1. In a very un-Vegas move, the MGM Grand recently launched Signature, a three-tower, nongaming and nonsmoking hotel. The towers’ openings were staggered: The first opened in June 2006, the second in December 2006, and the third in July 2007. Each 576-suite tower has its own pool area (available for events) and is a three-minute trip via movable walkway to the hotel’s 380,000-square-foot conference center. Signature has indoor-outdoor meeting space for smaller groups available in two towers, including a 1,596-square-foot meeting room for 130 and a 16-seat boardroom.
2. Springs Preserve is a unique location offering both indoor and outdoor meeting space. This 180-acre expanse of museums, galleries, outdoor concert and event space, nature trails, and gardens, which opened in June 2007, is a 10-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip. More than 250,000 square feet of building space includes an 1,800-seat, open-air amphitheater, the 200-seat Springs Preserve Café by Wolfgang Puck, and the Nevada State Museum.
3. Harrah’s opened the refurbished Flamingo Las Vegas in February 2007. The 3,655-room hotel includes the 73,000-square-foot Corporate Convention Center and Executive Conference Center, offering a variety of spaces for groups from 10 to 500. The Flamingo also includes six conference suites, eight rooms suited to smaller meetings, the 20,900-square-foot Sunset Ballroom, and 18,000 square feet of exhibit space.
4. The Palms Casino Resort opened the multimillion-dollar Pearl concert space, which can hold as many as 2,500 people, in March 2007. Designed for concerts as well as business meetings and presentations (and home to MTV’s VMAs in 2007), the facility has three seating levels as well as 18 private and semi-private skyboxes (each with its own bar and bathroom). The ground floor has removable seating, and four dressing rooms and backstage event space are also on-site.
This information was previously published in the 2008 BizBash National Venue Guide.
