LVCVA board approves $2.29 million in expenses

LAS VEGAS -- In a routine March meeting, the board of directors for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Tuesday approved $2.29 million in assorted expenses.

A $1.35 million chunk of the total is slated for two ceramic cooling towers at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s central plant. The towers will replace three wooden ones that were installed in 1989 to cool the 3.2 million-square-foot convention center.

The bid went to Las Vegas-based U.S. Mechanical LLC.

Also approved at the meeting was a $512,500 expense associated with the travel authority's hosting the Meeting Professionals International 2013 World Education Congress in Las Vegas from July 20-23. About 2,600 people are expected to attend, including corporate, association and trade show travel buyers. These attendees represent more than $800 million in future business for Las Vegas, the travel board estimates.

About 60 Las Vegas-based hotels, restaurants and transportation companies are expected to have a presence at the show.

The board also approved the purchase of 4,392 stacking chairs and 54 racks on which to hang them for $299,953 that will be paid to Green Bay, Wis.-based Krueger International.

Finally, an expense of $133,000 was approved for the authority to exhibit at the IMEX Frankfurt trade show May 21-23 in Frankfurt, Germany. The international travel show attracted 4,000 hosted buyers from 60 world markets last year. Of that total, about 600 visited the Las Vegas booth. The travel authority has attended the show since 2002.