Connect Spring Marketplace Just Got Better.
Connect Spring Marketplace Just Got Better—Win Big at Wynn.

Here’s What You Might Have Missed From This Year’s Preview Las Vegas

The annual event featured a look back at the city’s successes as well as a sneak peek of upcoming happenings including WrestleMania.

686079
Photo: Courtesy of Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

LAS VEGAS—Preview Las Vegas, hosted by the Vegas Chamber at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 16, is the organization’s annual networking and economic forecasting event. 

Attendees include members of the city’s business community, as well as exhibitors showcasing their products, services, and venues. For example, the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix and Las Vegas A's both had booths at this year's event.

As a nod to Vegas being the host city of WrestleMania 41, the event, titled Preview Mania, featured some cheeky references to the entertainment spectacle throughout the programming.

From the start, organizers acknowledged the wildfires in Southern California and how the devastation is affecting Las Vegas’ neighboring city of Los Angeles. It was also noted that executives from Sony and Warner Bros.—both studios are seeking state funding to build rival production facilities in Vegas—would no longer be in attendance.

Preview Las Vegas took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 16.Preview Las Vegas took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 16.Photo: Courtesy of Vegas Chamber

A mainstay of the Preview Las Vegas event, Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at Applied Analysis, kicked off the programming lineup by discussing the impressive growth Las Vegas has seen. With this growth, though, he noted comes challenges caused by a rapid increase in population such as rising housing prices and a decline in home ownership.

Bill Walshe, Sphere's executive vice president and global head of venue operations and development, was on hand to chat about the venue’s first year, including hosting its first CES keynote. The larger-than-life address was delivered by Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian during the annual trade show. (See our CES coverage here.)

“I think brands using the Sphere in order to help promote their corporate message is going to be something that we will see happen more and more frequently,” he said.

Delta decided to take over the epic space in honor of its 100th anniversary. “They wanted to celebrate their heritage but do so in a forward-looking way where they were talking about the utilization of technology, of AI, of planning and plotting the path to Delta's future in order to set expectations that they will become an airline unlike any that has been seen before. And where better to do it than in a venue unlike any that has been seen before,” Walshe said.

He also announced the Sphere’s next residency: country artist Kenny Chesney, who will start a 12-show run on May 22.

The event wrapped up with WWE President Nick Khan, who sat down with Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Khan, who was born in Las Vegas, spoke about WrestleMania 41; the two-day event will be held April 19-20 at Allegiant Stadium. In addition, he announced that T-Mobile Arena will host SmackDown on April 18 as well as Monday Night Raw, which takes place after WrestleMania on April 19. 

The second annual WWE World, a fan fest in partnership with Fanatics Events, will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center April 17-21 during WrestleMania week. The experience made its debut last year in Philadelphia. 

After seeing the success of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, Khan had floated the idea of the city as a possible location for this year’s WrestleMania. The pageantry of the flagship wrestling event appears to be a perfect fit for Vegas, as demonstrated by the fans’ immediate interest.

“We sold more tickets in the first 72 hours for this event, in terms of ticket revenue, than in the history of WWE for any event,” Khan said. “They went on sale three months ago. So, people are excited about it; we have three months left to go.” 

He continued, adding, “You are going to see a multicultural, multigenerational event take place where everybody leaves happy.” 

Page 1 of 18
Next Page