Las Vegas is in the midst of another transition that could change the city's skyline and elevate the international profile of the city.
Whether it's attracting professional sports leagues to the town or attracting world-class entertainers to performance residencies, Las Vegas has been on a roll over the past few years.
With the new and coming attractions on the way, Sin City needs to grow.
Transportation, lodging, and other logistical kinks will have to be worked out before Vegas can reach its full potential and this week the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority put out specifics on where the city is headed.
Las Vegas saw 32.2 million visitors in 2021, a 70% year-over-year increase from 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic was at its height. The city's convention industry didn't have the same type of strong recovery with 2.2 million attendees reported in 2021, a 28% year over year increase.
Here's a look at what is in the future plans for the gambling oasis in the desert.
Image source: Robert Mora/Getty Images.
Vegas to Spend $4.5 Billion Over Next Couple of Years
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is projecting the spending of $4.512 billion in 29 new projects that are expected to add 7,602 hotel rooms and 791,000 square feet of convention space in Southern Nevada by the end of 2024.
By the end of 2024, Vegas will have more than 158,000 hotel rooms.
The LVCVA expects the city to add 766 additional rooms this spring with the reopening of the Palms resort and casino under the management of new owners, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
The opening of a Holiday Inn Express will add another 127 rooms.
The biggest project in the pipeline is Fontainebleau Las Vegas on the Strip. The hotel will feature 3,780 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting space when it is completed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This new mega-casino, which sits on the North Strip, would be part of a major effort to revitalize that second of the 4.2 road. It's an important project because it, along with a potential new North Strip Arena along with some other casino projects, could provide a viable alternative to the Caesars Entertainment (CZR) and MGM Resorts International (MGM) casinos which dominate the central and southern Strip.
Caesars also has a massive project planned as it will be revamping its Bally's property and renaming it with its Horseshoe Brand. MGM has big plans as well as it will be taking over the operation of The Cosmpolittan, although the company has not announced any major changes for that property.
The $1.9 billion MSG (MSGE) Sphere at The Venetian is a 17,500-seat entertainment venue that is targeted for completion by the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, six new properties are planned for completion in 2024 with the biggest being the 720-room, nongaming Majestic Las Vegas which is being built for $850 million at the site across the street from the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Also scheduled for completion in 2024 is the $500 million, 527-room Dream Las Vegas.
To help accommodate all of these potential new tourists there are multiple transportation projects in the works including an $8 billion speed rail project and a 29-mile, 51-station Las Vegas Loop underground transit project being built by Elon Musk's The Boring Co.
Las Vegas Coming Attractions
A big part of Vegas' growth is coming from outside of its traditional gaming industry.
Professional sports is in the midst of a love affair with the city with the recent additions of NFL and NHL franchises.
Major League Baseball has been flirting with the city in an attempt to squeeze a new stadium deal out of the Oakland Athletics. The A's have been in active negotiations with multiple sites on or adjacent to The Las Vegas Strip.
And now there is a report that the NBA could be interested in granting the city an expansion team in the near future. There have also been rumors that Vegas could add a Major League Soccer team, although no concrete plans for that have been made public.
Las Vegas could become an even bigger sports oasis in the middle of the desert to go along with all of the other entertainment the city has to offer.
