days and probably ends up attracting fewer people in the end.”

The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority’s Erica Johnson backs him up. “The 2019 PBR World Finals sold about 82,000 tickets and attracted about 21,000 visitors to Las Vegas.”

CES wins by a mile.

However, Johnson notes, "The inquirer might have meant the larger National Finals Rodeo (NFR), instead of Professional Bull Riders (PBR), as the two events often get conflated. 

“For comparison, while NFR has consistently sold about 170,000 tickets over its 10-day event each year, those tickets are used by attendees who attend multiple nights of the event; we estimate that NFR attracted about 56,000 unique visitors at its ticketed Las Vegas event in 2019.

"That said, the ancillary events and country-and-western entertainment that has expanded across the destination over the years during NFR also draw a significant but unquantified number of visitors who come to town to enjoy cowboy culture without ever actually attending the NFR ticketed events at the Thomas & Mack.”

Even so, it would take more than 110,000 additional unique visitors to match CES’ drawing power.

“Some could argue that Las Vegas first started going after conventions in earnest with the decision to fund and build the Las Vegas Convention Center back in the 1950s,” Erica Johnson again agrees with Dr. Green. “Shortly after first opening its doors in 1959, the LVCC hosted its first convention, the World of Flight. Ever since, conventions have played a key role in helping stabilize weekday occupancy and drawing business travelers who may have not thought to initially consider a trip to Vegas otherwise.

“Over the years, the convention segment has grown in importance. Since the era-defining opening of The Mirage in 1989, most major resorts built thereafter have included some portion of meeting space to house conventions and groups midweek,” Johnson continues. “The addition of the Sands Expo Convention Center in 1990 and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in 2003 bookend a period when citywide meeting square footage grew from roughly 2.5 million square feet just before the Sands Expo opened to roughly 9 million square feet by the end of 2003.

"Today, Las Vegas is home to approximately 14 million square feet of convention and meeting space.

“Among the numerous recurring conventions and trade shows that come to Las Vegas, CES stands out for it size and history,” Johnson resumes. “When CES first came to Las Vegas in 1978, it attracted roughly 43,000 attendees and of course has since grown to its current (pre-COVID) size of 170,000-plus attendees and exhibitors."