New convention venues assure organizational changes at CES 2021

CES has packed up for another year, and the techies who invade our city annually won’t be back again until Jan. 6, 2021, for a Wednesday-through-Saturday show.

While all eyes were on the show that just wrapped up, an even greater focus is on the 2021 event because of the logistical gymnastics that will be performed on behalf of the sponsoring Consumer Technology Association.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has been promising for months that its new West Hall under construction along Convention Center Drive will be completed in time for the next show.

Karen Chupka, executive vice president of the association, said the promise of the use of the new hall as well as the completion of new convention venues at Wynn Las Vegas and Caesars Forum at The Linq means new opportunities for CES 2021. But that doesn’t necessarily mean everything’s going to be bigger next year.

“We’re going to be looking at what categories need to be aligned differently,” Chupka said at the show last week. “Let’s move some things around and put some categories that need to be together, together.”

Re-categorizing and relocating could make things easier for delegates. Chupka envisions individuals coming for two days of the show instead of three, for example, if categories are better organized.

Chupka, who toured the West Hall construction site last week, said association leaders will be determining where to locate things to take advantage of the meeting rooms and better technological features that will be available at the new venue.

Two of the big pluses of having the new hall in place are that the association won’t have to build as many temporary structures in parking lots and that delegates will be able to register inside the building instead of tents.

Chupka also got the good news last week that the convention authority has confirmed that it will delay renovation work until after CES 2021 is over. Under terms of the agreement with the association, the LVCVA promised to have the new hall on line and then would take the four remaining halls offline over a period of two years to complete improvements there. Crews will now wait until CES 2021 ends to begin the first renovation.

On-campus transit should improve next year because the Boring Company’s underground people-mover is expected to be completed, linking the east end of the South Hall with the front door of the West Hall.

“The nice thing is that because it’s going underground it doesn’t take away some of the external space we need,” Chupka said. “If we can connect the buildings underground, it really helps and it’s a good alternative transportation mode if it rains.”

Not to mention that the new transit system with self-driving Teslas in parallel tunnels will be a technological advance worthy of the CES crowd. While some delegates may have no reason to go to the eastern end of the people-mover line, I’m guessing lots of people will try it just to experience the new system that eventually could be used throughout Southern Nevada.

Chupka doesn’t think the new hall space at the Convention Center, Wynn or Caesars Forum would immediately result in greater numbers attending the show.

The association projected 175,000 would be here this year, and early indications are that 180,000 could arrive in 2021.

“I think we need more hotel rooms online before we see any major expansion in numbers,” she said.

That, of course, could occur by 2022 and 2023, when the large-scale Resorts World Las Vegas and The Drew Las Vegas properties open. Steven Witkoff, owner of The Drew, said last week he’s looking forward to his building being so close to the Convention Center. His company is building a bridge from The Drew across Elvis Presley Boulevard for people to walk to the Convention Center.

In the future, CES also will be able to take advantage of the MSG Sphere at The Venetian, attached to the Sands Expo Center, as a keynote address venue. Keynote addresses currently are staged at Park Theater at Park MGM and at a ballroom at The Venetian. With 17,000 seats, the MSG Sphere should be more than accommodating for CES. It’s not likely to be ready until the 2022 show.

Presumably, the new Las Vegas Monorail stop at the Sphere will be ready, giving delegates easier access between the Convention Center and the Sands Expo Center (and Caesars Forum and the Wynn Convention Center as well).

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. The Sphere is a project by Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas Sands Corp. The Sands Expo Center and The Venetian are operated by Las Vegas Sands.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.