By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — What is striking about Las Vegas’ publicly-funded tourism agency is not just the millions of public dollars it gives to sports event promoters but also how little public discussion there is about the multi-million-dollar expenditures at LVCVA board meetings.
LVCVA CEO/President Steve Hill told the LVCVA board that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will need to spend $60 million on sports a year after spending only $12 million in 2018. The board members did not ask about the increase in LVCVA sports spending. Instead, it gathered with Hill to honor LVCVA board member Pamela Goynes-Brown, who is the mayor of North Las Vegas.
The LVCVA board is made up of elected officials from public municipalities and private hotel company representatives. Its chairman is Jim Gibson, a Clark County commissioner.
In routine fashion, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Tuesday approved spending $2 million for two video game tournaments in Las Vegas in 2028. The LVCVA have a name for these payments to event organizers: “sponsorship.”
The LVCVA board greenlit the $2 million “sponsorship” for video game producer BLAST ApS, which is staging the video game action in Las Vegas. For the record, it’s called, Counter-Strike Major, and this event was most recently staged in Austin, Texas.
The board members had no questions for LVCVA staff on the matter.
The Las Vegas video game competition would be between Thanksgiving and early December in 2028.
The LVCVA board members also approved $300,000 for the event organizer of the New Balance Future Stars Series to hold summer baseball tournaments that include high school and college players competing before scouts and coaches in Las Vegas from June 15, 2027 — July 15, 2027. Again, no questions were posed to staff.
The LVCVA board breezed through other contracts without comments during the meeting.
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